Former First Lady Michelle Obama claimed America was "struggling enough" to accept a Black first family, revealing earlier this month that she intentionally avoided wearing her hair in braids while in the White House to prevent political distraction.Speaking at ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans July 3, Obama detailed the calculations behind her appearance, accusing the media and political rivals of weaponizing fashion coverage during the 2008 election cycle to "diminish" her status as a growing campaign threat."I started wearing my hair in braids in college, right? But as I went up the professional ranks, being a lawyer, they wanted, you know, I didn't want my hair to be a part of the conversation," Obama said in a clip released Wednesday on her YouTube channel.OBAMA BLAMES SPLINTERED MEDIA FOR PREVENTING SUPERSTAR DEMOCRAT FROM RISING UPFormer first lady Michelle Obama spoke during the dedication ceremony for the Barack Obama Presidential Center in John Lewis Plaza on June 18, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)"So I made the decision, you know, look, America is struggling enough to accept the first Black president and first lady.
I'm not going to make my hair the issue," she added.Obama said that during her husband’s 2008 campaign, the political press purposefully tried to change the surrounding conversations to instead focus on her shoes or clothes.She recalled giving a speech in Iowa, noting she brought in larger crowds than her husband’s rivals, but that the more popular she got, the more articles focused on her appearance."The more popular I became, the more of a threat I became.
It was interesting.That’s when the articles started coming out," Obama said.
"This is when I understood like, this is politics, oh, they're coming after me because I'm useful.And they're trying to beat my husband, so they're trying to slow me down, right?"ANA NAVARRO AND FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN AIDE CLASH OVER PRESIDENT'S COMBATIVE EXCHANGES WITH FEMALE JOURNAL...