Former First Lady Michelle Obama has no plans to get into politics and was actually seen as “problematic” by some during the 2024 presidential election, a new book reveals.
During an interview on Fox News’s “Jesse Watters Primetime,” author Jonathan Allen spoke about the new book he wrote with Amie Parnes, entitled “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.”
Allen details in this book about how Vice President Kamala Harris had to hone her acting skills just three days after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential contest. Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama were scheduled to call Harris to formally support her campaign.
Allen noted that the video format, which online commenters have deemed “cringe” and “staged,” was the result of desperation.
“She had a need for speed. Why does Michelle always come off as so, like she cannot be bothered? She was supposed to do this video endorsement with her husband Barack and she did not want to get her hair and makeup done? What was that about?” Watters asked Allen.
“I think Michelle Obama does not like politics, she’s not somewhere than wants to continue to be aided this but she is a huge figure in the Democratic Party, maybe the most popular. There was a miscommunication, basically the bidens and Harris campaign was hemorrhaging cash. They choked him off after the debate performance against President Trump and they needed money, and the campaign manager thought, maybe we can turn this into some kind of viral moment, viral video, raise some money. The Obama folks were like, we will do a video but we don’t want to go on a screen, the Harris folks were like I don’t understand why they just one word — releases statement. Turns out it was a play for money, such a cringing video,” Allen added.
Watters asked: “Why did they need money? Is that they raised over $2 billion?”
“Did raise a ton of money but that it was a period where Biden’s donors choked him off completely, they could not give any money at that point. It was a huge problem, of the donors tried to get Biden to get out of the race. And the Harris campaign was taking over. Where they are not sure of is whether that money would come back. In that moment, they are trying to make payroll in August, trying to make sure they have enough money, the ended up raising an exorbitant amount of money. You did not matter because Trump had the warning message, Kamala Harris could not tell the public what she would do or why she was fit for the bill,” Allen detailed.
WATCH:
As noted by the Daily Mail, the campaign Harris inherited from Biden — which was run by Obama alum Jen O’Malley Dillon — was “hemorrhaging cash” so badly that one source told the authors “that there were concerns in Wilmington that the campaign might not make payroll in August.”
By transforming the Obamas’ support for Harris into a shareable video clip instead of a straightforward tweet or significant campaign event, O’Malley Dillon believed that making a video would be a smart way to “save a few bucks – and generate some grassroots money.”
The issue, according to the authors, is that O’Malley Dillon failed to express that.
According to Allen and Parnes, “Harris aides were shocked when they heard what they thought was a demand from the Obamas. It was allegedly the former first couple’s insistence on a campy behind-the-scenes video of Harris answering their call.”
They wrote, “Harris would need to clear her calendar to match theirs, and she would be on camera, but not the Obamas.”
“This is the window of time that Michelle and Barack have for you to take this call, and it can’t be on video because Michelle’s not going to be camera-ready,” an aide confided in the writers.
Harris’ assistants were also perplexed as to why they felt the need to create a video.
Allen and Parnes wrote, “Harris’s longtime advisers pushed back, asking why the Obamas wouldn’t just put out a paper statement or a tweet.”
“The video was the Harris campaign’s idea,” a perplexed Obama aide retorted.
The payroll issue was explained by the source who issued the warning.
“Harris had to pretend to be surprised and excited about what should have been a clear endorsement from both Obamas in order to appear genuine,” Allen and Parnes wrote.
Harris pretended to be shocked that both Barack and Michelle Obama were on the call, “Oh, hello, you two are together.”
After an aide handed Harris a phone, Harris remarked, “It’s good to hear you both.”
“We’re going to have some fun with this too, aren’t we?” Harris said to Barack and Michelle, who both expressed their pride in her.
“The optics of unity had taken on the utmost importance,” according to Harris, Allen, and Parnes. As a result, the endorsement moment’s quality and genuineness suffered.
“To reach an agreement on the most basic political act, days of intense negotiations were required,” they added. “The script and the entire frame were intended to elevate the Obamas by giving the impression that she was pleading for their approval.”
According to the authors, “this was typical bulls***.”
As rumors continue to swirl about who Democrats may run in 2028, Michelle Obama once again shut down rumors and speculation about her possibly making a presidential run.
