Former first lady Michelle Obama is urging Democrats and critics of President Donald Trump not to dismiss his supporters as simply hateful or uninformed, arguing many Americans backed him out of frustration and desperation.
According to Fox News, during an appearance on the “Talk Easy” podcast, Obama reflected on Trump’s victories in both 2016 and 2024 and said economic pain and dissatisfaction with the political system pushed many voters toward the president.
Host Sam Fragoso asked Obama whether her perception of the country changed after Trump’s election wins.
Obama acknowledged feeling disappointed by the results but said she believes many voters were motivated by struggles in their everyday lives rather than ideology alone.
“And that’s true that anger, you know, I can’t look some people in the face and tell them you have no right to be angry or to do something that maybe is against your own interest,” she said.
She pointed out that some Americans who previously voted twice for former President Barack Obama later backed Trump.
“Many of the people who voted for my husband twice — twice! And I know that that’s how they feel,” Obama said. “It’s like, this isn’t about anything other than just, we need something different.”
The former first lady argued that critics often oversimplify Trump supporters by labeling them racist or uncaring.
“So, you can’t just pigeonhole them and say you just don’t care, and you’re racist or whatever you’re thinking,” she said. “This is an act of ‘I don’t know what else to do.’”
Obama also said Americans struggling with healthcare costs and rising expenses are feeling overwhelmed and abandoned by political leaders.
“I just wish we had more leaders that were figuring out how to do more for the middle class, for the working folks, because those are the folks who are drowning in this economy,” she said.
“It’s not me anymore, but I know those folks, and they’re good people, and they don’t have a way out and that makes for bad choices,” she added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Obama said the United States still has unfinished work when it comes to democracy.
She also referenced comments she made earlier this year describing the country as being in a “janky” phase.
Speaking in April on her podcast “IMO,” Obama said America regularly goes through different periods of change and turmoil.
“Well, that’s the 2.0 of life, and when we talk about how do you feel about the country? You know, there are versions of the country that happen, right?” she said at the time.
“And the new version doesn’t make the old one bad. It’s necessary for growth. And I think we’re in just a janky version.”
Obama argued that difficult moments often reveal the country’s character and pointed to community responses following ICE-related violence in Minnesota as an example of Americans supporting one another.
“But with each version, we learned something about ourselves as a country,” she said.
“And you know I’m, right now I’m kind of digging the way folks are beginning to respond.”
