Michelle Obama For President?

President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance in June shook the Democratic Party to its core. Although party leaders had hoped to conceal his deteriorating cognitive health from voters long enough to carry him over the finish line in November, the debate revealed the true extent of his decline to the world.

Panic set in among Democrats. After a series of suboptimal performances in post-debate interviews, rallies, and a press conference at the end of a NATO summit, it was clear: Biden had to step aside. 

His stubborn refusal to leave the race created deep divisions within the party, and conservatives watched with amused fascination as the warring factions employed the same tactics against each other that they’ve used against Republicans for so long.

On Sunday, Biden finally capitulated and announced his decision to drop out of the race. A second message followed saying he would endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to top the ticket. Slate reported that “Biden turned over his campaign—and its bank account—to Harris.”

Shortly afterward, Harris launched her presidential campaign, which reported an immediate surge in big money donations. She spent much of Sunday working the phones trying to line up delegates and gain the support of lawmakers. 

As the day wore on, key Democrats began to coalesce around her. Among the first to endorse the vice president were former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, venture capitalist and major Biden donor Reid Hoffman, and billionaire activist George Soros. 

Even several of the figures floated as potential rivals for the Democratic nomination, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, offered Harris their endorsements. It took Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer a bit longer, but she eventually endorsed Harris as well.

On Monday afternoon, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who was instrumental in the party’s effort to force Biden to withdraw, also endorsed Harris. She issued a statement saying that her support for Harris is “official, personal and political.” 

Pelosi’s endorsement comes as a bit of a surprise. Politico reported last week that in a recent meeting with California Democrats, she said she favored “an open process to choose the party’s nominee” in order to “avoid the appearance of a Kamala Harris coronation.”

Sources told CNN that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) are expected to endorse Harris soon. 

Oddly, one big name remains absent from the list of endorsers: former President Barack Obama, who is believed to be the impetus behind the effort to oust Biden.

Slate’s Jim Newell excused Obama’s hesitation, explaining that he is “already facing some backlash from the minority of Democrats who wanted Biden to stay on” and does not want to be seen as if he’s crowning the next president.

It may actually be as simple as that. Still, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps Obama has another candidate in mind. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on July 2 showed Michelle Obama would defeat Trump by a margin of 50% to 39% in a head-to-head matchup. 

I can’t help but wonder if perhaps Obama has another candidate in mind. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on July 2 showed Michelle Obama would defeat Trump by a margin of 50% to 39% in a head-to-head matchup. 

It should be noted that the same poll found Biden and Trump tied on a day when two unrelated polls, one from the Wall Street Journal and the other from NY Times/Siena, each showed Trump ahead by 6 points. 

While it’s true that Michelle Obama has repeatedly said she has no interest in running for office, many candidates say they’re not running until, suddenly, they are. We have watched Democrats abuse their power too many times to take them at their word.

The Obamas remain extremely popular. If polls over the next four weeks were to show Michelle were the only Democrat who could defeat former President Donald Trump, and delegates at the Democratic National Convention, which is being held in the Obamas’ hometown of Chicago, were to nominate her, would she refuse?

Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs in the Trump administration Monica Crowley appeared on Fox News predicted this week that “Michelle Obama may still be in the mix.” She noted the Obamas have been silent on Harris. 

“There is a reason why the Democrats moved their convention to Chicago,” Crowley said. “So they could recruit her … position her as the reluctant candidate.”

Crowley continued, “The Left’s power brokers never move without a plan. So, while everybody is distracted with this chaos circus, there are powers that be, namely Barack and Michelle Obama, and the entire Obama machine that’s essentially run this country over the last three and a half years, that wants an Obama 4 and 5.0. And what better way to do that than run Michelle where they can position her as somebody who didn’t really want to do it, but she was recruited. She’s a pristine candidate. She’s immune to criticism as a woman of color. And if they run her, they could raise about a billion dollars in two, three days.” 

“It seems unthinkable,” Crowley added, “but over the last eight, nine years, there have been a lot of unthinkable things happening here in America.” 

Just a little something for us to think about.

Elizabeth Stauffer is a Research Fellow at the Sixteenth Council