Former first lady Michelle Obama said again on Thursday that she has no interest in running for office.

Its all well and good until you start running, and then the knives come out , she said in Orlando, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Politics is tough, and its hard on a family. ... I wouldnt ask my children to do this again because, when you run for higher office, its not just you, its your whole family.

The Q&A session at the American Institute of Architects annual conference was Obamas first public speaking engagement since President Barack Obama left office in January.

Michelle Obama had an approval rating of 68 percent as the family left the White House 10 points higher than that of her husband so its easy to see why supporters hope shell seek office.

But Obama, a Harvard- and Princeton-educated attorney, has repeatedly said shes not interested.

No, she said last year when asked by Oprah Winfrey if shed run for office. Look, thats one thing I dont do: I dont make stuff up. Im not coy ... Im pretty direct. If I were interested in it, Id say it . I dont believe in playing games.

She cited her children then, as well.

What people dont understand is that you run, their lives stop at any age. The next family that comes in here, every person in that family every child, every grandchild their lives will be turned upside-down in a way that no American really understands. And its not for us to complain about it, so you dont hear complaints. But it is a truth, an actuality, that there is a weight to it.

In 2012, Barack Obama said during a joint interview on The View that the then-first lady would make a terrific president, but joked that she might not be suited for the job temperamentally.

No, its absolutely true, Michelle Obama said. It takes a lot of patience to be the president of the United States. Im not that patient .