Michelle Obama won't run for president in 2020, wants to 'empower' and 'make room' for young leaders instead

As the list of candidates for the 2020 Presidential election continues to grow, we can now officially rule out the former First Lady Michelle Obama.

In a recent interview, the 55-year-old ruled out running for president at any point in the future saying she wants to "make room" for younger generations who she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, hope to "empower."

Currently on a promotional tour across the United States for her book 'Becoming', which sold 1.4 million copies in its first week and went on to become the best-selling book of 2018, Michelle answered questions at the event on Thursday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX.

A Twitter fan asked what she thought she'd be doing ten years from now and an audience in the hall shouted that she would run for president, according to KXAN. Michelle shook her head and replied, "Nope, nope, nope."

"It's not us occupying the same seats, it's making room," she said, before going on to describe how she would work with her husband to empower the "next generation of leaders."

This isn't the first time Michelle has denied political ambitions, but the question keeps swinging since many, including highly placed Washington insiders, believe that Michelle’s sky-high approval ratings would prompt senior Democrats to urge her to reconsider. Polls also regularly reveal that she is more popular than Donald Trump.

Barack Obama's rise to become America’s first black President began in 2006 with the publication of his book 'The Audacity Of Hope.' Its popularity was followed the next year by his decision to run for the White House. Many had opined that Michelle, too, would follow in her husband's footsteps, running for office after the success of her book.

Last year Mike Huckabee, who failed to clinch the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, endorsed a prediction on his website saying, "Now that Michelle Obama has been named “Most Admired Woman” for 2018, it’s time for me to make a prediction for 2019: the former First Lady will toss her hat in the ring for 2020, and she will get her party’s nomination."

However, Michelle has never concurred with the popular belief. She makes it clear even in her memoir; "I’ve never been a fan of politics, and my experience over the last ten years has done little to change that."