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Michelle Obama hits out at Donald Trump in new interview

The former first lady has made no secret of her dislike for US President Donald Trump — and she’s taken a fresh swipe at his expense.

Is Donald Trump the laziest President?

Michelle Obama is clearly no fan of Donald Trump.

But the former first lady has just had a new, subtle dig at the US President during an interview with CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King.

During the chat, the mother-of-two was asked for her opinions on what makes a “good” president — and she couldn’t resist a sledge at Mr Trump’s expense.

“I talked about this in the last campaign but nobody listened,” Ms Obama said.

“It’s a hard job, y’all … This isn’t a joke, this isn’t a game — the leader of the free world with a tweet can start a war, can crush an economy, can change the future of our children.”

Ms Obama slammed Mr Trump in the lead-up to the 2016 elections following the leaking of the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, which captured the former reality star bragging about assaulting women, and uttering the now-infamous “grab them by the p***y” line.

Michelle Obama is no fan of Donald Trump. Picture: Jim Young/AFP
Michelle Obama is no fan of Donald Trump. Picture: Jim Young/AFP

Speaking at a rally for rival Hillary Clinton, Ms Obama described the lewd comments as “shocking” and “demeaning”.

“I can’t believe that I’m saying that a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women. I can’t stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn’t have predicted,” she said at the time.

“This is not something that we can ignore. This is not something we can just sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season.”

Ms Obama’s unimpressed expression at Mr Trump’s inauguration sent tongues wagging at the time, and she also made headlines last year after claiming she “stopped even trying to smile” as the new president took over the top job from her husband.

First Lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, former president Barack Obama and a clearly unimpressed Michelle Obama at the 2017 inauguration ceremony. Picture: AFP Photo/ Jim Watson
First Lady Melania Trump, President Donald Trump, former president Barack Obama and a clearly unimpressed Michelle Obama at the 2017 inauguration ceremony. Picture: AFP Photo/ Jim Watson

In her smash-hit memoir Becoming, Ms Obama also revealed she would “never forgive” Mr Trump for putting her family at risk by fuelling the so-called “birther” conspiracy theory that Mr Obama was born outside the US — and therefore ineligible to be president — which apparently increased threats against the family.

“Donald Trump, with his loud and reckless innuendos, was putting my family’s safety at risk,” Ms Obama wrote.

“And for this, I’d never forgive him.”

During the latest interview with Ms King, Ms Obama said a good president must have “deep seriousness and focus” and must operate “with a clear base of facts and ideas”.

“Someone who is careful with their words, somebody who is trustworthy, someone who is loyal and honest,” she said.

“I fear at times Barack made it look easy — I guess it’s kind of like if the black guy can do it, anybody can do it … and that’s not true. It’s a hard job.”

Given Mr Trump’s penchant for rapid-fire tweets and his complicated relationship with facts, it is easy to interpret Ms Obama’s words as a subtle but direct crack at Mr Trump — who late last year famously said he always tried to tell the truth — “when he can”.

Mr Trump raised eyebrows when he said he always told the truth — “when I can”. Picture: Alex Edelman/AFP
Mr Trump raised eyebrows when he said he always told the truth — “when I can”. Picture: Alex Edelman/AFP

That claim was made during an interview with White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, who asked Mr Trump if he had kept his campaign promise to “never lie” to the American public.

“Well, I try. I do try, I think you try too. You say things about me that aren’t necessarily correct,” Mr Trump claimed.

“I do try, and I always want to tell the truth. When I can, I tell the truth.

“And sometimes it turns out to be where something happens that’s different or there’s a change, but I always like to be truthful.”

However, according to The Washington Post’s Fact Checker report published in late 2018, Mr Trump had made more than 5000 false or misleading claims in the first 601 days of his presidency — an average of 8.3 claims a day — and according to the publication, that statistic is increasing.

Continue the conversation @carey_alexis | alexis.carey@news.com.au

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/michelle-obama-hits-out-at-donald-trump-in-new-interview/news-story/493f794c1b0ae43df3e0d3f34a2711c3