Former First Lady Michelle Obama is shooting down speculation that has been surrounding the Democratic party for months, finally answering whether or not she will run for president.
In a statement to NBC News, Crystal Carson, the director of communications for the first lady’s office, settled the matter once and for all.
“As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” Carson said. “Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”
Former President Barack Obama has also recently backed Biden in his reelection efforts, saying he is “all in” for his former vice president.
Even still, supporters of former President Donald Trump and some democrats have continued to push the idea that Michelle Obama was secretly preparing a campaign for office.
During former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign, he raised the possibility of Michelle Obama running against him numerous times, saying that if he won the nomination, there was “no way they let Biden run.”
“It’s going to be a new puppet, Gavin Newsom, Michelle Obama, you name it,” Ramaswamy said.
But now, sources familiar with the matter shared with NBC News that the former first lady is planning on assisting Biden during his campaign this fall, just like she and her husband did four years ago.
Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, shared in a statement that they appreciated the support of the Obamas.
“President and Michelle Obama were enormously helpful in the fight to beat Donald Trump and elect President Biden and Vice President Harris the first time, and we are grateful to have their voice and their support in the fight for the fate of our democracy this November,” Biden said.
Last year, before the election cycle ramped up, Michelle Obama sat down with Oprah Winfrey in a Netflix special and discussed if she could ever see herself on the ballot.
“Politics is hard,” she said. “And the people who get into it … you’ve got to want it. It’s got to be in your soul because it is so important. It is not in my soul.”