Am I imagining this quote? Michelle Obama edition

October 22, 2017 4:28 PM

I recall Michelle Obama saying something like "I don't engage with crazy" on a daytime talk show. I feel like it was in reference to Sarah Palin before the 2012 election. Am I just imagining this or did she really say this? It seem like something she'd say. I'm looking for the actual quote. I know about the DNC speech where she said "When someone is cruel and acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level. … When they go low, we go high.”
posted by starlybri to Grab Bag (3 answers total)

I don't know the quote. FWIW it doesn't sound to me like something she would say. The use of 'crazy' as a noun is something I associate with Internet culture and wouldn't expect to hear in political circles.
posted by crazy with stars at 8:29 PM on October 22, 2017 [3 favorites]

In 2010 Michelle Obama said she wouldn't express an opinion about Sarah Palin, which makes it seem even less likely that she said what you remember.

Somewhat surprisingly, Obama was put on the spot by the CNN host with some tough-ish questions about Sarah Palin and tea parties, although the first lady has learned to give a good political answer.

She started with an extremely diplomatic answer. “I try not to set opinions with people I haven’t had any substantive interaction with,” she said, and later, responding to Palin criticizing her husband: “Democracy is about critique, and the President is not immune to criticism. I think he’s doing a phenomenal job.”

But she did have one specific positive comment about Palin. “I think it’s wonderful to have strong female voices out there, but I don’t know her,” she said.
posted by crazy with stars at 10:56 PM on October 22, 2017 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: I might have confused her with a celebrity saying "Don't engage with crazy". Marked resolved, thanks for humoring me.
posted by starlybri at 5:51 AM on October 23, 2017 [2 favorites]