Barack Obama Jokes He Won't Join Joe Biden's Cabinet Because Michelle 'Would Leave Me'

Barack Obama says he'll do anything he can to help President-elect Joe Biden during his administration -- as long as it's cool with his wife, Michelle Obama. In his first interview since Biden, his former vice president, was elected president, Obama sat down with CBS Sunday Morning's Gayle King, and said he's "not planning to suddenly work on the White House staff." 

"There are probably some things I would not be doing, because Michelle would leave me,'" he joked, when King asked if he'd serve on Biden's cabinet. "She'd be like, 'What? You're doing what?'"

The former president, whose new book, A Promised Land, releases on Tuesday, opened up more about Michelle's wish to be done with politics earlier in the interview. 

"I am mindful of the sacrifices she had made, but the good news is that for whatever reason, she has forgiven me -- sort of," he said. "She still reminds me, occasionally, of what she put up with." 

"When the presidency was over ... she was able to let go of some of the stress of feeling as if, 'I've got to get everything right all the time,'" Obama explained, adding that when he left office, Michelle was finally able to release a breath she had been holding "for close to 10 years." 

While he's not looking to hold a political office again, Obama has hit the campaign trail for Biden. In late October, he advocated for Biden while slamming President Donald Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 

"It wasn't personal," Obama said of his comments. "The truth is everything I said, I was just stating facts."

"It is not my preference to be out there," he added. "I think we were in a circumstance in this election in which certain norms, certain institutional values that are so extraordinarily important, had been breached -- that it was important for me, as somebody who had served in that office, to simply let people know, 'This is not normal.'"

Obama also discussed Trump's refusal to concede to Biden, who was announced as the projected winner of the presidential election last week. 

"Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States, Kamala [Harris] will be the next vice president," he stated, adding there is no "legal basis" for any of Trump's challenges to the result of the election. 

Obama said he's worried about how many voters cast a ballot for Trump, and what it says about the nation. "What it says is we are still deeply divided," he said. "It's very hard for our democracy to function if we're operating on completely different facts." 

See more in the video below. 

RELATED CONTENT: 

Barack Obama Reflects on His 'Absent' Father, Dedicates Memoir to Kids

Barack Obama Recalls the Toll His Presidency Took on His Marriage

Barack and Michelle Obama Congratulate Joe Biden on Projected Win

Hillary Clinton, Kim Kardashian & More Celebs React to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' Election Victory

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Up Next

Related Gallery

Swooning Over Barack and Michelle Obama's Sweetest Moments