OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Editor’s Note: An original version of this story featured a headline that didn’t adequately state that it was Roger Stone’s opinion that Michelle Obama would run for president in 2024 and win the nomination. As noted by FactCheck.org, “Joe Biden has said he will seek a second term, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson have said they will challenge him for the 2024 Democratic nomination.” We have corrected our headlines to be more accurate and regret the error.
A self-proclaimed “political icon” on the right made a prediction about who will actually become the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, and it’s a name that others have tossed about as well.
During a speech at a Turning Point USA event over the weekend in West Palm Beach, Fla., conservative pundit and operative Roger Stone said he believes that Michelle Obama will actually be atop the Democratic Party’s ticket, not President Joe Biden.
“I predict that Michelle Obama will be the Democrat Party Nominee for President in 2024,” Stone tweeted along with a clip of his speech. “You heard it here first.”
Others have previously made the prediction, though, including The Western Journal founder Floyd Brown.
That said, Obama has repeatedly stated she is not interested in running for the presidency. In November, speaking to Naga Munchetty on BBC Breakfast, the former first lady said she “detests” being asked whether she would ever consider running for the top position herself.
“No,” Obama said before the host moved on.
Earlier that week, Obama made headlines during an interview on ABC News when she paused for several seconds when asked about whether she would support President Joe Biden running for a second term in 2024.
In an interview, Obama appeared to be caught off guard by the question and stammered through her answer when asked by ABC’s Robin Roberts if she hopes Biden will run for reelection.
“I — will have to see. The reason I don’t speak on that is because I know what it feels like to be on the other side of it, and I think that that’s a personal decision that he and his family have to make,” Obama said. “Probably, if I hadn’t been through it, I’d feel more cavalier about opining on it, but I know it’s a personal call, and I don’t want to be one of the millions of people weighing in on what he should do, he and Jill should do.”
Nevertheless, some Democrats continued to push for Michelle O to run earlier this year.
Although Democratic leaders are publicly endorsing Biden as their nominee for the 2024 presidential election, there are ongoing discussions among Democrats about who would be the best leader to defeat former President Donald Trump in a potential face-off.
Douglas MacKinnon, a former White House and Pentagon official, suggested that if neither Biden nor Harris were chosen, Democrats could turn to a past superstar to create a stronger ticket, the outlet reported.
One of the names that came up as a potential contender during the previous Democratic presidential primary was the former first lady.
A Politico article published recently suggests that some “high-level Democrats” harbor doubts about Biden and may only be supporting him out of fear of what the party’s ticket would look like without him.
“High-level Democrats are rallying to President Biden’s reelection, not because they think it’s in the best interest of the country to have an 82-year-old start a second term but because they fear the potential alternative: the nomination of Kamala Harris and election of Donald Trump,” the report read.
In the 2020 presidential election, Biden and Harris reportedly broke records by receiving more votes than any other ticket in U.S. history, defeating then-President Donald Trump. However, three years later, Biden’s approval rating has fallen to the 40s, and his frequent verbal missteps have caused headaches for the White House press team, Fox News noted.
Myra Adams, an opinion contributor for The Hill, also said in February she believes that the Democrats’ best chance for winning in 2024 is Michelle O.
“As of this writing, a 2024 run by Mrs. Obama has been characterized as a baseless rumor, injecting fear into Republicans’ bloodstreams to help fundraising. For years Obama has consistently rejected the prospect. During a 2018 interview, when asked about a 2020 run, she famously said, ‘first of all, you have to want the job,’ the implication being that she didn’t want the job,” Adams wrote.
