The former first lady officially reentered the political arena this autumn, with her new book and the launch of several high-profile social initiatives on voting and girls’ education. The push back into the public eye has left some wondering if the former First Lady may be considering a 2020 presidential run. However, Mrs Obama ended the rumours in the epilogue of her memoirs.
She wrote: “Because people often ask, I’ll say it here directly: I have no intention of running for office, ever.
“I’ve never been a fan of politics, and my experience over the last ten years has done little to change that.
“I continue to be put off by the nastiness – the tribal segregation of red and blue, this idea that we are supposed to choose one side and stick to it, unable to listen and compromise, or sometimes even to be civil.”
She added: “I do believe that at its best, politics can be a means for positive change, but this arena is just not for me.
“That is not to say I don’t care deeply about the future of our country.”
Mrs Obama continued the epilogue launching a scathing attack on Donald Trump’s presidency, claiming that since the American firebrand replaced her husband Barack Obama, 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.”
In earlier pages of the book, the former First Lady also 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”.