Michelle Obama: I’m glad I don’t have a son
Michelle Obama: I’m glad I don’t have a son — he would have turned out like my husband
‘I would’ve felt for him,’ former first lady said in an episode of her podcast
Michelle Obama has said she is “so glad” she did not have a son because he would have turned out like her husband, Barack Obama.
The former first lady made the comments on a podcast amid rumours of tension in the couple’s relationship, although she has denied claims that they are on the verge of divorce.
“I’m so glad I didn’t have a boy because he would have been a Barack Obama,” Mrs Obama, who has two daughters, Sasha and Malia, said on a podcast she hosts with her brother Craig Robinson on Wednesday.
Angie Martinez, a radio personality appearing on the episode, responded: “Baby Barack. It would have been amazing.”
“No, I would’ve felt for him,” Mrs Obama countered.
Earlier in the same episode, she appeared to take a veiled swipe at her husband, who has enjoyed practising his golf game post-presidency.
“Parenting is like fly-fishing. Never been fly fishing but from what I’ve seen about it it’s all in the wrist it’s a very delicate balance... it’s like nothing works the same way every time,” she said.
“It’s elegance, right? It’s not dunk and drop and grab... We should go fly fishing. Better than golfing,” she added, laughing.
The Daily Mail reported on Thursday that Mrs Obama had flown to holiday in Mallorca with her daughters without her husband.
Photos show the 61-year-old enjoying a drink at The Lobster Club in Puerto Portals, accompanied by James Costos, the former US ambassador to Spain, and his partner Michael Smith, an interior designer who has worked for the Obamas.
However, in a previous podcast episode this month she praised Mr Obama as a “tremendous father” in an interview with singer Bruce Springsteen, whom Donald Trump recently labelled a “dried-up prune”.
Mrs Obama, who recently has opted not accompany her husband to a number of high-profile events, including the funeral of former president Jimmy Carter in January, has claimed reports of strains in her marriage are sexist.
“If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it,” she told a podcast in May.
The month before, she told podcast host Sophia Bush: “We as women, I think we struggle with, like disappointing people.
“So much so that this year people were, they couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing... that’s what society does to us.”