OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
11:45 AM – Thursday, November 20, 2025
Former First Lady Michelle Obama says that the U.S. still isn’t ready for a woman president—yet several “high-profile” women on the left and in the media strongly disagree—making their opinions known.
Michelle Obama made the comment during a live conversation on November 5th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York City. She was interviewed by actress Tracee Ellis Ross to promote her new book “The Look,” which explores her “fashion journey” and experiences as First Lady. The discussion touched on “gender biases” in politics, the 2024 election loss of Kamala Harris, and why she has no interest in a presidential run.
Democrats frequently muse over a presidential run from the former first lady, though she adamantly rejected the idea once more in the discussion, instead choosing to promote her new book.
“As we saw in the past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” Mrs. Obama said, referring to the last 2024 presidential election where former Vice President Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) lost to now-President Donald Trump.
“That’s why I’m like, don’t even look at me about running because you all are lying. You’re not ready for a woman. You are not. So, don’t waste my time,” she added. “We got a lot of growing up to do. And there’s still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman. And we saw it.”
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During the 2024 election, her husband, former Democrat President Barack Obama, called on men in the United States to consider the effects of a Trump victory, citing so-called “reproductive rights,” a phrase that Democrats use to refer to abortions, saying: “Fellas, before you cast your votes, ask yourselves, what kind of history do you want to be on?”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) asserted on Wednesday that she strongly disagreed with the former First Lady — despite still respecting her.
“I respect her, and I know ‘that view’ is one that saddens us all, but I think we have to change,” Pelosi said to CNN host Anderson Cooper. “The fact is, I’ve heard every excuse in the book, like, ‘I’m not sure a woman could be commander in chief.’ Well, why not?”
Pelosi also pointed to her own trailblazing career, beginning with her election to Congress in 1987, as proof that women have long been shattering barriers in the U.S. government.
“I do think it’s hard, Anderson. I always thought we would have a woman president long before we had a woman Speaker of the House. I didn’t set out to be Speaker,” she explained.
Pelosi made history as the first woman to lead a major political party in Congress when she became House minority whip in 2001. She then became minority leader in 2002, and ultimately served as speaker of the House for two terms. She announced earlier this month that she would not be seeking reelection in 2026, planning to retire in January 2027.
Soon after, the hosts of ABC’s “The View” program similarly rejected the former first lady’s argument.
“I respectfully disagree with the first lady,” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said. “I don’t think that we’re not ready. I think when you look at the two candidates that were Democratic nominees, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, there is sexism that plays in. [And] they were flawed candidates.”
Another host, Joy Behar, also quickly chimed in to highlight that “men are flawed too,” emphasizing that several other countries have elected female presidents, such as Mexico and Iceland, in addition to “many African countries.”
“She was not the best female candidate we were ever going to see run,” Griffin said of Harris.
When asked by Behar who the best female candidate was, Griffin responded by saying that “we haven’t had one yet.”
Soon after, another co-host, Ana Navarro, joined the conversation by recalling when she personally asked Harris if the country was ready for a woman chief-of-state during a commercial break — while filming an episode in October.
“She said, ‘I refuse to tell little girls, specifically little girls of color, that they’re out of the game just because of who they are,’” Navarro relayed.
Fellow host Sunny Hostin agreed with this sentiment, saying, “That’s great, I think that is very aspirational and that’s wonderful. Because of my lived experience, as an Afro-Latina, I’m able to look at this world with a different prism, and I’m able to tell this country and tell this audience and tell my fellow co-hosts some uncomfortable truths. This is a country based on racism and slavery, and founded in it, there is systemic racism and misogyny.”
“I never met anyone that raises their hand and says, ‘I’m racist.’ However, there are people that seem to be able to look the other way when it comes to racism. So you have a president who traffics in misogyny, who traffics in xenophobia, who traffics in sexism, and won against a Black woman,” she added.
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