Former first lady Michelle Obama blasts President Donald Trump in her new book, recalling how she reacted in shock the night she learned he would replace her husband in the Oval Office and tried to ‘block it all out.’
In her memoir ‘Becoming,’ set to come out Tuesday, Michelle Obama denounces the president for bragging in 2005 about ‘grabbing’ women ‘by the p***y’.
She says his comments on the infamous ‘Hollywood Access’ tape meant, ‘I can hurt you and get away with it.’
She also accuses Trump of using body language to ‘stalk’ his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, during an election debate. She says Trump followed Clinton around the stage, stood too close and tried to diminish her presence.
The attack on Trump comes after her husband used the campaign trail to criticize his successor in a way not seen by a former president in post-war politics.
He addressed a string of rallies and condemned Trump’s tone and policies.
The only known meetings between Trump and Michelle Obama were just after the election and on the day the Obamas left the White House and welcomed Donald and Melania Trump to it before he was sworn in as the 46th president.
In shock: Michelle Obama says in her new memoir that she tried to ‘block it all out’ when she learned her husband would be succeeded by Donald Trump. She and Barack Obama first met the Trumps in November 2016 after his election victory and again on his inauguration
Notorious: The 2005 ‘p***y’ tape saw Trump brag to then-Access Hollywood host Billy Bush: ‘When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.’
She first met Trump at the White House when he and Melania went there just after his election win in November 2016, but the meeting appears to have been brief.
Michelle had tea with Melania Trump and the two discussed raising children at the White House, with the then-First Lady giving her successor a tour of the East Wing.
The book is set to be a publishing phenomenon and was part of a joint deal with her husband which earned them a reputed $65 million advance. His memoirs are due out next year.
The rollout of the book will see a prime time special on ABC this weekend which will include a pit stop at her childhood home.
Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts revealed on-air last week that she had been in Chicago with Obama the previous day, filming for the special, ‘Becoming Michelle: A First Lady’s Journey with Robin Roberts,’ which is scheduled to air November 11 on ABC.
Robins said that while they were in the Windy City Thursday, they stopped at Obama’s childhood home on the South Side of Chicago.
In a short clip, the pair can be seen standing outside the South Euclid Avenue home that Obama, her older brother Craig, and her parents lived in while she was growing up.
The family lived in a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment that didn’t have air conditioning at the time, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Online real estate sites have it valued between $140,000 and $150,000.
Robins also said that she and Obama stopped at Obama’s high school to surprise some of the students there with free tickets to her book tour, noting that Obama will be donating 10 per cent of her book tour ticket sales to local and community organizations and schools.
The ABC special is part of the promotion for Obama’s memoir, Becoming, which hits bookshelves on November 13.
That day, Roberts will return to Chicago for a live GMA interview with Obama.
Then, that night, Obama will be joined by Oprah Winfrey at Chicago’s United Center for the kickoff event in the former First Lady’s book tour. Obama will spend about five weeks touring the country, speaking to fans at major venues including Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Denver’s Pepsi Center and Dallas’ American Airlines Center.
Michelle Obama (left) showed Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts her childhood home in the South Side of Chicago on Thursday
Roberts (left) and Obama are seen here on the sidewalk in front of Obama’s childhood home
An undated picture showing Obama’s parents, Fraser Robinson III and Marian Robinson. Obama’s older brother, Craig, is on Fraser’s lap, while Marian holds a baby Obama
Throughout the tour, she will be joined by special guests including Reese Witherspoon, Valerie Jarrett, Tracee Ellis Ross and Sarah Jessica Parker.
A press release about the book tour said that fans will hear ‘Mrs. Obama’s honest reflections on the experiences and events, both public and private, that have shaped her, from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her years spent at the most famous address in the world.’
In London, tickets for her sole UK appearance went on sale Thursday and sold out almost instantly with 80,000 people stuck in an electornic line.
Re-sellers advertised them for as much as $91,500 (£70,000), prompting the venue, the Southbank Centre, to say that any tickets sold on resale sites would not be honored