Oprah tells Stephen Colbert the thing she'll miss most about the Obamas

Oprah tells Stephen Colbert what she will miss about Michelle Obama
(Image credit: Late Show)

Stephen Colbert's first guest of 2017 was Oprah Winfrey, and he began Tuesday's Late Show by asking Oprah if she does New Year's resolutions. "Well, I stopped doing it — do you know why?" she said. "Because I used to have these really high goals for myself," citing her 2000 resolution to have "more courage." "You know, when you ask for courage, you get a whole lot of other stuff that's not," she said. "And if you ask for love, you get the opposite, because you have to show how you can love people in spite of their, you know, failings." "You're blowing my mind right now," Colbert said. "So I am just, like, chill — 'whatever you want, God, I'm okay with it,'" Winfrey said.

Colbert asked about Oprah's exit interview with first lady Michelle Obama, and was busted when it turned out he hadn't watched it, even though it was on his own network, CBS. The interview "was fun," Winfrey said, "though also a little bittersweet." She had done a similar interview in 2008, when Sasha and Malia Obama "were just like baby children," Winfrey said, and "the thing I'm going to miss the most — I actually said this, if you'd seen the interview you would have heard me say this.... the thing that I said to her that I'm really gonna miss is just the presence there." She brought up the Obama Christmas card, with the girls all grown up this year, "and for me, African-American woman," Oprah said, "being able to see that reflection of myself through the girls, and through her — just their presence there — I'm going to miss that, but it has meant so much to me."

Colbert asked Winfrey if Michelle Obama will ever run for office, and she gave an emphatic "never!" "Is there any other charismatic African-American woman that both sides of the political aisle really love....?" and Oprah shot that down with equal fervor. "Never!" she said, explaining that elected office is "not my thing." They ended with Winfrey's secret to taking good photos. Watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.