Michelle Obama, Stephen Colbert talk White House life, President Obama's quirks


First Lady Michelle Obama was Stephen Colbert's main guest on Tuesday's Late Show, and he introduced her like this: "Everybody likes this woman, even though she is most famous for telling people to eat their vegetables." Obama talked quite a bit about life in the White House and with its most famous occupant, her husband. With just months left at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., there are also things she'll miss, she said. "I find myself choking up because we have raised our kids in the White House, we've had so many amazing experiences," she said, adding less sentimentally that she's already making the kids start packing up their rooms.
The first lady also poked fun at President Obama, imitating his two portrait smiles and his boring disquisitions when daughter Malia asks about his day at the dinner table — something Michelle and daughter Sasha discourage. But "he's really into gossip, so you can get him really focused — because he doesn't have a life," Obama said of her husband. "No, but he's got the NSA, so he can find out what any of us are thinking," Colbert quipped. Obama said that she has made a lot of "first lady faux pas," but has experienced a lot of great things, too, like becoming friends with Beyoncé and ordering room-service french fries during her "sleepover at Buckingham Palace."
Obama then noted that Colbert has his own quirks — he doesn't like being called Steve, apparently — and proceeded to poke at him, too. "How is swagaliciousness achieved?" Colbert asked, citing a comment Obama had made to Oprah. "It's a person that has a lot of swag," she said. "And if you don't know what swag is, Steve, you definitely don't have it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In the second part of the interview, Obama said she has no sympathy for Bill Clinton or Melania Trump, the spouses of the two people running to replace her husband, and laughed off a question about Melania Trump plagiarizing a bit of her speech. And Michelle Obama and Colbert made only one Donald Trump joke, in a kind of charmingly weird skit where the two of them were pretending to be children in a blanket fort. "Hey, did you know that if you eat too many carrots, you turn orange?" Colbert asked. "Really?" Michelle Obama asked. "Yeah, and if you turn really orange, you have to start saying crazy things and run for president." Very diplomatic. Watch below. Peter Weber
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
June 2 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Elon Musk's next project, the Democratic party's efforts to win more male votes, and Donald Trump's taco order.
-
Cary Arms & Spa: a secluded coastal retreat in South Devon
The Week Recommends Perched above Babbacombe Bay on the English Riviera, this tranquil inn is the perfect bolthole for a weekend by the sea
-
Sail in style onboard the brand-new Explora II
The Week Recommends Hit the high seas on a luxury cruise from Barcelona to Rome
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia