Barack Obama is offering a rare glimpse into his post-presidency life.
Speaking at a Jefferson Educational Society event in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, the former president joked that much of his time since leaving the White House in 2016 has been spent trying to stay in his wife’s good graces.
“I have spent over eight years now trying to dig myself out of a hole with Michelle,” Obama, 64, said.
“And that’s been challenging, but I feel like I’m making progress. I’m almost breaking even at the moment.”
The comment comes after months of online speculation that the Obamas were headed for divorce. The rumors reached a boiling point in January after the former first lady skipped both the funeral of President Jimmy Carter and the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
At times, Obama has fueled the flames. In April, the former president admitted during an interview that he was in a “deep deficit” with Michelle after his presidential terms.
“I was in a deep deficit with my wife,” he told Hamilton College President Steven Tepper. “So I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things.”
For her part, Michelle has bluntly shutdown divorce rumors.
“My decision to skip the inauguration—or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me—were met with such ridicule and criticism,” Michelle, 61, said in an April episode of her podcast IMO.
“People couldn’t believe that I was saying no for any other reason. They had to assume that my marriage was falling apart.”
The couple set the record straight in July during a joint appearance on Michelle’s podcast.
Michelle brother and co-host, Craig Robinson, was first to address the rumors, quipping, “What, you guys like each other?” as the former president entered the room.
“She took me back!” Obama jokingly replied. “It was touch and go for a while!”
The former president on Tuesday made a second reference to Michelle while speaking about conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on September 10.
In a 2023 episode of his podcast, Kirk had claimed that Michelle, Joy Reid, the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had all “stolen a white person’s slot” to reach their success.
Obama offered condolences for Kirk’s family but didn’t hold back in slamming his comment.
“He’s a young man with two small children and a wife who obviously — and a huge number of friends and supporters who cared about him. And so, we have to extend grace to people during their period of mourning and shock,” Obama said.
He added:“At the same time…I can say that I disagree with the suggestion that my wife or Justice Jackson does not have adequate brain processing power."
Obama, who spent much of his post-presidency avoiding the political spotlight, has become increasingly vocal in recent months.
Last month, he issued a chilling warning on X about what he called the “dangerous trend” of the federalization and militarization of local and state law enforcement since Trump’s return to office in January.
That followed a rare public rebuke in July, in which Obama condemned the “constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House.”
He has also voiced support for California Governor Gavin Newsom’s challenge to gerrymandering efforts in Texas.
