By Nia-Malika Henderson
The Philadelphia Tribune
https://www.phillytrib.com/
Former first lady Michelle Obama is done with politics, at least in the traditional sense.
And for anyone who has paid attention to Obama over the last few years, this pivot should come as no surprise. Like most first ladies, Obama, 61, was a reluctant one.
Her misgivings about politics and the spotlight that she and her husband commanded in the White House as historic figures have only grown in recent years. She notably skipped President Donald Trump’s second inaugural as well as the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.
Her absence will be felt. She has shown up since the 1990s for her husband and her party, delivering rousing speeches and memorable quotes. That era is now over, a shift that echoes some other Black women’s disengagement with politics.
It’s a reclaiming of their time, to paraphrase Maxine Waters.
“I am not going to be in politics,” the former first lady said on NPR’s “Wild Card with Rachel Martin,” released Thursday. “I’m not giving another political speech. I’m not campaigning for another candidate. But I’m here.”
Obama now hosts a podcast, IMO, which stands for “in my opinion” or “I’m Michelle Obama,” with her older brother Craig Robinson.
On the podcast, she talks to friends, some famous, about life, about parenting, marriage and friendship, but largely avoids overt discussions of the current political climate. She is more the chatty friend next door offering advice than the former first lady.
Obama’s traditional political oeuvre is unmatched, particularly her convention speeches beginning in 2008, which is when I started covering her. It is those speeches, delivered with ease, humanity and authenticity, that began the buzz about Obama one day becoming a candidate herself. This was always farfetched given her disdain for politics and her unnerving experience as a constant target of the right. Remember “terrorist fist jab” and the ridiculous, but supposedly satirical, New Yorker cartoon that featured a gunslinging Obama?
To hear Obama talk about that time is to hear a woman who was deeply fearful of the forces that emerged during those years. It is also to hear a woman who recognizes similar forces at play now, and sees her warning signs falling on deaf ears.
Her last political speech at former Vice President Kamala Harris’ nominating convention was among her sharpest and boldest, a clear-eyed indictment of Trump and Trumpism.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black,” she said in Chicago.
One of her biggest applause lines of the night made a callback to Trump’s viral comments that he’d protect “Black jobs” — whatever those are — from undocumented immigrants. “Wait, I want to know: Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs?’”
In leaving behind official political platforms and engagement, Obama sounds like so many other Black women right now.
This fight, for democracy, fairness and social progress, is no longer theirs in the way that it has been for decades, they have said. This “great Black step back,” this political lying flat, was noted in a New York Times piece in the days after Harris’ defeat.
At the time, I was skeptical that the activists and ordinary Black women voters who powered the Democratic Party base over recent election cycles were done, choosing self-care and rest over mobilization. I now know this is a thing, with Obama as the most high-profile example of the trend.
“Stay your ass home, stay your ass safe,” said actor and comedian Priscilla Davies on her podcast in March, reminding her listeners of the “blackcott” of certain businesses. “We need to be building community with each other … get your mind right, get prepared, make sure you are using your money to protest … I’m saying stay off the streets, stay out of the streets, stop being human shields and cannon fodder.”
I was at an appointment a few months ago, during a protest, and the Black woman who was checking me in asked me if I was attending. I said that I wasn’t.
“This is their fight,” she replied. “Let them figure it out.”
In 2024, 92% of Black women supported Harris. They made up roughly 7% of the overall electorate.
I asked a handful whether they had noticed in their own circles a shift in political engagement.
“That describes every Black woman I know,” one college friend, a lawyer, texted to me. “Ain’t a single one going to a protest.”
Another college friend, a doctor, had this to say: “Indeed there is a sense of resignation. Intentional resignation after working so hard yet feeling so out of sync with what America seems to want — based on the popular vote,” she texted. And some women say they’re afraid to speak out in the current political environment.
But women who work in politics have cautioned me not to forget the many Black women who are still deeply involved — leading organizations, lobbying lawmakers and registering voters. The work may look different in this era, but they’re still doing it.
And in a new way, Michelle Obama is too.
Her voice, unburdened by any official party system or role, will still be a culturally important one — in the way that other podcasters, celebrities and influencers shape today’s debates. This, too, is a political act, and one that fits this very moment.Stay informed and connected — subscribe to The Philadelphia Tribune NOW! Click Here
Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.
