Michelle Obama has expressed her dismay about the prospects of the 2024 election cycle, USA Today

Appearing on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast on Monday (Jan. 8), the former First Lady revealed just how high the stakes are in the upcoming Presidential election.

“Our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit – it affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take for granted,” Obama said. "I am terrified about what could possibly happen."

“The fact that people think that government — ‘eh, does it really even do anything?’ — and I’m like ‘Oh my God, does government do everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted,” she continued. “And I worry sometimes that we do. Those are the things that keep me up.”

Although she didn’t name Donald Trump during the conversation, Obama stated that there were political candidates who continue to divide the nation with their divisive rhetoric.

“We can’t just say what the first thing that comes to our minds. That is not authenticity to me,” she said. “ That’s childish, and we see childish leadership right before us – what that looks like and how that feels, where somebody is just base, and vulgar and cynical in a leadership position.”

She also pointed out that a Black man could not run for the highest office in the country while facing numerous indictments.

“Other people can be indicted a bunch of times and still run for office. Black men can’t,” Obama said. “You just learn to be good. And in the end, you benefit from that extra resilience.”

For those on the Democratic side, new strategies must be deployed to reengage some of their Black constituents who have lost enthusiasm for President Joe Biden and his administration. According to a survey conducted by Politico, 63 percent of Black Americans would vote for Biden which is a 30 percent decline from 2020.

Another study conducted by GenForward, at the University of Chicago, discovered that 20 percent of Black voters would rather vote for someone other than Trump or Biden. 

“If Joe Biden fails, it’s not going to be because Black people voted for Donald Trump,” Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher said.

In anticipation of a contentious battle for the White House, former President Barack Obama advised Biden “to change the structure of his reelection campaign” the Washington Post reported.