Michelle Obama Speaks Out on 'Mistake' After Moving Into White House

Newsweek

30-04-2025

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Former first lady Michelle Obama has spoken out about what some perceived as a "mistake" she made after moving into the White House.
Newsweek contacted Michelle Obama's representative for comment via email.
The Context
The Becoming author and her husband, former President Barack Obama, lived at the White House from 2009 to 2017 during his two terms in office. The couple wed in October 1992 and share two daughters: Malia Obama and Sasha Obama.
What To Know
On Tuesday's Radio Andy call-in episode of SiriusXM's Let's Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa, Michelle Obama said she was criticized for prioritizing motherhood following her husband's presidential win.
"How difficult was that to raise your daughters in the public eye under constant threat, total scrutiny all the time?" host Kelly Ripa asked, adding: "What kind of a force field or human shields did you have to invent for them? Because what you did was unprecedented."
"It took a lot of intentionality," the former first lady said.
Frist lady Michelle Obama and her husband, President Barack Obama, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2015.
Frist lady Michelle Obama and her husband, President Barack Obama, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2015."I don't know if you remember when Barack first came into office and the question was posed to me: 'What's your agenda?' And as a person who had held a job and run nonprofits and been an associate dean and on and on and on, my work agenda was easy. I was going to have a very clear, robust agenda on issues that mattered. I knew how to do that," she said, adding, "So I instead focused on the thing that I really was worried about, which was mothering my children."
She added that her kids were her "first priority" when the family first moved into the White House.
"I made the mistake, I guess, in some people's eyes, to say that I'm going to be mom-in-chief. I'm going to focus on making sure that they get settled. I'm going to spend a lot of time making sure that their lives are normal," Michelle Obama said.
Some women said "it was selling out," which "surprised me," she added.
"I thought that many women as mothers would understand how difficult it is to raise whole people," she continued. "That, you know, even while we do jobs and we change the world—in my view, that remains my most important job on this planet."
Ripa commented on the expectations Michelle Obama's daughters may have faced: "I'm sure there's tons of pressure also on being, not just a good student but an exemplary student. There's almost that unfair curve of 'you have to be better than the best because this is what is expected of you.'"
"We call that the Obama tax for them," Michelle Obama said. "It's like you'll have it the rest of your life, but you also have a lot of benefits."
She continued: "Let me just say that having my brother, his family, my mom—having them come on a regular basis and having the White House feel like our house on Euclid Avenue. Because it's not the house, it's who's in it. My brother, my sister-in-law, my nieces and nephews, they helped to stabilize things, and I'm grateful that they were willing to be on that journey with us."
What Happens Next
Let's Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa airs Tuesdays at 5 p.m. ET on SiriusXM's Radio Andy channel and is available to stream wherever listeners get their podcasts.
The former first lady and her brother host the IMO With Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast, which releases new episodes on Wednesdays.