In her autobiography, ‘Becoming’, the former First Lady said that since the Republican firebrand became President, news stories have “turned her stomach”. She also admitted her husband’s legacy is aggressively threatened and wonders “where the bottom might be”. She wrote: “I’ve lain awake at night, fuming over what’s come to pass.
“It’s been distressing to see how the behaviour and the political agenda of the current President have caused many Americans to doubt themselves and to doubt and fear one another.”
Comparing the contrasting policies of the two presidencies, Mrs Obama added: “It’s been hard to watch as carefully built, compassionate policies have been rolled back as we’ve alienated some of our closest allies and left vulnerable members of our society exposed and dehumanised.
“I sometimes wonder where the bottom might be.”
She also took a swipe at Trump’s campaign launch in June 2015, during which he branded Mexican immigrants as “criminals” and “rapists”.
She said: “I figured he was just grandstanding, sucking up the media’s attention because he could.
“Nothing in how he conducted himself suggested that he was serious about wanting to govern.”
In earlier pages of the book, the former First Lady revealed she “stopped even trying to smile” during the US President’s 2017 inauguration.
Mrs Obama wrote how she wondered why so many women rejected “an exceptionally qualified female candidate and instead choose a misogynist as their President”.
In a further strongly-worded attack on the US leader, Mrs Obama added the “vibrant diversity” of her husband’s previous inaugurations “was gone” when Mr Trump took the helm.
She said: “Someone from Barack’s administration might have said that the optics were bad, that what the public saw didn’t reflect the president’s reality or ideals.”
“But in this case, maybe it did.
“Realising it, I made my own optic adjustment.
“I stopped even trying to smile.”