{"id":13699,"date":"2025-11-13T16:28:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T08:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13699"},"modified":"2025-11-13T16:28:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T08:28:56","slug":"michelle-obama-presidents-should-set-standard-on-gifts-not-give-wealthy-people-more-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13699","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Obama: Presidents should set \u2018standard\u2019 on gifts, not give \u2018wealthy people\u2019 more access"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Michelle Obama is seemingly sounding off on President Trump without naming him, saying that commanders in chief have to set \u201ca standard\u201d in the White House around accepting gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you are the commander in chief, there\u2019s a standard at which you have to set for the American people. And some of these things aren\u2019t even laws \u2014 they\u2019re just norms,\u201d Obama said while speaking Wednesday at Sixth and I synagogue and arts center in Washington as part of a wide-ranging discussion to promote \u201cThe Look,\u201d her new book with longtime stylist Meredith Koop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re just things that you do because you don\u2019t want the people to feel like wealthy people have a different level of access and access to power,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo that means you got to say \u2018no\u2019 a lot,\u201d she said, before adding, \u201cOur motto was: If it looks like fun, we can\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former first lady recounted that early in former President Obama\u2019s political career, Oprah Winfrey mailed her a massive package as a thank-you gift following an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KTXL: Gov polls latest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Winfrey] sends a box of then-Ralph Lauren\u2019s first-edition clothing line. It was like three suits, seven sweaters. I mean, it was an Oprah-sized gift,\u201d Obama said of the former talk show host\u2019s present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Obama said her husband quickly told her, \u201cYou can\u2019t keep that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s like, \u2018I\u2019m in office. We don\u2019t accept gifts.’\u201d Obama recalled, before quipping to the audience with a grin, \u201cImagine that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Trump\u2019s name was never mentioned throughout the conversation with New York Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris, Obama also weighed in on the demolition of the East Wing of the White House. The space, which housed the first lady\u2019s office and other departments, was torn down last month to make way for the 47th president\u2019s plan for a massive, privately funded ballroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama highlighted her and former President Obama\u2019s approach to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., saying, \u201cThat was one of the things we wanted to do in the White House, was open it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur view was this is not our house. We are here to do a job. We\u2019re here for a turn. We\u2019re here for a moment. We are caretakers of this history, and it\u2019s about bringing more people in,\u201d Obama, 61, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was always the kid growing up in the South Side of Chicago that didn\u2019t feel welcome in some of these fancy places. You go to the big store downtown and all of a sudden somebody\u2019s following you. Or you go into the museum, and people think that you don\u2019t belong,\u201d the nation\u2019s first Black first lady, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen Barack and I were there, we were thinking about those kids like us who were outside of the gates of the South Lawn looking in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery president has the right to do what they want in that house, so that\u2019s why we got to be clear on who we let in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the sit-down with Morris \u2014 which was being recorded as part of a limited series for Obama\u2019s \u201cIMO\u201d podcast \u2014 the \u201cBecoming\u201d author also drew laughs from the sold-out crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While she has said that former President Obama wore the same tuxedo for eight years while the couple was in the White House, she announced to cheers from the audience, \u201cHe got another tux!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama said that an archive of many of her dresses will be on exhibit at the Obama Presidential Center, poised to open in Chicago in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI kept telling Barack, that\u2019s what people are coming for,\u201d she cracked to Morris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also revealed that her husband will likely have one of his most famous \u2014 and infamous \u2014 outfits on display at the eponymous center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll probably have his tan suit. That\u2019ll be his contribution,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama praised her team \u2014 including Koop, makeup artist Carl Ray, and hairstylists Yene Damtew and Njeri Radway \u2014 for understanding the unique role and mission of a first lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe odd part of the first lady position is that, I guess I\u2019m famous, but I\u2019m not a celebrity,\u201d Obama said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[With] a celebrity stylist, you\u2019re styling for beauty. You\u2019re styling to be seen,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m styling to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her aim with the style and fashion book, Obama said, was to show that \u201cbeauty comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t one way to wear your hair. There isn\u2019t one way to look professional,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t one way of showing up as an American.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Obama is seemingly sounding off on President Trump without naming him, saying that commanders in chief have to set \u201ca standard\u201d in the White House around accepting gifts. \u201cWhen you are the commander in chief, there\u2019s a standard at which you have to set for the American people. And some of these things aren\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3777,2662,3778],"class_list":["post-13699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-michelle","tag-obama","tag-presidents"],"yoast_head":"\nMichelle Obama: Presidents should set \u2018standard\u2019 on gifts, not give \u2018wealthy people\u2019 more access - LISTEN WORLD<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tingchao.xyz\/?p=13699\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michelle Obama: Presidents should set \u2018standard\u2019 on gifts, not give \u2018wealthy people\u2019 more access - LISTEN WORLD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michelle Obama is seemingly sounding off on President Trump without naming him, saying that commanders in chief have to set \u201ca standard\u201d in the White House around accepting gifts. \u201cWhen you are the commander in chief, there\u2019s a standard at which you have to set for the American people. 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