Obamas Announce Joint Project As Divorce Rumors Swirl
Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have announced a new joint project as speculation about their marriage continues online. The couple will co-produce a Broadway revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Proof” through their production company, Higher Ground.
The play, written by David Auburn, centers on the daughter of a mathematician who discovers a notebook containing significant findings after his death. Actors Don Cheadle and Ayo Edebiri are set to make their Broadway debuts in the production, Variety reported.
The revival is scheduled to open in April and run for 16 weeks. Tony Award winner Thomas Kail will direct and produce alongside Mike Bosner and the Obamas.
“To bring this landmark play back to Broadway with Ayo, Don, Tommy, and Mike at the helm is an extraordinary privilege, and we couldn’t be more proud to be part of this production,” the Obamas said in a statement obtained by The Independent.
“Proof is exactly the kind of story Higher Ground was built to champion, a play that asks profound questions about brilliance, doubt, and what we inherit from the people we love most,” they said.Rumors about the Obamas’ marriage have circulated online over the past year. Neither Barack Obama nor Michelle Obama has confirmed any separation.
The speculation intensified in early 2025 after Michelle Obama did not attend the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter or the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Barack Obama attended both events.
Political commentator Meghan McCain addressed the rumors during an appearance on journalist Tara Palmeri’s podcast in 2025. “I have been hearing this rumor that the Obamas are getting a divorce by reputable people,” McCain said.
“I’m not talking about TMZ, I’m not talking about Perez Hilton, although I love him, he’s my friend,” she said. “I’m talking about like very serious journalists telling me that they’re hearing that the Obama divorce rumors are true.”
“We’ve heard that for a long time,” Palmeri said. “Like I just heard that they live separate lives.”
Michelle Obama launched her podcast, “IMO,” in 2025. Barack Obama appeared on the podcast in July, where both addressed the rumors.
“There hasn’t been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man,” Michelle Obama said. “And we’ve had some really hard times. So we had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man I’m married to.”
“These are the kinds of things that I just miss, right?” Barack Obama said. “So I don’t even know this stuff’s going on. And then somebody will mention it to me and I’m all like, ‘what are you talking about?’”
The Broadway production marks the Obamas’ latest venture through Higher Ground, which has produced film, television, and podcast content since its launch. The play’s opening is scheduled for April.
Former first lady Michelle Obama has frequently been called a racist by her detractors and others, and she appears to have earned that label again. In a video that has since gone viral online, Obama claimed unabashedly that she tries to avoid buying clothing brands from white-owned companies.“If I hear of someone whose fashion I like, and I hear they’re a person of color, I try to make it a point” to patronize them, she said during the discussion, which featured only black women. “You know, I think we can all do some work to think about that balance in our wardrobes. What does our closet look like, and who’s in it?
“Who are we supporting in it?” she added, as the other ladies nodded in approval and smiled. “I think if you have the money to buy Chanel, then you have the money to buy everybody.”
Michelle Obama Says She Tries to Avoid White-Owned Brands
Former first lady Michelle Obama has frequently been called a racist by her detractors and others, and she appears to have earned that label once again. In a video that has since gone viral online, Obama claimed unabashedly that she tries to avoid buying clothing brands from white-owned companies.
“If I hear of someone whose fashion I like, and I hear they’re a person of color, I try to make it a point” to patronize them, she said during the discussion, which featured only black women. “You know, I think we can all do some work to think about that balance in our wardrobes. What does our closet look like, and who’s in it?
“Who are we supporting in it?” she added, as the other ladies nodded in approval and smiled. “I think if you have the money to buy Chanel, then you have the money to buy everybody.”
It’s not hard to imagine the outcry from the Democrat left if first lady Melania Trump had made a statement suggesting she patronized white companies over those owned by minorities.
In December, President Trump reposted a video from InfoWars host Alex Jones, who claimed that “Michelle Obama may have used Biden’s autopen in the final days of his disastrous administration to pardon key individuals.”
The claim, which has not been substantiated by any public evidence, suggested Michelle played a role in Biden’s final clemency decisions,. These controversial pardons included those issued for retired Gen. Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci, two of Trump’s fiercest critics.
Trump has repeatedly accused Biden of relying on the autopen — a mechanical signing tool used for official signatures — to push through late-term orders and pardons without oversight. He recently issued an executive action declaring any autopen orders not backed by proof Biden was aware of them as “null and void.”
Beyond the autopen speculation, Trump’s feed was filled with attacks on familiar political targets.
He railed against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), calling him “unpatriotic” for appearing in a video reminding service members they could refuse unlawful orders.
“Mark Kelly and the group of Unpatriotic Politicians were WRONG to do what they did, and they know it!” Trump wrote.
Other posts targeted California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Barack Obama, James Comey, and former Attorney General Eric Holder.
Trump also boosted a series of self-congratulatory videos. One featured Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) praising the president’s agenda, accompanied by a caption declaring Trump “the greatest president to ever live.” Another post, fitting the season, declared, “Christmas is officially great again,” paired with a still from Home Alone 2: Lost in New York — the 1992 film in which Trump made a brief cameo.
The president’s Monday night spree also included claims that former Biden Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Hunter Biden were the “SECRET PARDON PUPPET MASTERS” behind the outgoing administration’s clemency wave. He accused Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) of “crimes against the country,” labeled Democratic veterans who criticized his military orders as “a threat to America,” and promoted a post calling Ilhan Omar “a terrorist from a terrorist family.”
In one of the night’s more provocative shares, Trump reposted an apparently AI-generated video depicting Elon Musk commenting on the administration’s pledge to revoke temporary legal protections for Somali migrants living in Minnesota.
That post came amid a Treasury Department investigation into reports that nonprofit groups in Minnesota may have funneled taxpayer money to terrorist networks abroad.
By sunrise Tuesday, the social media frenzy was still rippling through political circles, with supporters cheering the president’s energy and critics accusing him of amplifying “conspiracy theories.”Trump Warns Iran of ‘Total Obliteration’ if They Try To Harm Him
President Donald Trump warned Iran that continued assassination threats made by leaders in Tehran would be met with the country getting “blown up” and “total obliteration.”
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“Well, they shouldn’t be doing it but I’ve left notification,” Trump said. “Anything ever happens, we’re going to blow the whole — the whole country’s going to get blown up.”
Biden-era Intelligence officials briefed Trump about the alleged threats against him during his presidential campaign in 2024. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland said the plot was retaliation for the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani by the U.S. in 2020, during Trump’s first administration.
Despite being briefed by his administration, Trump on Tuesday said President Biden “should have said something” on the matter, adding that presidents should defend each other on such matters.
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“But I have very firm instructions,” Trump continued. “Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth.”
Trump also spoke about the ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran in Geneva.
“What are you expecting from these Iran talks in Geneva?” a reporter asked Trump aboard Air Force One.
“So, I’ll be involved in those talks indirectly, and they’ll be very important. We’ll see what can happen. Typically, Iran’s a very tough negotiator; they’re good negotiators — or bad negotiators. I would say they’re bad negotiators because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B2s to knock out their nuclear potential. We had to send the B2s. I hope they’re going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal,” Trump said.
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“Have you been told that a deal is next to impossible?” the reporter followed up.
Trump replied, “No. I think they want to make a deal. I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal.”
WATCH:
Trump previously said that he instructed officials to destroy Iran if they killed him.
The president said this after signing an executive order right after taking office that gave him all the tools he needed to talk to Iran’s government and put as much pressure on Tehran as possible.
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“They haven’t done that and that would be a terrible thing for them to do,” Trump said at the time. “Not because of me — if they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions, if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left. And, they shouldn’t be able to do it.”
Trump warned last week that the United States could send additional warships toward Iran if ongoing diplomatic negotiations fail to produce a deal, signaling that military pressure could increase as talks over Tehran’s nuclear program stall.
In remarks to Axios, Trump said the administration is considering deploying a second aircraft carrier strike group to the region in addition to the USS Abraham Lincoln and 9 additional warships already positioned near Iran, though he expressed hope that a diplomatic agreement can still be reached.
“Either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,” the president told Axios on Tuesday, a reference to the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites in June.
“Last time they didn’t believe I would do it. They overplayed their hand,” Trump added. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.”
The president emphasized that the United States is seeking to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, halt the development of its ballistic missile program, and end support for militant proxy groups. Iranian officials have so far resisted expanding negotiations beyond nuclear-related issues.
He described the nuclear issue as a “matter of course” part of any negotiation, but also insisted that an agreement with Iran must also address Tehran’s ballistic missile stockpiles, per Axios.
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Trump said the US “can make a great deal with Iran,” and Tehran “very much wants to make a deal.”
Trump’s comments came ahead of a planned visit to Washington, D.C. by Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to press for a tougher U.S. stance and broader terms for any Iran deal that would include constraints on Tehran’s missile capabilities and regional activities.
Before heading to DC, the Israeli leader previewed some of what he and Trump were going to discuss.
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“I will present to the president our understanding of the principles of the negotiations (with Iran) – the essential principles that are important not only to Israel – but to everyone who wants peace and security in the Middle East,” Netanyahu told reporters, per the New York Post.
The administration has already bolstered its military presence in the Middle East, with multiple warships and aircraft deployed as a means of deterrence and leverage.
