"My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief. Making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls... that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe"
About this Quote
The context matters. This was the moment of national relocation into the most symbolically loaded home in America, with two young daughters suddenly drafted into a public life they didn’t choose. By naming “transition” twice, she quietly centers the costs of upward mobility: new schools, Secret Service, cameras, strangers with opinions. The subtext isn’t just maternal devotion; it’s an argument about what stability looks like when everything around you becomes spectacle.
“Center of our universe” also performs a kind of soft boundary-setting. She’s reminding the press, the electorate, and the institution itself that her children are not campaign props or national mascots. The line communicates warmth, but it also asserts control: there will be a private core inside this very public family.
There’s an additional, unspoken layer about race and scrutiny. For a Black family entering the White House, “settled” carries extra freight: safety, belonging, and the demand to be unimpeachably grounded. The genius of the quote is that it makes that weight legible without ever sounding defensive.
Quote Details
| Topic | Mother |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Obama, Michelle. (2026, January 18). My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief. Making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls... that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-first-job-in-all-honesty-is-going-to-continue-22451/
Chicago Style
Obama, Michelle. "My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief. Making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls... that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-first-job-in-all-honesty-is-going-to-continue-22451/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief. Making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls... that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-first-job-in-all-honesty-is-going-to-continue-22451/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.



