Michelle Obama recounts Grand Canyon 2009 wardrobe controversy

Former first lady Michelle Obama revealed on a recent episode of her podcast that she was left infuriated by a moment on Air Force One in 2009 when she debated whether to wear Bermuda shorts while on vacation — which ultimately led to controversy. 

“The fact that we had to spend time thinking about that kind of stuff in ways that my husband didn’t — it was really infuriating,” Obama said during an episode on her podcast, “IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” which she co-hosts with her brother. “Then an article, a negative article, still happened.” 

The former first lady explained that in August 2009 she and the former president were set to depart Air Force One for a hike in the Grand Canyon while on their first vacation since the inauguration earlier that year. While she fretted over what attire would be appropriate for a first lady and not draw public criticism, Barack Obama did not need to put effort into thinking about his outfit, she recounted. 

“It was 100 degrees,” Michelle Obama remembered of the conversation. “Barack — I was like, ‘Well, what are you wearing?’ He was like, ‘Well, I’m gonna throw on some sneakers, I’m gonna take my jacket off and roll my sleeves up’ because that’s what men can do. White shirt, no collar, no tie. That was how he changed.”

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Michelle Obama said she debated whether to wear hiking shorts or a dress before landing on wearing Bermuda shorts. 

“I can’t wear hiking shorts there, and I can’t wear a dress to hike,” she said. “That would be crazy. People would call me ‘disconnected’ and ‘un-American.’ I’m at the Grand Canyon in a tea-length dress with flats? I was like, ‘That’s not how people go to the Grand Canyon.'”

“I eventually opted for the thing that felt mostly me,” Michelle Obama continued. “And it was the Bermuda shorts. Because if we’re going on a hike, this is how a normal person would go on a hike.”

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The former first lady did face backlash for the attire, as pundits at the time criticized that a first lady wearing shorts while departing Air Force One was too casual, with outlets running headlines such as, “Who Wears Short Shorts? Michelle Obama,” “First lady’s shorts draw some long, hard looks,” and “Michelle Obama: The Shorts Heard Round the World.”

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Michelle Obama said in 2013 that she would not wear shorts again on Air Force One after the 2009 outfit caused “a huge stink.” She explained at the time that she made the more relaxed choice because “we’re on vacation.”

First lady Melania Trump also has faced backlash over her wardrobe attire, including in 2017 when she wore a baseball cap and jeans to visit Texas after Hurricane Harvey that was viewed by some critics as too casual, and again in 2018 when she wore a green jacket while on a trip to visit the border that read, “I really don’t care. Do u?” 

Melania Trump later told the media she wore the jacket as a message to the liberal media and other critics: “I want to show them that I don’t care,” she told ABC News in 2018. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to Michelle Obama’s office Tuesday for additional comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply.