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Michelle Obama reveals President Barack Obama was a 'bum' in high school


UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2019 10:47 AM EST

First Lady Michelle Obama got real on Tuesday, while appearing on the daytimetalk show, The Real,  to discuss her "BetterMake Room" campaign, which encourages youth to seek education past high school

When asked by the show’s hosts who didbetter in school, her or husband President Barack Obama, the mom-of-two did not holdback. "Barack fooled around in highschool," she revealed. "He didn't take school seriously in high school.He barely got his work done.”

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The 52-year-old added, “He was a bum!And it took him a second. He had to grow up a little bit."

Michelle admitted that it wasn’tuntil her husband’s second year of college after transferring to Columbia University did he realize that he needed to make a change. She said, “[Barack] was like ‘I got to make something of my life. I got to get it together.’”

Photo: Getty Images

"It's never too late," Michelle said. "ThePresident of the United States screwed around in high school. And he still gothis act together. He did okay."

When it comes to reaching for a higher education, the first lady told high school students and parents, "Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't get bogged down in the now. Your future is your education."

The couple, who share two daughters together, Sasha, 14, and Malia, 17, are already preparing to send their oldest off to college. When discussing Malia's upcoming graduation in June, the president recently said he won't be speaking at the high school senior's commencement ceremony. He admitted, “I'm going to be wearing dark glasses ... and I’m going to cry.”

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