Michelle Obama’s name may often come up as a potential presidential contender.

But don’t even think about it, the former first lady said during an event promoting her new fashion-themed book, “The Look.”

Why? Because “as we saw in this past election, sadly, we ain’t ready,” Obama told actor Tracee Ellis Ross at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York earlier this month. Watch from the 32-minute mark here.

“That’s why I’m like, ‘Don’t even look at me about running because you all are lying,’” she continued. “You’re not ready for a woman. You are not. So don’t waste my time.”

Former first lady Michelle Obama ruled out a presidential run because America "ain't ready" for a woman in power.

via Associated Press

President Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, the first woman to ever be nominated for president by a major political party, in the 2016 presidential election. Trump then lost to former President Joe Biden in 2020, even though he refuses to admit it, and then beat Democratic rival Kamala Harris in 2024.

Obama suggested “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.”

Obama shared video of the conversation on her YouTube channel on Friday.