Rumors about Michelle Obama
Why the Republicans are so sure that Trump’s challenger will not ultimately be named Joe Biden
© private / star
Michelle Obama seems to inspire a kind of primal fear among conservatives. starAuthor Jan Christoph Wiechmann was amazed at the Republican obsession with the former First Lady during his trip through the USA.
In the small town of Derry there is a diner called Mary Ann’s, where the day’s calorie needs are met after breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and buttered toast. I was asking a woman from Massachusetts what she thought of the Republican candidates when her husband jumped in less than ten seconds later and pointed out that he used to be a representative in the area. He said that Biden had no chance against Trump because he was already senile in November, but that Democrats would replace him with Michelle Obama. “Michelle is the only star they have.”
“I see it the same way as my husband,” said the woman.
The interviews in the diner were supposed to be about the Republicans’ favorites. But after just ten seconds we were at Michelle Obama.
Michelle generates the enthusiasm Democrats lack
40 kilometers further north in Manchester, in a queue at a Trump event, a nurse who had traveled 300 kilometers from Connecticut said in response to the same question: “Biden is an easy opponent. But the Democrats somehow shrug it off and move forward the election of Michelle Obama out of the hat. She is formidable. She brings the enthusiasm that they lack.”
This is the attitude of many Trump supporters: Biden is not a problem for Trump. He’ll be in the nursing home until November. But they have a kind of obsession with strong Michelle Obama, much like they have with strong Taylor Swift.
The nurse’s friend said that, as a Republican, she prays that nothing happens to Biden before the election and that he doesn’t fall – over a step or his words – so that Trump can then crush him in November. “Otherwise young Gavin Newsom or Michelle Obama will join the race, and then everything will be open again.”
There are no signs that Michelle Obama could run. But all sorts of rumors are circulating on social media and right-wing radio talk shows, fueled by America’s top conspiracy theorist and Trump intimate Roger Stone: “I continue to predict – as I have done for more than two years – that Michelle Obama will be the candidate in 2024 of the Democratic Party.”
I like listening to right-wing talk radio when I’m on the highways; it’s a lot more entertaining than left-wing talk radio because it’s so much more absurd. The other day, in the middle of Massachusetts, the ultra-right host Megyn Kelly said on her show: “There’s no question that Michelle Obama has more political talent than Joe Biden. If she were to consider running, it would turn the entire race on its head.”
The next day the topic was everywhere again. From the right-wing talk show it reached the right-wing tabloid New York Post and the right-wing news site Newsmax and into the right-wing Facebook feeds. Michelle Obama seems to inspire a kind of primal fear among Republicans. Just like Trump with Democrats.
You can also make good ratings with Michelle Obama. Like with Trump.
Absurd: Democrats voted for Trump so Biden would win
Opinion polls even seem to support this. The most popular among Democrats is Michelle Obama. According to betting shops, her chances of winning the White House are greater than those of Vice President Kamala Harris or California Gov. Gavin Newsom or any other Democrat except Biden.
Something similar is happening with the Democrats. Almost every Democrat you talk to says Biden has the best chance against Trump. He has the worst chances against Nikki Haley.
This leads to all sorts of absurdities. In Pittsburgh, a Democratic local leader told me that he was doing everything he could to ensure that Trump won the Republican primary because only then would Biden have a chance of winning in November.
“So, as a democrat, you are betting on an autocrat?” I asked.
“So that we preserve democracy,” he replied.
It’s probably like this: Until she resigned, the Democrats were most afraid of Nikki Haley, a strong woman, the daughter of Indian immigrants, who is rather pragmatic. And the Republicans are still most afraid of Michelle Obama, a strong woman, the daughter of African-American middle class people, who is rather pragmatic.
It wouldn’t be the worst duel. Nikki versus Michelle. Nobody really wants the duel between Trump and Biden.
Annie Lenox’s great song “Sisters are doin’ it for themselves” was playing on the car radio, now near Lexington, Massachusetts, where the American Revolutionary War once began, and you could get in a good mood again for a moment.