Michelle Obama does not want husband Barack Obama to, hypothetically, run for a third term as President of the United States.
During the Wednesday, January 21, “Call Her Daddy” podcast episode, host Alex Cooper asked Michelle, 62, all about the future — and if a possible change made by President Donald Trump would change anything for the Obama family.
“This is all hypothetical,” Cooper, 31, clarified. “If Trump does change the law and runs for a third term, hypothetically, do you think your husband would consider running?”
Michelle replied, “I hope not. I would actively work against that.”
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President Trump has previously suggested that he would be happy to run for a third term, even though the 22nd Amendment of the United States Constitution only allows a two-term limit.
“Maybe a lot of people will be like, ‘Good, we don’t want him anyway,’” Michelle added. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s what I — right.’”
Michelle explained that she thinks there’s a “need for new vision” right now.
“We’re changing and growing so fast. This is a hard job, and it requires new energy, new vision all the time,” she said. “New ways of looking at the world. So, I do believe that eight years is enough.”
Michelle’s husband, Barack, served two terms as the U.S. President from 2009 to 2017.
“There’s so many talented people out there. Why would we keep going to the same people?” Michelle continued. “How are we gonna build young leaders if the same people keep doing it again and again and again.”
She added, “There’s all these young smart people who are just looking outside with their ideas as leaders get older and older. The older you get, you just live a different life as an older, established person. I think there’s room for that wisdom, but there’s room for new ideas to come in.”
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Michelle stands firmly in her belief of supporting the “new generation” as the next wave of politicians.
“I think two terms is enough for everybody. It’s not a question of what order. It’s just like, we’ve heard and experienced your ideas,” Michelle added. “This country is constantly evolving. What are the next thoughts? People with a new set of experiences, a new take on the world.”
She concluded, “I’m really, really curious about their perspectives on how to fix some of this stuff. We don’t have all the answers and that’s OK. That’s why we move on.”
Michelle’s honest response about not wanting a hypothetical third term for Barack comes after the couple — who has been married since 1992 — faced several divorce rumors in the public eye.
While they made it clear that there’s no split in their future, Barack did previously reveal that he and Michelle had struggled in their marriage after his presidency came to an end.
“Look, I was in a deep deficit with my wife,” Barack told students at Hamilton College in April 2025. “So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”
