FACT CHECK: TikTok Video Falsely Claims Michelle Obama Is Running For President In 2024

February 16th, 2024

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 28: Former first lady Michelle Obama arrives for a memorial service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University on November 28, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Rosalynn Carter, who passed away on November 19 at the age of 96, was married to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter for 77 years. In her lifetime she was an activist and writer known to be an advocate for the elderly, affordable housing, mental health, and the protection of monarch butterflies. President Joe Biden and every living first lady are expected to attend the service. (Photo by Brynn Anderson-Pool/Getty Images)

A video shared on TikTok purports former first lady Michelle Obama is running for president in 2024.

Screenshot captured via TikTok

Verdict: False

Obama is not listed as a candidate campaigning for the 2024 presidential bid, according to the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) website. Additionally, in 2016, Obama said she would not run for president, CNN reported.

Fact Check:

Republican strategist and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove labeled theories about Obama joining the 2024 election as “pure lunacy,” according to The Hill. Rove made the remark on a recent Fox Business appearance with host Stuart Varney, the outlet reported.

The TikTok video, which has received over 300 comments, purports Obama is running for president in 2024. The video does not provide a source to support its claim.

The claim is false, however. Obama is not listed as a candidate campaigning for the 2024 presidential bid, according to the FEC’s website. Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. In fact, the opposite is true. Lead Stories also labeled the claim that the former Democratic First Lady is running for president in 2024 as false in a Feb. 14 article. (RELATED: Biden’s Job Creation Claim Ignores Key Context)

Additionally, the claim is neither featured on the Obama Foundation website nor on the former First Lady’s verified X account. Former President Barack Obama also has not publicly commented on the claim that his wife is purportedly launching a 2024 campaign.

Furthermore, in 2016, the former first lady said she would not run for president, CNN reported.

“I will not run for president. No, nope, not going to do it,” Obama said during an appearance at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, the outlet indicated.

Obama cited “a desire to be free of partisan controversy” and “her children” as her reasons for not launching a presidential bid, the outlet reported.

“They’ve handled [the presidency] with grace and with poise, but enough is enough,” Obama explained, also according to the outlet.

Despite Obama saying she does not plan to run for president in 2024, she shared that she is “terrified” of the election’s outcome, USA Today reported.

Check Your Fact has contacted Obama via the Obama Foundation for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter