Michelle Obama has dismissed her portrayal as “some angry black woman” in response to a new book that purports to lift the lid on her husband’s administration and her tempestuous relationship with his aides.
The Obamas, written by New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor, was handed a priceless piece of promotion when the First Lady was asked about it during an appearance on American TV network CBS.
She denied having read the book, which comes out in the UK this month, but took the opportunity to deny some of the allegation made in it, specifically that she fell out with former White House chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel and former press secretary Robert Gibbs.
"Rahm is - and Amy, his wife - are some of our dearest friends. Rahm and I have never had a cross word. He's a funny guy," she said.
"I guess it's more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here... but that's been an image that people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced (his bid for the presidency), that I'm some angry black woman." She added that Gibbs is also “a good friend”.
The book - a result of Kantor’s interviews with around 30 people who have worked with Obama in the White House - also paints Michelle as a major influence over her husband in matters of policy and decision making.
“I am not an expert on most of the issues that he’s dealing with on a daily basis. So I want him — and he wants — to be talking to the people with the best information,” she said in response.
“That’s not to say that we don’t have discussions and conversations. That’s not to say that my husband doesn’t know how I feel.”
Overall, she said, there is a false image of her among the public.
"Who can write about how I feel? Who? What third person can tell me how I feel, or anybody for that matter?" she said.
Other surprising claims made about Michelle Obama in The Obamas include that she was initially unprepared to uproot her daughters from school and move them in the White House after her husband’s election - until they went as a guest of George Bush and saw the girls slide down the banisters of their new home.
It also claims that the Obama marriage was in danger of falling apart in 2000 during Barack’s ill-advised decision to challenge Bobby Rush in a primrary election (the only election the president has ever lost). The move apparently showed Michelle how ‘self-absorbed’ her husband could be.
Perhaps in a further attempt to show the ‘real’ her – or more likely to support her husband's reelection campaign – Michelle Obama joined Twitter this week, where her personal Tweets are promised to be signed ‘Mo’.