Michelle Obama says her 'door is open' for Melania Trump in candid 'exit' interview with Oprah Winfrey

Just when we thought we were finally getting used to the idea of Michelle Obama no longer being the First Lady, she goes and gives another brilliant interview and leaves us bereft that she’s soon to be exiting the White House.

In a candid ‘exit’ interview with chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, Mrs Obama reflected on the family’s time in office, while also covering issues including the current feeling in the US following Donald Trump’s election victory and the stereotyping she’s had to face over the last eight years.

Asked what it felt like to be called an “angry black woman” by her critics, Mrs Obama revealed the jibe had really hurt her. “That was one of those things where you just sort of think, ‘Dang, you don’t even know me,’” she told Oprah.

“You just sort of feel like, ‘Wow, where’d that come from?’ But then you sort of think, ‘This isn’t about me.’ This is about the person or people who write it, you know? That’s just the truth.”

Speaking as she prepares to exit the White House, Michele Obama also spoke candidly about the past election, describing the whole process as a “painful” experience.

“You know, this past election was challenging for me as a — as a citizen. To watch and experience. It was painful,” she said.

Though she didn’t mention the new President-elect by name, she did describe the overall feeling the US has been experiencing since the election, but said it was important to remain hopeful about the future.

“See, now we are feeling what not having hope feels like, you know,” she said. “Hope is necessary. It is a necessary concept. What do you give your kids if you can’t give them hope?”

The outgoing First Lady also discussed her initial meeting with Melania Trump just after Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton to become the President-elect. Revealing that the two women discussed their children, she went on to say that her door would always be open to Melania.

“My offer to Melania was, you really don’t know what you don’t know until you’re here, so the door is open,” said Obama. “I’ve told her and as Laura Bush told me and other first ladies told me… We will do whatever they need to help them succeed.”

“You know, you don’t have questions the day after the election. It’s just sort of like, you’re looking around the house and it is like, ‘What do you want to know?’ And it’s like, ‘I don’t know what I should know,” she continued.

Following the rumours and petitions calling for Mrs Obama to run for president herself in 2020, the question of whether it was something she’d consider was also raised, to which she gave a rather definitive answer.

“No. Look, that is one thing I don’t do, I don’t make things up. If I were interested I would say it. But it’s not something I would do,” she told Oprah.

According to Obama, if there are any conversations happening about her heading into politics, it’s not something she’s having any part of right now.

The outgoing first lady had one final piece of advice for young people about dealing with living life under the scrutiny of others.

“I thought, ‘OK, well, let me live my life out loud so that people can then see and then judge for themselves,'” she said. “And that’s what I want young people to do: Just live your life. Live it out loud.”

We might just make that our New Year’s Resolution!

What do you think of the interview? Let us know @YahooStyleUK

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