Campaign

Dawn Staley asks Obama to ‘borrow’ Michelle for ‘4 short years’

by Elizabeth Crisp - 07/12/24 1:46 PM ET

Basketball icon Dawn Staley asked former President Obama earlier this week if the nation could “borrow” former first lady Michelle Obama.

“Now please let us borrow @MichelleObama for just 4 short years! First Gentleman is a good look for you,” the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball head coach said Wednesday in a post to social platform X.

Staley ran into the former president during the USA Basketball 50th anniversary reception in Las Vegas this week. Staley played eight seasons in the WNBA and has won multiple Olympic Gold medals.

The remarks saw Staley join a growing number of U.S. voters who want to see Michelle Obama at the top of the Democratic ballot, according to a recent poll that found the former first lady would be the only Democrat to beat former President Trump in a hypothetical match-up.

Basketball coach Dawn Staley is seen during Celebration Of Freedom Ceremony at Independence Hall on July 4, 2024, in Philadelphia. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Despite her popularity, Michelle Obama has repeatedly declined to pursue a bid for the Oval Office.

“As former First Lady Michelle Obama has expressed several times over the years, she will not be running for president,” her spokesperson said in a statement earlier this year. “Mrs. Obama supports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ re-election campaign.”

Michelle Obama, 60, has talked publicly about mutual negative feelings between the Obamas and Trump, who grew his political base by trashing his presidential predecessor.

Some of Trump’s GOP backers in Congress, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas), have floated the baseless idea that Democrats will replace Biden on the ballot with the former first lady.

Trump currently only leads Biden by 1 percentage point, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s aggregate of national polls.

But Biden, 81, is under mounting scrutiny following a shaky debate performance against Trump, 78, in late June. Some Democratic lawmakers have begun publicly calling for the president to step aside so another candidate can take his spot atop the November ticket.