5 Times Michelle Obama Has Taken A Public Dig At Donald Trump

You don't need a presidential news conference to know that Michelle Obama isn't Donald Trump's biggest fan. Throughout the years, the former first lady has taken several jabs at Trump not just on his policies but also regarding who he is as a person.

The tension between Michelle and Trump likely arose when he announced his presidential candidacy in 2015. It's no secret Trump had some controversial stances, many of which went against what Michelle's husband Barack Obama had built during his presidency. Throughout Trump's run, Michelle criticized the future president. Initially, this didn't get to the businessman. "Look, she's the first lady. She's got to say what she's got to say. I mean, I understand that. That's the game," he told ABC News.

Despite Michelle's efforts to get Hillary Clinton elected, Trump became the 45th president of the United States. Even though Michelle was disappointed, she was willing to give Trump a shot at first. "This is our democracy, and this is how it works," she told People after Trump won in 2016. "We are ready to work with the next administration and make sure they are as successful as they can be. Because that's what's best for this country." 

Michelle may have been willing to give Trump a chance, but throughout his presidency and even after, Trump's controversial opinions made it difficult for Michelle to support him. Now, she has not been shy about sharing her criticism toward the former president in public digs.

Michelle Obama's jabs toward Donald Trump began not long after he entered the White House. In 2018, the former first lady did a sit-down interview at the Simmons Leadership Conference and revealed her opinion on Barack Obama's presidency versus Trump's, per People. "I think what we see is what happens when we take things for granted," she said.

Michelle explained what she meant, throwing shade at President Trump in the process. "For the eight years Barack was president, it was like having the 'good parent' at home," she said. "The responsible parent, the one who told you to eat your carrots and go to bed on time." Michelle had nothing but praise for her husband's presidential run, but when it came to her opinion on Trump's, well, it's safe to say she wasn't a fan. She said, "And now we have the other parent. We thought it'd feel fun, maybe it feels fun for now because we can eat candy all day and stay up late, and not follow the rules."

Trump did make drastic changes during his time in the White House, even in the first year, per NBC News. From signing executive orders that worked to remove Obamacare to implementing more border security, the president was using his power like no former president had ever done before. Many who oppose his beliefs, including Michelle, were willing to share their criticism of how Trump was doing things.

Donald Trump had plenty of adversaries during his presidency, including some important congresswomen. Democratic U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota weren't shy about sharing their criticism of Trump, and this irked the former president. Trump is known to go below the belt in his comments, and in 2019, the businessman made racist remarks toward all four congresswomen.

According to CNN, the president reportedly tweeted the four congresswomen could "go back" to where they are from. Although he was implying that they were from other countries, Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, and Tlaib, were born in the United States, and Omar became a U.S. citizen when she was 17. The hatred toward the four congresswomen didn't stop there as Omar was targeted during one of Trump's rallies, where the crowd erupted in "Send her back" chants. News of Trump's racist remarks took over the headlines, and Michelle Obama subtly threw shade at Trump as she came to the congresswomen's defense.

"What truly makes our country great is its diversity," Obama wrote in a tweet. "I've seen that beauty in so many ways over the years. Whether we are born here or seek refuge here, there's a place for us all. We must remember it's not my America or your America. It's our America." Obama didn't mention Trump explicitly, but it was clear the first lady was taking a dig at the president.

Michelle Obama pulled all the stops as the 2020 election slowly approached. Attempting to win his second go at the presidency, Donald Trump was going head to head with then-presidential Democratic nominee Joe Biden. With voting looming, Obama used her political status as an attempt to get the public to vote in a speech at the Democratic National Convention.

The former first lady not only pleaded for the public to get to the voting booths but to cast their vote for Joe Biden, per CNN. She then criticized Trump's presidency in some harsh words. "Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country," she said. "He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us." Seeing how Trump's presidency unfolded, Obama didn't want to repeat history and was willing to throw him under the bus.

Of course, Trump refused to let Obama's comments slide and responded in a sarcastic tweet to the former first lady. "Somebody please explain to @MichelleObama that Donald J. Trump would not be here, in the beautiful White House, if it weren't for the job done by your husband, Barack Obama," he wrote. "Biden was merely an afterthought, a good reason for that very late & unenthusiastic endorsement ..."

Donald Trump has had some outrageous, controversial, and sometimes confusing tweets. The former president used X, formerly known as Twitter, more than some people may have liked. Trump isn't afraid to talk about any topic on X. In 2018, he used X to comment on the Stormy Daniels case, calling her a "horseface" and a "con" for the claims she made against him. In 2020, Trump took to X to claim he won the election. "Great. Most corrupt Election in history, by far. We won!!!" he shared. Trump has never been afraid to share his opinion online, even when it has caused controversy.

His social media use has become the butt of many jokes, including Michelle Obama, who took a jab at the former president's tweets, per Page Six. While appearing in Toronto for a speech in 2017, the former first lady threw some shade at Trump, telling people that it's "never a good idea" to put your first thoughts on social media and neither is it smart to "tweet from bed." Obama never mentioned Trump by name, but it seemed clear to everyone that she was talking about the president. And before moving on to the next topic, Obama took one last jab at Trump's tweets, saying, "Then you need to edit and spell-check it." Clearly, the former first lady is not a fan of Trump's social media use.

Michelle Obama threw some major shade at Donald Trump and even admitted it herself. When appearing on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in April 2023, Obama revealed that she was never invited back to the White House following her departure after Trump took over the presidency. Fallon began the conversation by saying, "... you went back to the White House recently. You haven't been back," that's when Obama interjected and said, "No. Wasn't invited. Ooh, shade."

According to The Independent, the typical tradition following a new president is to invite the former president to unveil and hang their portraits in the White House. Well, Obama revealed that Trump opted out of this tradition. She explained, "... that's a tradition. You do your official portraits. The next president is supposed to invite you back to hang them. We were never invited back. So, these pictures have been done for a long, long time." It's unclear why Trump did not invite the Obamas back, but considering he was never a big supporter of them and has taken untraditional roots in his presidency, it wasn't a big shock.

Michelle and Barack Obama were officially invited back in 2022 to finally hang their portraits, and it wasn't because Trump had a change of heart, but because former friend Joe Biden was president.