Hate her or love her, it’s hard to argue that former first lady Michelle Obama is one of the most famous women in the United States — both politically and socially.
But according to Michelle, her rise to fame both in D.C. and beyond is due to her husband Barack being a man — and now she’s suddenly unhappy about it.
During an appearance on the popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast on Wednesday, the former first lady boldly claimed that Hillary Clinton lost to her husband Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries because of her gender.
This is not the first time that Michelle has pointed at gender as a sticking point about the country’s highest office.
She recently said America was not “ready” for a female president on “IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson” on Nov. 14.
She continued yesterday, indicating on “Call Her Daddy” that Democratic primary voters preferred her husband over the more experienced Clinton because he was a MAN.
“There are men out there that were not going to vote for a woman. People have had those conversations. Let’s just be real about it. And let’s put that on the table and talk about, well, what’s that about? Let’s not be mad because I made the statement,” Obama said.
“Let’s look at the fact that we’ve had two really qualified female candidates. One who was first lady, secretary of state, well educated … my husband beat her. People were more comfortable with him as a newcomer.”
“And now we just had the former vice president [Kamala Harris]. We’ve had qualified women, and if they’re not perfect and they don’t cross every T and dot every I, there’s a falling shortness that is happening … why can’t we talk about that?” she asked. “Why are we pretending that that didn’t just happen?”
Take a listen —
Obama’s bold statement raises eyebrows as she is essentially admitting on a surface level that she would not be where she is today in terms of name recognition and fame if it weren’t for her husband being a man.
Other media members took notice of Michelle’s claims, including left-leaning SiriusXM host Stephen A. Smith.
Smith, a vocal supporter of Michelle Obama, disagreed with Michelle’s statement about America not being prepared for a woman to be president.
“I think we’re very ready as a country to elect a woman, because I think women, by and large, are smarter, more composed, more disciplined than the men have proven to be,” Smith said.
Smith also addressed recent comments from Democratic South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn’s claim that gender likely played a role in Kamala Harris’ 2024 election loss during a December episode of “Straight Shooter with Stephen A.”
Smith noted that Clinton secured the popular vote by a significant margin against President Donald Trump in 2016, debunking claims of sexism.
Michelle Obama continues to be ranked as one of the most influential and admired women in the world and continues to be an extremely popular pop culture figure despite leaving the White House 10 years ago.