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Former first lady Michelle Obama claims the looming 2024 presidential election keeps her up at night, and warned, "We cannot take this democracy for granted."

Obama appeared on an episode of Jay Shetty’s "On Purpose" podcast, which was released on Monday. While the podcast is ostensibly about mental health, the conversation became explicitly political when she was asked about concerns that occupy her mind.

"What is the thing that keeps you up at night now, or what is your biggest fear now, after having overcome so many?" the podcast host asked.

"It has less to do with me personally and more to do with the world that we're in," Obama said. "There's such thing as ‘knowing too much,’ and when you've been married to the president of the United States who knows everything about everything in the world, sometimes you just want to turn it off."

Michelle Obama

Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks on Jay Shetty's podcast. (Jay Shetty’s "On Purpose" podcast)

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While she went on to note concerns, ranging from wars across various regions and the future of artificial intelligence to climate change and voter turnout as being problems on her mind, America's upcoming presidential election remains chief among them.

"Those are the things that keep me up, because you don’t have control over them. And you wonder, where are we in this? Where are our hearts? What’s gonna happen in this next election?" Obama asked. "I am terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take for granted."

Barack and Michelle Obama in Spain

Barack and Michelle Obama during their visit to the Monastery of Montserrat, on April 29, 2023, in Madrid. (Europa Press Reportajes via Getty Images)

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She then suggested many people downplay the impact of government, wondering if it really even does anything, while she says the government does "everything for us, and we cannot take this democracy for granted."

She went on to argue, "We cannot take this democracy for granted, and sometimes I worry that we do. Those are the things that keep me up."

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