Why Michelle Obama Cried Uncontrollably After Leavin' the White House

Former first lady Michelle Obama shared a new podcast clip in which she sobbed uncontrollably on Air Force One after leaving the White House. This audio comes from her podcast, The Light We Carry, which goes along with her book of reflections titled, The Light We Carry.

According to Obama, her tears were caused by the change of administration in January 2017, when she and President Barack Obama finally left their home after eight years.

Why She Cried Uncontrollably

After her family had left the White House for the final time, former first lady Michelle Obama was vulnerable and broke down in tears on Air Force One. Her emotions stemmed from having to part with their home of eight years as well as resentment about President Donald Trump taking office.

"I was really upset," she recounted in a podcast clip released Monday. She went on to explain that watching the inauguration and witnessing everything she and Barack Obama had worked for come crashing down as a new president took office was extremely difficult for her.

She made light of the crowd size on that day, noting there weren't nearly as many people present as Trump administration officials had claimed. Additionally, she spoke fondly of her time in the White House with her daughters; saying she was happy they were there but it was time for her to move on.

According to an audio clip released on SoundCloud from her new podcast, Obama sobbed as she boarded Air Force One for the last time that January. She described being overcome with emotions and said it was "a moment to be treasured, yet not taken lightly."

On Air Force One, she wept for 30 minutes as the doors shut on her home of eight years, her family, and those who had come to help her. Even after they landed in Chicago and returned home, tears continued to flow from her eyes.

In her new podcast, Oprah Winfrey shares her own personal struggles with relationships, self-doubt and anxiety during uncertain times. It's based on her recent book tour for The Light We Carry and features conversations with moderators such as Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien.

On Tuesday, March 7, the podcast will premiere and be exclusive to Audible for two weeks. After that, it will be accessible across various platforms.

The Emotions of Trump’s Inauguration

The induction of a new president is always an emotional occasion. It provides us with a chance to reflect on our life's accomplishments, celebrate those in the past, and look forward with anticipation towards what lies ahead.

The ceremony serves as a platform to highlight a nation's finest. It provides social media users with an opportunity to share the moment with their followers; Twitter saw an unprecedented 20% spike in tweets following the inauguration compared to normal weekday morning hours.

A study published in Self and Identity found that the most memorable part of the inauguration wasn't its formalities, but rather how people responded to them. Researchers examined data from more than 1,000 participants to examine number of comments, length and frequency of retweets/shares, as well as frequency with which they engaged in group activity.

Researchers were struck by the negative effect that the ceremony had on participants' relationships with their ingroups. Instead of rallying to their political groups, Clinton supporters felt less connected than Trump supporters did. This research, led by Dr Kapitany from Oxford's Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology, is the first to investigate how emotional responses to ritual may lead to greater division within a political group.

No doubt, Donald Trump's inauguration was an emotional milestone that marked a new era in American history. Yet it can often be difficult to adjust to such drastic change when emotions run high.

The Weight of Being the First Black First Lady

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, the wife of President Barack Obama and first black American to serve as First Lady, has been an outspoken champion for her husband's administration and our country as a whole, championing issues such as healthcare, education and women's rights.

Michelle was born into a working-class family in Chicago, Illinois to parents who struggled financially. She and her siblings were raised together in an apartment before graduating high school as salutatorian of her class and going on to college at Princeton and Harvard where she earned a law degree. Following graduation she worked as an attorney until marrying Barack in October 1992.

Her father suffered from multiple sclerosis, so she was driven to stay out of trouble and do well in school. She was also inspired by her older brother Craig. While in college, she participated in demonstrations against racial discrimination as well as working at Harvard Legal Aid Bureau to aid low-income tenants with housing cases.

In 1989, she began working as an attorney at a Chicago law firm and was assigned to mentor an associate - whom she quickly fell in love with. Initially hesitant about dating someone she was mentoring, she soon found herself drawn to his adventurous side.

She later chose to leave her corporate law position and pursue a career in public service, beginning as an administrator at University of Chicago Hospitals before transitioning into policy development and advocacy for families. As a public advocate, her mission was to foster long-lasting connections within the community while advocating on their behalf.

For over a decade, she has lived a public life without compromising her authenticity or values. She is widely respected for her warmth and sense of humor, becoming an inspirational figure to those who feel disenfranchised across America. Her words and deeds inspire many others to do the same.

She has been a formidable force in the fight against racism, using it to challenge the divisive tone of politics since Donald Trump became president. Additionally, she remains committed to women's rights issues such as gender equality and women's healthcare. Additionally, she has been an enthusiastic supporter of arts and cultural institutions.

The Lack of Diversity

Michelle Obama wept bitterly upon boarding Air Force One on the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration, reflecting on how everything she and her husband had worked for seemed gone forever and that nothing would ever be the same again. It was then that Michelle realized there would never be another chance at seeing what they had achieved together again.

She expressed her dismay at watching Trump's inauguration and noting how his cabinet was much less diverse than the one she and her husband held in 2009. Notably, many of its top leaders -- such as Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew -- are white men with no experience working in government; this pattern has been heavily criticized by black groups.

Over the past two decades, presidential cabinets have increasingly become more diverse. Women now make up more of the cabinet than ever before and minorities have seen an exponential rise in representation.

However, in the current administration Trump has largely chosen members who are both more white than their predecessors and possess lower educational levels. As a result, these inexperienced, unqualified officials lack insight into the missions of the agencies they supervise; further putting into question their impartiality towards oversight responsibilities.

Some critics claim the lack of diversity is due to age, but research shows it's also related to skin color. Indeed, those born into working class or economically precarious circumstances tend to rate as darker than their more affluent peers.

These findings suggest Biden may have taken into account both age and the confluence of race and class when selecting his two African American cabinet picks. Furthermore, they could have felt as if they were selecting from a larger pool of potential candidates than previous administrations had access to.

Unfortunately, the current administration is the least diverse in years and fails to reflect the diversity of voters who helped elect President Barack Obama in his first term. Indeed, it could fall far short of President Bill Clinton's second term goal when African Americans filled five Cabinet-level posts and most senior adviser positions - an achievement set 20 years ago when African Americans made up most of his senior advisors and staff members.