SXSW: Michelle Obama Will Not Seek Presidential Run

First lady has no desire to do what Hillary Clinton is doing and seek the same office her husband holds. “Enough,” she said

Michelle Obama SXSW

First lady Michelle Obama does not have designs on the Oval Office, she said during a panel at the South by Southwest Music Festival.

In town on Wednesday for a discussion about empowering young females, and sitting alongside music luminaries like Diane Warren and Missy Elliot, Mrs. Obama fielded a question about her desire to pursue her husband’s position — a process Hillary Clinton is currently undertaking.

“No, no. Not going to do it,” she told the crowd. She cited daughters Sasha and Malia as reasons she had no higher political aspirations.

“The daughters of a president. Just think about it. Come on, young people. Not so easy,” Obama said. “They’ve handled it with grace and with poise, but enough. Enough.”

According to The Associated Press, Obama avoided topics like the current election cycle at the festival in Austin, Texas, sticking mostly to her initiative “Let Girls Learn,” a White House-supported program that seeks to educate young women around the world.

“Sometimes there’s much more you can do outside the White House without the constraints, the lights and the cameras, and the partisanship,” Obama said of her work.

“There’s a potential that my voice can be heard by people who can’t hear me now because I’m Michelle Obama, the first lady. I want to be able to impact as many people as possible in an unbiased way to try to keep reaching people. I think I can do that just as well by not being president of the United States.”

President Obama appeared at the conference days earlier, for the interactive portion. Get TheWrap’s full SXSW film coverage here.

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