Michelle Obama on historic midterms and whether Hillary Clinton should run in 2020
Former first lady Michelle Obama, in an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts, said the results of the midterm elections were inspiring and addressed whether Hillary Clinton should run for office again.
“I think that this election gives us hope,” Obama told Roberts Tuesday of the 2018 election. “I’m not talking about what it means for one side or the other. What it speaks to is that our democracy is still ours to own and control.”
“Thank God people saw that voting matters,” she said.
Obama spoke to Roberts in a live interview in Chicago on the day her memoir, “Becoming,” was released. “Becoming” is an in-depth, personal look at Obama’s life before, during and after her family’s eight years in the White House.
The former first lady has consistently said she is not interested and has no plans to run for public office. When asked what potential candidates she is watching for the 2020 presidential election, including Hillary Clinton, Obama joked that maybe she could tap her teenage daughter Sasha to run.
“I think at this point everybody is qualified and everybody should run,” she said. “I might even tap Sasha.”
When asked if her joke was in reference to President Donald Trump, Obama clarified her response, adding, “Where I am right now is that anybody who feels the passion to get in this race, we need them in there.”
“I hope we have a lot of great candidates who get in there and treat each other respectfully,” she said. “That’s the thing I’m going to be looking for personally.”
“I don’t want people on either party tearing each other up in the process of getting to the nomination,” Obama added. “I’m going to be looking closely at who handles themselves and each other with dignity and respect so that by the time people get to the general people aren’t beat up and battered.”
In her memoir, Obama writes about deeply personal issues, including her past fertility and marital struggles, her anger at President Donald Trump and the bigotry and hate she encountered on the campaign trail.
“Becoming” is expected to be a bestselling book. Oprah Winfrey announced on the eve of the book’s release that she had selected it for her next book club.
Winfrey will interview Obama in Chicago Tuesday night — the first stop on her high-profile book tour.
She’ll be joined by Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michele Norris and former White House aide Valerie Jarrett, among others, as she travels across the country to discuss her book.
Obama kicked off her book tour Monday by talking with students at her alma mater, Chicago’s Whitney M. Young Magnet High School.
ABC News’ Teri Whitcraft contributed to this report.
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