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There are certain things in life that will just always be consistent. You know, Things like the McDonald's ice cream machine never working. Or things like Michelle Obama sitting down behind a microphone and complaining because that is the woman's M.O. like, at least we have that kind of stability in these trying times. And her latest episode with Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy is no different. But there actually is one thing that I really liked, and we'll get into that, too. Now, before we dive into this, if you want to see awesome farm vlogs and ads, free episodes, behind the scenes content, travel vlogs, all of that sort of thing, make sure to check out cooper confidential.com. that is my subscription platform where you can find all of that and more coming soon. All right, so let's just dive right into this. The moment that I saw on my TikTok that Alex Cooper had scored Michelle Obama as a guest, I was like, here we go. Great content for me. Anyway, so this was a huge get for Alex Cooper back during the 2024 election. On call Her Daddy, she had Kamala Harris and that was kind of her first big step into politics. Not to say that she had not spoken about it before because obviously she is a left wing millennial woman. She has talked about abortion and all the normal feminist talking points, but she had until that point in 2024, stayed away from hosting politicians and big political figures. But then came Kamala and at the time she said that she had this responsibility to have her on the show, all of that sort of thing. Now that was obviously a big Deal. But possibly an even bigger get than Kamala is Michelle Obama herself, the queen of the Democrat party. And Michelle, of course. Of course, she came on the pod to promote her new book, which we talked about back in the fall, which is a fashion book published by her featuring her favorite photos of herself. I am still not over that. I think it is positively hilarious. I know that it's been months since we talked about that. I'm still not over it. I think that is the funniest thing. I'm just envisioning Michelle being like, guys, I'm not getting enough press. People don't like my podcast. They aren't listening. They're requesting that I come see speak at events anymore. I need to make some more money. What am I gonna do? I'm gonna publish my favorite photos of my outlets, and everyone is gonna love it. And the thing that is so hilarious is that people did like it immediately became a New York Times bestseller. Everyone wanted to see what Michelle Lamont was wearing anyway. It is just hilarious to me. So here's the thing. In the context of that book, knowing that she is doing this entire book on her clothing and how stylish she was as the first lady, you would expect that her, you know, coming on to call her daddy, that she would want to be talking about her clothing and her style, right? Like, that would make sense. Wrong. Wrong. Abso.
Michelle Obama
Not.
Podcast Host
Guys, if you thought that you are offensive, you are a misogynistic. Shame on you for wanting to talk about Michelle Obama's clothing, because Michelle does not want anybody. She never did want anybody to talk about her fashion. That actually, to her was very offensive. Just listen.
Michelle Obama
But as my popularity rose, I was being covered more, right? And so the press enters the scene, and there are now reports, right? And the first thing, after all this great conversation and connection, the top of the article would be she was wearing, you know.
Podcast Host
You know, it was what she was wearing with the snarl. With, like, the lip flip, the snarl. Like, you could not imagine that this woman was actually publishing a book about her style. God forbid we talk about what Michelle Obama is wearing. I'll let her continue here.
Michelle Obama
Not my education. Not my, you know, not my professional career.
Podcast Host
Yeah, none of that. None of that clothing talk. Michelle, we need to focus on brass tacks. We need to get down to your accomplishments. I mean, like, Michelle, the writing is on the wall. Like, did we forget why you were on this podcast in the first place? Have we forgotten why you're doing this press tour and the very specific book that you have just Published. Somebody commented and said writes a whole ass book about her outfits. Why are people always focusing on my outfits? Somebody else said, don't judge me by my fashion. Also buy my book about my fashion. It is an absolute clown show. And guys, the best part is she couldn't even help herself on this podcast. It's not like she sat down with Alex Cooper and was like, yes, on Call Her Daddy. I'm gonna have a very intelligent, serious conversation about policy and politics and all of these things. No, they still talked about her clothing. Rekha Stoll posted Today Michelle Obama joined the sex and dating podcast Call Her Daddy to criticize society's focus on women's looks. She promoted her new book, the look, which explores her outfits. As First Lady, Obama told the podcast host Alex Cooper that she wished the press focused less on what she wore and more on her education and profess professional background. The top of the article would be what was she wearing? Obama said, not my education, not my professional career. Cooper agreed with Obama, obviously, as she would. Both women seem to forget that 12 minutes earlier in their interview she opened with Talk to me about your outfit. How did you pick it? Just watch.
Alex Cooper
I'm happy you're here. Talk to me about your outfit. How did you pick it?
Podcast Host
It's hilarious. Oh my gosh, ladies, let's talk about it. Let's not talk about Michelle's accomplishments. No, let's talk about her hot pink spot. I mean, the comedy just writes itself and that was worth pointing out. Somebody commented and said this never ending media tour of leftist media gaslighting the world into thinking that Michelle Obama is a fashion icon when our current first lady is a literal supermodel is hilarious. Yeah. And where is Melania's book? Where is her Vogue cover? It does not exist because they will never admit that she is a supermodel. They will never acknowledge her style and her poise and her grace. But thank God, thank God, thank God. We have a book of Michelle telling us why she picked certain pantsuits on certain days. I really don't know if I could have gone on without it. Speaking of how she was picking outfits, apparently Michelle is getting really big into picking things based on the race of the creator or designer. And this was not a clip from Caller Daddy. But based on what we're talking about, it did seem worth throwing in here and mentioning. Just watch this.
Michelle Obama
If I hear of someone whose fashion that I like and I know that they're a person of color, I try to make it a point. But the clothes have to be Available. You know, I think we can all do some work to think about that balance in our wardrobes. You know, what does our closet look like and who's in it? Who are we supporting in it? You know, And I think if you have the money to buy Chanel, then you have the money to buy everybody. Right. And so let us be mindful, I think, would be my advice.
Podcast Host
Okay, so two points that I want to just call out here. Number one, again, she's promoting this fashion book. She's sitting around with all these women. They are like the seals. They're applauding, they're nodding along. Oh, yes, Michelle, this is just so insightful, what you're saying. And she's talking about the significance of who you choose to wear and the clothes that you choose to put on your body, the designers that you're working with. You know, where you're spending your money putting your values. Obviously, her values are all about race towards designers and your clothing. But meanwhile, she's sitting on other podcast saying, don't talk to me about my clothing. It's not relevant. They always wanted to know what I was wearing. I actually think that asking a woman what she was wearing, if she's being intentional about it, that's a really interesting conversation. For example, Regan Reese from the Daily Caller, she posted this, and she said, women should welcome conversations about their outfits. Clothes are such powerful communicators. It is a form of rhetoric. What you choose to put on every day sends a message about you. Not to mention, women are beautiful and they create beauty through their outfits. I think that we should celebrate it and talk about it more. The entire mindset about whether it's okay to talk about what a woman is wearing or not because it might diminish how smart or success successful they are, is stupid. I completely agree. And the thing is, I would not be sitting here, you know, picking apart what Michelle is saying if she just leaned into that. If she said, you know what? I've thought about this over the years. I used to be so angry about this. But then I realized how much thought I put into my outfits and how much I think about it now. And even if I disagreed with the premise of how she was spending her money and what she thought was important and what she was valuing because it differs from me, I would respect that. But every single time she sits down behind a microphone to promote this book about her fashion, she seems to want to diminish from fashion and everybody else talking about her fashion, like, do you see how cyclical and ridiculous that is. Now the other point that I wanted to bring up about that same clip is that she is urging people to be mindful to go out of their way to not just buy things from white designers, which is so ironic because of something that many Internet sleuths pointed out. This girl said, michelle Obama urges women not to buy from white owned brands while wearing a $1,100 skirt created by a white designer. Racist, hypocritical, and privileged. Those are three great words to describe Michelle Obama. And then somebody said, I can't believe that Michael is on a podcast that is own by a white woman. So true. Back to the point of this episode, the white woman podcast. Call her Daddy. The whole thing, like the entire episode, it really reeked of peak 2016 feminism to me. Like, you know, the empty slogans of I'm with her. Don't ask me what I'm wearing, Don't tell me to smile. I'm a boss, babe. That is basically what we were living through in 2015, 2016. I mean, I think back to myself as a teenager and I'll scroll back on my Instagram, like, I have an Instagram, and I'll see some of the things that I posted. Like, I'll post a picture with like a quote as the caption. And I look at it and it's just the most empty feminist jargon that I didn't even really believe. But I posted it because it felt like what I was supposed to do. Oh, I'm a woman, so I need to be focusing on my empowerment because I'm oppressed in this patriarchal society. That's what we're doing. Don't tell me to smile. Whatever it is, like, that is the world that I was surrounded in growing up as a young woman. And that is what this entire podcast episode embodied, those empty jargons. And this whole idea, this oppressed woman game was very reflected in how Michelle talked about being first lady on Call Her Daddy and Shocker of the Century. She had things to. To complain about because God forbid we talk about anything other than her accomplishments.
Michelle Obama
Just watch this, you know, and you don't want to. I was like, well, I went to Princeton and Harvard. I mean, I practiced law. I was an assistant to the mayor in Chicago. I ran a nonprofit of 501c3. I was a vice president for community relations at the University of Chicago Hospitals. I was a dean of students. I was like, oh, you guys. I. All of that just disappeared in the course of this whole election. And you now see me as Just Barack Obama's wife. So that made me say what? That, that quickly my shoes become the most important thing about me.
Podcast Host
There we go again. It's all about the fashion. God forbid we talk about her shoes being important. God forbid we think of her as being Barack Obama's wife. And here's the thing, I wanna have, like empathy here. And like, I get that for a woman like Michelle Obama, I get that it was frustrating and probably a difficult transition to go from being this brilliant boss babe in your own right, being the Michelle Obama to being the President's wife, to being the first lady and having to give up your career in order to support him in that endeavor. Especially if you are somebody like Michelle, obviously, whose entire self worth and confidence comes from her career and all of her accolades and accomplishments. I mean, she brings that up in every single interview. She's desperate for people to recognize that she was something before she was the First Lady. But like, but I'm just so tired of it. Because guess what, Michelle, that was almost two decades ago. Barack became president almost 20 years ago. And also, just objectively, how cool is it, how incredible is it that you had the opportunity to do something as remarkable as being the first lady of the United States, that you had the opportunity to support your spouse, the man that you love more than anything, as he takes the highest office in the world as he becomes the President of this country. Just compare her attitude to, you know, Usha Vance, for example, who is also ridiculously accomplished in her own right, is a, you know, high powered attorney. And she simultaneously seems so proud and happy to be standing next to JD Vance as he takes on this role as the Vice President. You know, she has taken on this job because it is a job. She's taken on the shift in her life with grace, acknowledging that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and that as of now, it's just for four years. She said in a recent interview, my attitude is that this is a four year period where I have a set of responsibilities to my family, myself, and obviously to the country. And that's really what I'm focused on. I'm not plotting out next steps or really trying for anything after this. And that was in response to people pressing her about, you know, is JD Gonna run for president, whatever. And she goes on and she says, in a dream world, eventually I'll be able to live in my home and kind of continue my career and all those sorts of things. And if that happens in four years, I understand if that happens at some other point in the future. I understand. I'm just sort of along for the ride and enjoying it while I can. That's humility. That's understanding that your husband has this incredible opportunity and going, you know what? I can wait right now. I've done all of these amazing things, but you have this incredible opportunity, and we're gonna make it work as a family, because I have a duty to you and our country to do this. And then compare that to Michelle, who just can't let it go almost 20 years later that she had to go support Barack. Like, ugh. Can you imagine your husband being so loved and accomplished and powerful?
Michelle Obama
Ugh.
Podcast Host
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The year off right.
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Experian now back to Michelle Obama. The other point that I want to make in kind of comparing her to Usha and what Usha was saying in that interview is that like Michelle, Barack is not president anymore. He hasn't been president in a decade. So why are you not back out being the vice president of a hospital? Why are you not out being an attorney, being the dean of students, whatever it is that you care so much about, you've had 10 years to go back to that. If that was so important to you. Or we have to ask, does being Barack's wife, does being the former first lady just pay too well these days? Is that just more comfortable? Like, if you really felt that way, if you really wanted people to be concerned with your accomplishments, then why is this your ex bio? I just think this is really funny. Her bio on X is girl from the south side and former first lady, Wife, mother, dog, lover, always hugger in chief, hashtag the look promoting her fashion book. Michelle, I thought you wanted us to talk about your accomplishments. Where are the accolades? Where is the resume? Like, if I didn't know any better, I would be sitting here going, well, I guess she's Just Barack's wife. Even Hillary Clinton's bio is better, she says. 2016, Democratic nominee, Secretary of state, senator, hair icon, mom, wife, grandma, times three, lawyer, advocate, fan of walks in the woods and standing up for our democracy like Hillary Clinton, she is going to go down being an accomplished woman if it is the last thing she does. But Michelle, she's fine just cashing in a check on the back of her husband's presidency, but also wants to complain about us not taking her seriously in the career that she hasn't had in almost two decades. Just saying. It's a little odd now. Anyway, speaking of future female presidents, this was also a big part of the interview. Just watch.
Alex Cooper
You said, don't even look at me about running, because you all are lying. You're not ready for a woman. You're not.
Michelle Obama
There are men out there that were not gonna vote for a woman. Let's just be real about it and let's put that on the table and talk about, well, what's that about? Let's not be mad because I made the statement, the young women that we're talking to keep climbing. We need you. And know that you may come up short, but keep going.
Podcast Host
Yeah, you might come up short because the men are just not ready. Well, so profound. Profound. Michelle Obama is not going to grace us with a presidential run because the men of America are not ready for her. Now, that moment right there, that was like Ale Cooper's bombshell question of the interview. America just not being ready, not being feminist enough, still being held back by the patriarchy in America. And this really caused a lot of anger and revelations for the podcast host. Just listen.
Alex Cooper
When people talk about patriarchy and misogyny and they try to give examples, I love it. But I do think the most obvious, glaring example of the patriarchy is the fact that we have never in the history of time ever had a woman be the president of the United States. It almost has become, oh, well, that's just normal. No, no, that's not normal. Men are the only ones who have ever held the highest position in the government. No woman. But yes, we're so equal. Oh, actually, we're legally not equal to men. And that is a great point. How could a woman even be the president of the United States when we don't even have equal rights to half of the population that the woman would be governing over?
Podcast Host
I mean, guys, this is what I mean when I say it is peak 2016 feminism. We're back talking about the patriarchy and misogyny and not having A female president. We're not equal. We have to band together, girlies, and fight for our rights. What rights? What rights are you trying to fight for? The right to kill your unborn child in the womb? Like murder is also illegal for men. Ladies, that is not inequality. That is just reality. Speaking of reality, I often feel like I live on, like, a different planet than people like Alex Cooper because I'm like, are you really sitting around thinking about the fact that we have not had a female president? Like, is that something that consumes your day to day life? I can probably count on one hand the times that I have thought about, oh, yeah, man, we haven't had a female president. It's probably even less than that that I've sat around and gone, man, we really need one. I just don't care. I really don't. I genuinely do not care. Does not matter to me. I want the best person for the job. If it's a woman, great. If it's not, I do not care. That does not consume my everyday being. And it's kind of odd that it does for you. Now, in my mind, all of this goes back to something that I said early last year when I was doing an episode about Michelle Obama launching her own podcast with her brother. And it was that I genuinely think that Michelle is deeply jealous, that she is deeply jealous and resentful, that she is deeply angry that it was Barack and not her that became president. Because she's always coming up with these excuses for why she's never going to run. You know, because she doesn't do politics, she'll never be a politician. She's too much of a common woman to do something as elite as that or because, you know, men aren't ready for somebody like her to be president. And it just kind of seems to me like she's trying to absolve herself of any responsibility and make herself feel bigger and better than this political office that she is now forever tied to because of her husband. And I think that that is why she takes every single opportunity she has to mock her husband and belittle his influence and his former job. Way back in 2017, it feels like a million years ago, there was a Harvard law professor who had taught both Michelle and Barack, who said that she actually was the smarter of the couple and that she was actually more suited for the Oval Office. You can see this headline here. The Obama's law professor says that Michelle should have been president. I feel like Michelle saw that article and she took it to heart. Or maybe she already thought that herself. Therefore, it wouldn't surprise me if she harbors all of this resentment about her husband getting the opportunity instead of her. You know, the smarter Obama, the more accomplished career woman Obama. And it's all because she's a woman and the world wasn't ready and still isn't ready today. Or Michelle. Just my hypothesis. Maybe it's the fact that Americans simply are not ready for an arrogant, out of touch president who complains every single time she opens her mouth and that your husband was objectively cooler and funnier and more charismatic even people on the other side of the aisle can acknowledge. I have done a lot of complaining myself today and one of my favorite things to do is laugh about Michelle Obama. But I don't want to be completely negative in this episode. And there was one good thing that I liked that came out of this interview and it is something that I actually say often that I really, really believe. And so I do love that Michelle shared it. I don't really care who the messenger is. I do think that this is an important thing to get out to the world. This is what she said.
Michelle Obama
I want young listeners to focus more on their internal feelings instead of what the world is telling you to feel. Really start trusting your gut and building that internal gut of how you feel about other people, how you feel about yourself. In I because I think in the end the work is still within. Like the only thing you really can can control is you in this world. Do the work on self, work on being as whole as you can be because you can't control who's going to love you, who's gonna like you, who's gonna give you a job, who's gonna see you the way you wanna be seen. Because everybody has their own stuff. And so you can't define yourself by other people's stuff.
Podcast Host
I mean, I love that. And obviously some people will hear that and they'll take this as permission for any pray love adventure. You know, I'm not gonna distract myself with men. I'm gonna go focus on me and me and me. And obviously there's a lot of selfish people in the world. But the ethics, the essence of her message is that you are in control of your life. You have agency over yourself, your responses and your emotions. And I think that that is paramount. And she says this in regards to dating advice that she's giving to young women, which I also totally agree with. You need to know yourself and your goals before you invite somebody else into your life, before you start dating. But again, she's also saying something that is just so important about life. There is so much noise in the world, and at the end of the day, you can only control your response and how you operate. You know, I almost just said you can only kind of control your family unit, but you can't even control things that happen within that unit. It really just comes down to you. You might not be able to control the people that you meet or the things that knock you off your feet or the opportunities or the jobs that are presented to you, but you do have the power to control your reaction and what you are going to make out of what life gives you. And the thing is, for Michelle, she was handed this incredible life due to her husband's job and his influence, massive amounts of money and access and adoration, things that they would have not had if they had just stayed being professors and attorneys. Her response every single time she sits down is that it just wasn't good enough. Michelle, I genuinely think you would be a lot happier if you took your own advice and you reoriented your perspective. Just saying.
Date: January 25, 2026
Host: Brett Cooper
Episode Theme: Brett dives into Michelle Obama’s recent Call Her Daddy (CHD) interview with Alex Cooper, critiquing what she sees as contradictions, performative feminism, and Michelle's ongoing grievances about the public's focus on her fashion, her role as First Lady, and the status of women in politics.
This episode centers on Michelle Obama’s interview on Call Her Daddy, specifically her comments about her public image, fashion, accomplishments, and the state of female empowerment in politics. Brett Cooper scrutinizes apparent contradictions between Michelle’s messaging and her actions, critiques her persistent complaints about media portrayal and sexism, and discusses broader cultural implications regarding modern feminism, generational attitudes, and authenticity.
Timestamp Highlights:
Notable Commentary:
Brett’s analysis is sharp, sarcastic, and provocative, leaning into cultural criticism and humor. She intersperses her arguments with anecdotes and internet reactions, using a tone that's both caustic and conversational, especially when mocking what she sees as shallow feminism or hypocrisy.
This episode unpacks the contradictions and performative elements of Michelle Obama's Call Her Daddy interview—from fashion politics to feminist rhetoric—ultimately questioning the authenticity of Michelle’s self-presentation and the persistence of certain cultural narratives. Although most of the discussion is critical, Brett acknowledges a universal truth in Michelle’s advice about personal agency and self-knowledge, closing on a rare note of agreement.