Amanda Gorman is still riding high one week after hypnotizing the nation with her words. Says she also wants people to take her presidential dreams seriously.
Appearing on Tuesday on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the 22-year-old opened up at President Joe Biden's Jan. 20 swearing-in to become the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. Gorman, who hails from Los Angeles, and her mother, Joan Wicks, attended the inauguration ceremony. She says that when they were seated in the earshot of Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, and former President Barack Obama, the two could not help but be a little star-struck.
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Gorman said she overheard the previous first lady, Michelle Obama, in her Tuesday conversation with DeGeneres, continually advising her husband to support social distancing measures.
"[Michelle] kept yelling at Barack, 'Stop hugging people! Stop getting close to people,'" Amanda Gorman recalled. "And then when I was done, she kind of pushed him out of the way and gave me just the biggest, warmest Michelle Obama hug."
Poet Amanda Gorman on Jan. 20 with former Presidents Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. Gorman said she discovered on Dec. 30 that she had been selected as the inaugural poet, but still wanted to have more time to practice her poem, "The Hill We Climb," before offering it at the event.
"I understood, in some capacity, that I was making history as the youngest inaugural poet," she stated. "I didn't know really what that history would look like or the impact that it would have."
Amanda Gorman doubled down on her previously stated goal of wanting to run for president someday elsewhere in the chat, noting that loved ones planned to hold her accountable for a dream she's had since sixth grade.
"It's something that my family takes very seriously," she said. "They know when I say something, I mean business."
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Knowing Amanda Gorman
Amanda Gorman has a twin sister, Gabrielle, in addition to an older brother, Spencer. Gabrielle Gorman has devoted her life to making headlines as well: she's an activist and filmmaker. It sounds like they have a good sisterly connection: Amanda joked that once it's safe, Gabrielle wants to "drag [her] to Disneyland." We think both of them deserve some fun!
She was elected the first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate in 2017 before becoming the youngest poet to give an inaugural speech. Before that, at 16 years old, she was named as the Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles in 2014! (She was the first to earn the honor too!) She's been in love with poetry since the third grade, according to the Los Angeles Times. Check out 6 of her most impressive works for some poetic inspiration.
For the privilege of performing at the inauguration, Dr. Jill Biden, the new First Lady of the United States, was the one to pick Gorman. At the Library of Congress, Dr. Biden had seen her read poetry and campaigned for her before the inaugural committee. The admiration seems to be the mutual-the pleasure of Gorman as he pointedly calls the new First Lady "Dr." "Biden" has been palpable!
As if writing a poem for a presidential inauguration was not overwhelming enough, just two weeks after insurrectionists stormed the U.S., this inauguration fell. Capitol to try to stop the confirmation of the outcome of the 2020 referendum.
