Mr Obama staged the intervention in Hawaii over the weekend. His comments came amid mounting calls for his wife, the former First Lady, to run for the role of President in 2020. Mrs Obama would trounce Donald Trump in a contest, a recent poll has shown.
But her husband appeared to refuse to endorse a potential bid, by attacking those who “cling to power”.
He said: “People cling to power instead of seeing the power in other people.”
He made the remarks at an event for the Obama Foundation over the weekend, according to Honolulu Civil Beat.
Mr Obama said after his tenure in office, he wanted to inspire new leaders, according to HawaiiNewsNow, “so that they have the platform, the opportunity to channel their amazing energy and passion and imagination, in order to bring a whole new set of eyes and ideas and possibilities to the world.
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“We have a deficit of leadership, and we need new blood.”
Mr Obama stopped short at mentioning the elephant in the room – President Donald Trump.
Mrs Obama, however, has not remained quite so tight-lipped on the subject in recent days.
Of Obama’s presidency and Trump’s turn in office during a sold-out public event in New York, last month she said: “Oftentimes, when you’re the first or the only, the bar shifts a lot, right?
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“The bar gets set, you meet it, exceed it, they move the bar, and we’re watching that right now—the bar’s just swinging and swinging.
“It’s a totally new bar—never seen this bar before, ever.
“But when we were in office, our bar was very different—not getting indicted, and telling the truth.”
An Axios poll at the end of last year showed the former First Lady with 13 point favourability lead among registered voters over Trump.
Among voters in the poll – and especially women – 64 percent viewed the current President unfavourably.
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Mrs Obama’s popularity has fuelled speculation she could stand for President – even among her would-be opponents.
Republican hopeful Mike Huckabee added to rumours and speculation on his website.
He wrote: “Now that Michelle Obama has been named Most Admired Woman for 2018, it’s time for me to make a prediction for 2019: the former First Lady will toss her hat in the ring for 2020, and she will get her party’s nomination.
“Her PR machine, which has quietly percolated ever since Hillary lost, went full-tilt in September with the November 13 release of her book, Becoming. (One might ask, ‘Becoming what?’ I say, ‘Becoming a presidential nominee.’)”