Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently said that the United States is still not ready to elect a woman as president. This was in response to the failed 2024 presidential campaign of former Vice President Kamala Harris. Obama told actress Tracee Ellis Ross at an event in Brooklyn to promote her new book, “The Look,” that “We saw this past, sadly we ain’t ready.” You aren’t ready for a woman.
Obama talked about problems that are still going on in society, like the fact that many men still don’t like women in charge. This was clear in the election results. Harris was qualified and had been the first woman to be vice president, but Donald Trump beat her in the 2024 presidential election. Obama said that the country still has a long way to go when it comes to gender equality in political leadership.
The former first lady, who is very well-liked by Democrats, put an end to rumors that she might run for president herself by saying, “Don’t even think about running, because you’re all lying.”
Obama’s talk also showed that some voters are still against electing a woman president, even though most people support having more women in politics. Her book The Look gives us a look at how she combined fashion and politics in a way that was all her own while she was in the White House and after.
As the country thinks about the results of the 2024 election, Obama’s honest words are a sobering reminder of the challenges that women leaders still face in U.S. politics.
