Michelle Obama fed her husband's feud with Donald Trump on Friday as she gave a gloomy description of the hopeless climate his election win has created.

The First Lady used her final interview in the White House to tell Oprah Winfrey that a 'grown up' should be in charge of the country.

Looking forward to president-elect Trump's looming inauguration, she said even though hope was lost, it was necessary to move on.

'Now we're feeling what not having hope feels like. Hope is necessary,' she said in her first direct response to the November 9 election result.

Mrs Obama's remarks come within hours of her husband's announcement Russian hackers interfered with the election to help his successor.

Trump, who is yet to accept the DNC hack was orchestrated by one of Putin's agencies, undermined the announcement on Twitter.

Michelle Obama gave her final interview as First Lady on Friday, telling Oprah Winfrey that the country had lost hope since Trump's election win

In her interview with Oprah, the First Lady said the president needs to be someone 'who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil: "hey, it's gonna be ok"'.

She said she was assured her husband had achieved his goal of setting a hope-fueled agenda because of the contrasting mood brought by Trump's victory.

'Your husband's administration, everything, the election, was all about hope. Do you think that this administration achieved that?' asked Winfrey.

In a lengthy reply, Mrs Obama said calmly: 'Yes. I do. Because we feel the difference now.

Mrs Obama maintained a firm quietness on Trump's win for weeks

'Now, we're feeling what not having hope feels like. Hope is necessary. It's a necessary concept.

'What else do you have if you don't have hope?'

In a glowing assessment of her husband's tenure, Mrs Obama likened him to the calming parent of the panicked toddler nation.

'Our children respond to crisis the way they see us respond. You know, it's like the toddler bumps his head on the table and they look up at you to figure out whether it hurts and if you're like (gasp) "oh my god" they're crying but if you're like "you know what, babe it's OK"...

'And I feel that way about the nation, I feel that Barack has been that for the nation in ways that people will come to appreciate.

'Having a grown up in the White House who can say to you in times of crisis and turmoil : "hey, it's gonna be ok", let's remember the good things that we have, let's look to the future, let's look at what we're building" - all of this is important for our kids to stay focused and to feel like their work isn't in vain and their lives aren't in vain.

'What do we do if we don't have hope, Oprah?

The one-on-one took place ahead of the first family's departure from The White House to Hawaii where they will enjoy a two-week Christmas break.

It will be shown on CBS on December 19 at 8pm.

On Thursday, The White House issued its first public acknowledgment that Russian hackers had interfered with the election to help Trump's chances.

Mrs Obama said hope was 'necessary' to move forward in the rare one-on-one

The interview is the First Lady's last in her current role. In it, she reflects on her time in the White House

President Obama promised there would be consequences for Vladimir Putin, one of Trump's most vocal international supporters, as he addressed the scandal.

'I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections ... we need to take action,' Obama said.

'And we will — at a time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of it may not be,' he told NPR News.

President-elect Trump is yet to accept publicly that the hack, which has been credited with tumbling Hillary Clinton's campaign, was orchestrated by Russian officials and designed to push him towards the White House.

He responded to the White House's announcement on Thursday by undermining it.

'If Russia, or some other entity, was hacking, why did the White House wait so long to act? Why did they only complain after Hillary lost?' he wrote on Twitter.

He then appeared to justify the breach by highlighting some of the damning information it revealed about his opponent.

'Are we talking about the same cyberattack where it was revealed that head of the DNC illegally gave Hillary the questions to the debate?'

Mrs Obama had maintained a firm quietness on the election result since November 9.

She claimed to have gone to bed early rather than stay up to watch the results and refused to be drawn on them afterwards.

On Thursday, President Obama publicly acknowledged the DNC hack had been orchestrated by Russian agencies to help push Donald Trump towards the White House. He said there would be consequences for Vladimir Putin (pictured together, above in September) as a result

Donald Trump is yet to accept the hack was orchestrated by Russian agencies, undermining the White House's announcement on Thursday on Twitter (top) before appearing to justify it with mention of the information it exposed (bottom)

In campaign speeches for Hillary Clinton, the First Lady gave passionate condemnations of the businessman's policies and principles.

She was widely lauded as Clinton's most valuable advocate and the appearances, all of which were applauded and well-attended, fueled speculation Mrs Obama has designs for her own presidency.

The First Family is yet to formally address the speculation.

At an event last week, Mrs Obama responded to one screaming request for her candidacy: 'Quiet back there!'

In his New Yorker interview, the president said they were looking forward to the next chapter of their political lives after leaving the White House.

President Obama has implored the country to get behind the businessman despite publicly admonishing him throughout the campaign.

'We are all now rooting for his success,' he said after the election result was made plain.

He told of his commitment to helping 'Donald' in his transition to power and met with the billionaire in the Oval office to discuss the handover.