First Lady Michelle Obama (Extended) | NYC Mayor-athon

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Episode: First Lady Michelle Obama (Extended) | NYC Mayor-athon

Date: November 5, 2025
Guest: Michelle Obama

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Overview

In this engaging and heartfelt episode of The Late Show Pod Show, Stephen Colbert welcomes back former First Lady Michelle Obama for a candid and insightful conversation. Fresh from releasing her new book, The Look, Michelle Obama reflects on her years in and outside the White House, the soft power of fashion, family life post-presidency, and the importance of wisdom and living intentionally. The episode also features Stephen's signature political satire, poking fun at the NYC mayoral race, political endorsements, and weathering the persistent absurdities of American politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Life After the White House

[16:04–17:51]

• Stephen Colbert notes that Michelle Obama has now been out of the White House for nearly as long as she was in it.
• Michelle Obama reflects on personal transformation:

  "You were never the exact same person that you were. So I think I am a new and improved version of myself... I think I'm tougher. I think I'm more confident... there's just a level of wisdom that comes with [age]." (17:31, Michelle Obama)

• She emphasizes remembering the goodness in Americans and cherishing her experiences.

2. Family & Empty Nesting

[17:51–18:14]

• The Obamas are enjoying their empty nester phase.
• Michelle jokes about Barack still working hard for democracy:

  "He's still working, he's campaigning, he's still trying to carry democracy on his back." (18:14, Michelle Obama)

3. The Soft Power of Fashion & The Look

[18:17–29:14]

• Michelle discusses using fashion strategically as First Lady:

  "I had to control every aspect of how I showed up in the world. It was a race to let the country learn me from me before they learned this other crazy woman..." (18:46, Michelle Obama)

• She faced distortions of her image and used style to counter negative stereotypes.
• Being a Black woman on the cover of leading magazines was a statement of inclusion:

  "I wanted to take advantage of the fact that as the first lady, yes, you can be smart and educated and beautiful and sexy and interesting and all those things. And yes, you can be a black woman, a tall 5'11 black woman."

• Her inaugural gown by Jason Wu was an intentional choice to highlight minority and American designers:

  "It wasn't the dress was beautiful... but the message in the dress, selecting Jason Wu, not going with a traditional fashion house, was a statement about opening up opportunity." (22:11, Michelle Obama)

• Tribute to her longstanding style team, sharing behind-the-scenes stories of foreign trips, quick touch-ups, and third-helicopter rides ("There's a third staff helicopter. And it's terrifying..." 24:47, Michelle Obama)

4. State Dinners & Life in the East Wing

[25:16–29:14]

• Stephen recalls being Michelle's date at a state dinner, discussing dress choices and Barack Obama's reactions:

  "[Barack] waited for me to come out... Like prom... the Butlers came out... the girls were like, they wanted to see his eyes go la oo nga." (26:19, Michelle Obama)

• Lighthearted banter about men's fashion simplicity versus women's ("Men have it so easy... the tuxedo, that's it" 27:15, Michelle Obama).
• Comments on traditions and the meaning of the East Wing:

  "That's where life happened... that's where children came, we had puppies... it was the people's house." (29:14, Michelle Obama)

• Expresses sadness and confusion over the loss of White House norms and traditions.

5. Wisdom, Saying "No," and Intentional Living

[31:35–33:47]

• The final chapter of Michelle’s book is about confidence, particularly in saying no:

  "The beauty about understanding my power, saying no, it frees me up to say a lot of yes, but yes to the things that I want to do in the way that I want to do them." (32:01, Michelle Obama)

• She discusses the challenge women face in owning wisdom and trusting their gut, often comparing to men.
• Now, at 61, she values her time deeply:

  "At 61, there are a limited amount of summers... I want to be mindful about those 30 summers. I want to know what I'm doing with them... I love life so much that I want to take it slow." (33:19, Michelle Obama)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Michelle Obama on her evolution:
  "I do carry the wisdom and the joy of those eight years, and I hold it in my heart because, as I've always said, it was a true honor." (16:30)

• On the power of self-presentation as FLOTUS:
  "It was a race to let the country learn me from me before they learned this other crazy woman..." (18:46)

• On fashion as inclusion:
  "Fashion for me was a message of inclusion. We supported American designers intentionally. We supported diverse designers." (22:28)

• On life perspective and priorities:
  "If I'm lucky and blessed and stay healthy, maybe 30 [summers]... I love life so much that I want to take it slow. And part of taking it slow is learning to be very clear about how I want to spend my time." (33:19)

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Political Satire Highlights (Opening Monologue)

(03:57–15:33)

• Colbert satirizes NYC's mayoral race with jokes at the expense of Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Zoran Mamdani.
• On Trump's support for Cuomo:

  "'Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice.' Which, incidentally, was Andrew Cuomo's go to pickup line." (06:17, Colbert)

• On Nancy Pelosi’s comment about Trump:

  "'He's just a vile creature, the worst thing on the face of the earth. But anyway...'" (10:56)

• Jests about Dick Cheney's passing and legal disclaimers regarding his famous hunting accident.

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Life after the White House & personal growth: 16:04–17:51
• Family & post-presidential life: 17:51–18:14
• Fashion as soft power, representation, and strategy as First Lady: 18:17–29:14
• State dinners & East Wing traditions: 25:16–29:14
• Wisdom, confidence, and valuing time: 31:35–33:47

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Conclusion

This extended interview offers a rare blend of laughter, memory, and wisdom from one of the most influential women of modern America. Michelle Obama captivates with reflections on how public life shaped her, the power of fashion for social change, and the clarity that comes with age and experience. Stephen Colbert’s warmth and wit create a comfortable space for candid stories and meaningful insights, making the episode essential listening for fans of politics, pop culture, and personal growth.

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Host: Stephen Colbert
Guest: Michelle Obama
Notable Book: The Look (2025)

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, everybody. Stephen Colbert here about to read the copy for our sponsor. This is from our friends at Wonderful Pistachios. And I was the wonderful pistachio spokesman for years. Yeah, I have a real close association with nut meat. Okay. You know what they say when they reach for a snack? Don't hold back. And that's exactly the approach with Wonderful Pistachios. The don't hold back snack. These little wonders are so tasty, it feels like getting away with something. But surprise. Each serving has 6 grams of protein and 0 grams of regret. That's right. No guilt. Just glory, glory in our nuts. Whether it's a satisfying crack of in shell pistachios, and that's capitalized in shell, or the smooth, instant gratification of no shells. No judgment. That's just it. Just eat. No judgment. I take issue with one thing. It's instant gratification. It's super tasty smooth.

[Michelle Obama]

It's a hard nut smooth.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[Michelle Obama]

We can't disparage the nuts. You.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not disparaging the nut. I'm describing the nut.

[Michelle Obama]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not. I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios. I love a crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter? Who cares?

[Michelle Obama]

Very good.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[Michelle Obama]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious.

[Stephen Colbert]

I didn't even know I get them.

[Michelle Obama]

Before the softball games.

[Stephen Colbert]

But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful Pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Wonderful pistachios has every snack style covered right now. There's an obsession with jalapeno lime. There is an obsession session. It's almost a disorder. It's spicy, it's zesty. It's basically a flavor roller coaster in a nut. Snacking on the go. Grab a bag of no shells. Feeling contemplative and want to work for it a little. So earning it, they're saying, if you want to earn your nut, crack open those in shell beauties. Either way, it's snacking like a champ. So the next time hunger strikes, don't hold back. Unless it's a hunger strike, and then it's important that you do, because whatever you're doing that for, I'm sure it's a worthwhile cause. Snack like you mean it with wonderful pistachios. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more.

[Michelle Obama]

That was a wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[Michelle Obama]

They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[Michelle Obama]

No, no, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bring it on.

[Michelle Obama]

Nothing bad to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nut me, nut. Nut me with nut meat.

[Michelle Obama]

We're nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty. Good.

[Michelle Obama]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome one and all to the Late Show. I am your host, Stephen Colbert. Ladies and gentlemen, once again, it is election night in America, or as they call it in the rest of the world. Guys, come look. They're about to do something stupid. Since it's an off year, it's only election night in part of America. Here in New York City, we're electing a new mayor. We taped the show early, so we still don't know who will be chosen to fill current mayor Eric Adams shoes and intergalactic chef tunic. The candidates are former governor Andrew Cuomo, seen here showing everyone where he touched everyone. State assemblyman and English teacher. You know, Shakespeare was kind of the first rapper Zoran Mamdani and conservative activist and guy waiting for the beret store to open, Curtis Sliwa. Over the weekend, the candidates made their last appeals to voters at events all over New York City. On Saturday, Mamdani campaigned at multiple clubs and bars where he was spotted dancing and singing along to Empire State of Mind. He. He was at the club. We haven't seen a New York mayor do that since. Every moment of Eric Adams, Life on Sunday, Mamdani went to see the Knicks from up in the rafters just a month after Cuomo sat courtside. Not to be outdone, Curtis Sliwa sat under the Triborough Bridge to referee a pickup boxing match between two police horses. Yesterday, Andrew Cuomo showed off his bold choice of a new campaign vehicle. It's a 1996 white Ford Bronco, which many, many have pointed out looks just like O.J. simpson's getaway car. And Cuomo tried to address the controversy in a video and did not. People saying, oh, that's the O.J.

[Michelle Obama]

Brockman.

[Stephen Colbert]

Actually, it's not the O.J.

[Michelle Obama]

Bronx.

[Stephen Colbert]

And if you look closely, you will see the black and gold stripe on the side that clearly distinguishes it from the OJ Body. Yeah, I see that. Yeah, I see that. I see that. Totally different. If you look at the blood on my wall, you'll notice I spelled helter skelter correct. Cuomo has been polling behind in the race, but yesterday he picked up a big endorsement when Donald Trump posted. Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. Which, incidentally, was Andrew Cuomo's go to pickup line. Cuomo. Cuomo was asked. Cuomo. Cuomo was asked about Trump's support on a New York radio show yesterday, and things got weird.

[Michelle Obama]

Your boy was just on 60 Minutes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Cuomo saying that you're his guy. No, first of. Trump said, you're his candidate. If he had to pick a bad Democrat. Or what did he say? Or a communist. Or a communist, he's picking you.

[Michelle Obama]

Hello.

[Stephen Colbert]

I think that he was. They cut him off. I think he had to. That he had to rap. Huh? Huh? I wonder where'd he go? Do we have footage of where the governor went? We continue to watch this Ford Bronco going north on the 405. There you go. There he is. A.C. with A.C. trump isn't Cuomo's only questionable endorsement. He also got support from Elon Musk, Eric Adams, George Santos, and Stephen Miller, everyone New Yorkers love. Cuomo has also been endorsed by subway seat puddle, your neighbor with the trumpet, and angry man in the park who wants you to know that you'll burn in hell and. Or do you have a boyfriend? But Trump did have a strong opinion about the Republican nominee. Curtis Sliwa looks much better without the beret. Okay, let's fact check that. Here's Curtis Sliwa with his beret. And this is Sliwa without. Oh, no. Oh, no. Looks like the chicken is cooking unevenly. They definitely Tented that with tinfoil. Too soon. Kids, kids. Sliwa's head is a cautionary tale about what happens when your beret is too small. But he couldn't pass up the endorsement deal from Tight little berets. They're Spanx for your skull. New Yorkers. That is both the most jokes and the last jokes. New Yorkers have been out on the streets in support of their favorite candidates over the weekend. One Mamdani supporter tweeted this photo with the caption canvassing for Zorhan Mamdani in the East Village today. And the actor who plays Dr. Sturges on young Sheldon is in my canvassing group now. Naturally, folks online got mad at the person who posted the tweet for failing to recognize Wallace Shawn from his other work. Yes, obviously Young Sheldon isn't what Wallace Shawn is most known for. He's most known for portraying persnickety debate teacher Mr. Hall in the movie Clueless. To know him, to know him from any other role would be inconceivable.

[Michelle Obama]

There you go.

[Stephen Colbert]

There it is. It's not just New York City. There are also other places in America. And there are gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia where gardens are for lovers. The results aren't in as of this taping. Nothing. Nothing, right? Nothing yet. Okay. But Democrats are favored to win both states. California. Somebody knock on wood, please. California has got a redistricting measure on the ballot called Prop 50. And Nancy Pelosi went on CNN to support it, but instead made news when she said this about Donald Trump. He's just a vile creature, the worst.

[Michelle Obama]

Thing on the face of the earth. But anyway.

[Stephen Colbert]

Ok, wow, wow, wow, wow. I'm not disagreeing, but that's a weird way to end that thought. He is evil incarnate. Merely to gaze upon him is to stare into the mouth of madness and be consumed by infernal darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for eternity. Anywhoski, the reporter. The reporter couldn't quite believe what he heard. You think he's the worst thing on the face of the earth? I do. Yeah, I do. I don't think that's entirely fair. I think he's the second worst thing in between eating half your sandwich before realizing it's moldy. And that fish in the Amazon that swims up your pee hole. I guess what I'm saying is pee hole fish 2028. You know, that's a real thing. That's a real thing. Watch out. You gotta watch out. You know who agrees with Nancy Pelosi, most Americans, because according to a new CNN poll, Trump's approval rating has fallen to a second term low of 37%, down from 47% in mid February. But Trump, of course, has his own numbers. He posted. So many fake polls are being shown by the radical left media. In the fair polls, I have the best numbers I have ever had. Oh, come on, man. You know what they say. Denial is not just a river where that fish swims up your pee hole, okay? It's not the Nile, it's the Amazon. The Amazon. He continued. Fake news will never change. They are evil and corrupt. But as I look around my beautiful surroundings, I say to myself, oh, look, Oval Office. Nothing to worry about, folks. Just the man with the launch codes discovering where he's sitting in real time. Where am I now? Oh, look, I'm eating a cheeseburger. But what are these wrappers for? Four more burgers. Did I eat five cheeseburgers? And why am I behind the counter at McDonald's? And why is the fry guy tied up? Oh God. Oh God, it happened again. Now, speaking of people who do not like Donald Trump, I passionately disagreed and distrusted his leadership during the Bush administration. But I take no pleasure in the news that former Vice President Dick Cheney died last night at the age of 84. They have not announced anything about services yet, but they are asking, well wishers, in lieu of flowers, please shoot a friend in the face. Hi, we, we had some fun just now with the idea of you shooting a friend in the face as a way of commemorating the life of Dick Cheney. That's because in 2006, and you can look this up, he famously shot his friend in the face accidentally when they were quail hunting. The man subsequently apologized to Cheney for getting his face in the way of the pellets. I think it's clear that that was a joke I just made. But our legal team at cbs, and this is true, reached out and asked if I could clarify that no one should shoot their friend or anyone in the face. I was kidding, but I was obviously kidding. But I do want to say sincerely to our friends over at Legal, thank you for your guidance. And also I want to say to legal that from now on, instead of giving me one of these notes, just shoot me in the face. And I want to point out that that was also a joke. So no need for another note from legal. We got a great show for you tonight. Coming up, first lady Michelle Obama, ladies and gentlemen, my first guest tonight is a two time Grammy winner, a best Selling author and a former first lady. Her new book is called the Luck. Please welcome back to the Late Show, First Lady Michelle Obama. Woo.

[Michelle Obama]

Okay. Good night.

[Stephen Colbert]

Good to see you.

[Michelle Obama]

Pleasure.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's all we have time for, folks. Oh, my God. Lovely to see you again. Thanks so much for being here.

[Michelle Obama]

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[Stephen Colbert]

As you can tell, it makes everybody happy.

[Michelle Obama]

This is all here. So happy.

[Stephen Colbert]

We were talking, my producer and I were talking this afternoon. It's amazing. It's amazing to realize that while you spent eight years in the White House, you have now been out of the White House for eight years longer.

[Michelle Obama]

It's closer to nine and I'm counting.

[Stephen Colbert]

All right, all right. And I'm just curious, obviously there are a bunch of changes that come with becoming the first lady and living in the White House and having that public life. I'm just curious, in the almost nine years since you left, have you, I mean, there have to be other changes. Have you changed back into the person you were before or have you moved on to become another person that you did not expect?

[Michelle Obama]

That is a very, very good question.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's what I do, baby.

[Michelle Obama]

I know you're good at it.

[Stephen Colbert]

Come on.

[Michelle Obama]

Woo. Deep, deep.

[Stephen Colbert]

We go deep.

[Michelle Obama]

You know, after being the first lady, living that life, you were never the exact same person that you were. So I think I am a new and improved version of myself. But I do carry the wisdom and the joy of those eight years, and I hold it in my heart because, as I've always said, it was a true honor. I remind people that being the first lady allowed me to see the country in a way that most people do not. And what I saw for eight years, 10 if you count the two years of campaigning, was a decent country with decent people that all want the same thing. And it is so important for us to remember that that is exactly who we are. And we have to hold that truth because it keeps me going. So I think I'm tougher. I think I'm more confident. I think those eight years made me very clear about what I wanted and didn't want and time. I mean, I'm 61 now, y', all, so there's just a level of wisdom that comes with that. And I don't know if I can attribute that to the eight years of the White House or just 61 years of living life.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah. And you're empty nesters now.

[Michelle Obama]

They're gone.

[Stephen Colbert]

Are you and Barack out there, like, traveling the world and having fun together or.

[Michelle Obama]

We are having a lot of fun together. You know, he's still working, he's campaigning, he's still trying to carry democracy on his back.

[Stephen Colbert]

Please send our thanks.

[Michelle Obama]

I will, I will.

[Stephen Colbert]

You've got a beautiful new book here. I got a new book. It's called the Look. It's about your style and the soft power of fashion.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And, you know, American culture is part of our soft power, and fashion is part of our culture. How did you wield it?

[Michelle Obama]

Ooh, carefully, thoughtfully, strategically.

[Stephen Colbert]

When did you realize that it was something to wield? That it was actually, I think right away.

[Michelle Obama]

I mean, the campaign was beautiful, but, you know, I felt the politics of it fast. I learned a lot of lessons about what I had to look out for and how quickly people were willing to take my story and distort it. So I knew very quickly that I had to control every aspect of how I showed up in the world. It was a race to let the country learn me from me before they learned this other crazy woman that they were talking about, the angry, bitter black woman that was a terrorist and a danger to her country and didn't love her country. And how I showed up in the world played a huge role and just reminding people that we're normal people. Yes, we're black, but we bleed red, and we love red, white and blue. And a lot of that went into thinking strategically about how I showed up every day.

[Stephen Colbert]

Now, how did this come about? This is a famous. This is a famous cover.

[Michelle Obama]

This is my last Vogue cover. I've been on the COVID of millions of magazines. Millions. That's an exaggeration. A lot of them. And being on the COVID was a strategy that I don't think initially the West Wing understood. You know, they're a bunch of guys over in the West Wing. They don't know nothing about fashion. And they thought, well, maybe being on the COVID of Vogue anytime was sending the wrong message. But what I understood was that the opportunity for a black woman to be on the COVID of a style and fashion magazine that was not a model or an actress was a rare thing. And messaging was everything, you know, and when was the last time there's been somebody on there that isn't a model or an actress? I know that growing up, who I saw on the covers of magazines, who I saw on TV as a young girl really mattered to my self esteem. So I wanted to take advantage of the fact that as the first lady, yes, you can be smart and educated and beautiful and sexy and interesting and all those things. And yes, you can be a black woman, a tall 5, 11. Black woman. Did you see the shoulder? You missed that.

[Stephen Colbert]

Did you see that? Sure. I'm just trying not to react. Okay. Okay, let's talk about some of the fashion. This is. This is. Look at Steven's talking about first inauguration.

[Michelle Obama]

Look at him talk about that.

[Stephen Colbert]

I can talk about bias cut, shantung, bodice cut. What?

[Michelle Obama]

It's bodice cut. Is it bias cut?

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, a bias cut is when you cut the fabric so that it hangs. Look at you in sort of a very loose way. Bias cut.

[Michelle Obama]

Mic drop. Mic drop.

[Stephen Colbert]

I have to discuss this stuff with Evie before we go out at night. I have to have opinion about whether the neutral shoes are the black shoes and how high the heel is supposed to be.

[Michelle Obama]

Well done.

[Stephen Colbert]

I know. The answer is always, you look fantastic.

[Michelle Obama]

That's right. Don't you forget.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, so here you are in your first inaugural ball in 2009. This is your first gown right there. This was a gown designed by designer Jason Wu, and one example of the pieces you chose from diverse designers.

[Michelle Obama]

This was the first opportunity that I had to make a statement about what was going to be different about this White House.

[Stephen Colbert]

Can I see this close up here? Just real close. Look at Barack Obama right there, ladies. Find yourself someone who looks at you the way he's looking at you right there.

[Michelle Obama]

What a cutie. Yeah, it's a beautiful dress. It's a beautiful dress. But the message in the dress, selecting Jason Wu, not going with a traditional fashion house, was a statement about opening up opportunity. Oscar de la Renta was somebody that tended to dress the first ladies for inauguration. And my thought was, you did it. You've dressed everyone. This is a time to really open it up and give some young designers an opportunity, some minority designers. So it wasn't. The dress was beautiful. Don't get me wrong, ladies. The first measure. Is it cute? Does it feel good? And that dress was beautiful. And the story of Jason, an immigrant, the inclusivity, inclusion. Fashion for me was a message of inclusion. We supported American designers intentionally. We supported diverse designers. And this book is as much a tribute to all the people who worked behind the scenes. I didn't talk about fashion because I thought it could be a distraction. I wanted my message, my work to speak for itself. But let me tell you, the designers, my style team.

[Stephen Colbert]

Here's your style team right here. I was very curious about this.

[Michelle Obama]

You call them trifecta, although there are more than three of them.

[Stephen Colbert]

These are the people who advised you on style, styled you, and also gave you advice on design.

[Michelle Obama]

These are the People who've been with me the longest. Hair, makeup, styling. There have been more people that have been part of the team throughout the eight years of the White House and shout out to everyone, but this team has been with me the longest. And they, you know, they're behind the scenes. There's nothing glamorous about styling the first lady. I mean, I talk about some of those behind the scenes stories. What it's like to travel and do a foreign trip. And they're in hold somewhere without air conditioning, waiting for me for hours to touch up a lip. They're usually thrown in the third helicopter. They're not in Marine One. Yes. There's a third staff helicopter. And it's terrifying. I mean, they're buckled down face to face. You know, it's not Marine One. You know, there's steerage and they're in the other one.

[Stephen Colbert]

Right. You realize the rest of us don't know what Marine One is. You guys know what Marine One is? Like, you know?

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Guys.

[Stephen Colbert]

Totally different pretzels back there.

[Michelle Obama]

The presidential helicopter.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Michelle Obama]

Is that nice? It's okay for helicopters, you know, I mean, it's a government helicopter.

[Stephen Colbert]

So one state dinner, and there are a bunch of state dinners. I managed to go to one with you.

[Michelle Obama]

You were my date.

[Stephen Colbert]

I was your date for the French state dinner.

[Michelle Obama]

Even though you were shocked by it?

[Stephen Colbert]

I was completely shocked.

[Michelle Obama]

Is this my chair? It's like, yeah, just sit.

[Stephen Colbert]

This. This is the state dinner. You were wearing Versace chainmail.

[Michelle Obama]

Versace.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's another. That's another look of admiration from Barack Obama. Were state dinners fun? Were they romantic?

[Michelle Obama]

You know, at the beginning, we would have a ritual where I would get ready with my team and the girls would come in and sneak a peek. And Barack wouldn't know what I was wearing. And he would sit, sit in the cross hall in the residence. And every state dinner, he waited for me to come out. And everybody came out. Like prom. Like, the team came out. The Butlers came out. They were like, what's he gonna do when he sees this dress? The girls were like, they wanted to see his eyes go la oo nga. That's from the cartoons, people, way back.

[Stephen Colbert]

When, give him a little shoulder.

[Michelle Obama]

And yeah, I would walk out and he would just go nuts. And then, you know, we just tried to treat it like a date. You know, walk downstairs, go out to the north portico with thousands of flashing lights and the silence. It was just so interesting because we would greet the leaders on the North Portico. We'd walk out that official greeting that you often see. And it's complete silence, except for the press just facing you with flashing lights going on and on. And that in that moment before work started, because once the leaders got out of the car, it was a work night. We always tried to have a little moment of, hey, you, you know, you look cute, you know, and then we wouldn't talk to each other for the rest of the night.

[Stephen Colbert]

You stuck with guys like me for the night?

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah, you know, I mean, I'm trying to entertain my seatmate. You now.

[Stephen Colbert]

Men have it easier. I'm a cheap date now.

[Michelle Obama]

Men have it so easy.

[Stephen Colbert]

Easy. They got the tuxedo. That's it. It's just like, what style tie are you going to wear? Did it make you happy when he got trouble for the tan suit?

[Michelle Obama]

Like, welcome to my.

[Stephen Colbert]

Did you show you one of that?

[Michelle Obama]

I certainly did. I certainly did.

[Stephen Colbert]

I thought it was a lovely suit.

[Michelle Obama]

And then he was like, see, that's why I never wear anything different. You know, in all these beautiful state dinner pictures where I'm in dress, beautiful gown after beauty. He's right there. Same tux. Literally, y'. All, the same tux. There weren't two tuxes. There was one tux.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is there anything in his wardrobe you want to kick out now?

[Michelle Obama]

Oh, man, he's really stepping it up. He says that every time he puts something on, he's like, I'm still stepping up my game. I'm with. Yeah, he does sound like that.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's spot on. I'm stepping up my game. That is spot on.

[Michelle Obama]

Stepping up my game. But he used to wear the same Gap khaki pants. And like any man, his shopping was just going to get a new pair of the exact same pants.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with that?

[Michelle Obama]

That's crazy.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, sure.

[Michelle Obama]

I was like, try blue, try green. You know, let's go with the different fabric. So. But he is definitely stepping up his game. The girls give him a little. We really try to encourage him when he comes out in something like that's a color. We're like, look at you in purple. Oh, you're so fantastic.

[Stephen Colbert]

How brave.

[Michelle Obama]

So brave. So brave.

[Stephen Colbert]

As I said, it's a beautiful book. And many of the photos were taken in the east wing.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

And Betty Ford was.

[Michelle Obama]

Remember that?

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, vaguely. You come in for the state dinner through there. I heard that Betty Ford once said, if the west wing is the mind of the nation, then the east wing is the heart. As someone who worked and lived there. And the first lady's office was in the East Wing. Tell me about the heart of that place that is now lost.

[Michelle Obama]

Ooh. You know, that's where life happened. I mean, the West Wing was work. Sometimes it was sadness, it was problems. It was, you know, it was the guts of the White House. And the East Wing was where you felt light. You know, that's where children came. We had puppies. I mean, literally apples and, you know, and it was an important distinction because West Wing team, they needed that break. You know, they needed to come to a place where they could be reminded of the reason we were doing this. But let me tell you, Stephen, people have asked me how I felt about the move. And what I remind people is that house is not our house. I never viewed it. We never viewed it as our house. We were there for a time. We had a job to do. We always felt it was the people's house. And the notion that. And yes, everybody, every family, every administration, has a right and a duty to maintain the house, make investments and improvements, and there are plenty of things that needed fixing there. But the thing that it makes me confused. I am confused by what are our norms, what are our standards, what are our traditions? I just feel like, what is important to us as a nation anymore? Because I'm lost. There were a whole standard of norms and rules that we followed to a T that we painstakingly tried to uphold because it was bigger than us that. That East Wing. That's not my feelings about that. It's not mine. It is ours. But we have to get, as a country, decide what rules are we following and who is to abide by them and who isn't. I am lost. And I hope that more Americans feel lost in a way that they want to be found again, because it's up to us to find what we're losing.

[Stephen Colbert]

The last chapter of the book is called Confidently Me, and lately we've been talking about confidence in saying no. And I'm curious, do you find it freeing to say no? For instance, you did not go to the inaugural.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah, that was freeing.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes.

[Michelle Obama]

The beauty about understanding my power, saying no, it frees me up to say a lot of yes, but yes to the things that I want to do in the way that I want to do them. I think that's something, you know, you get at 61. And I always say, I think women, I think we have a hard time owning our wisdom. You know, you all men, you think you're wise at 30. It's like, I know something. You know, it takes us A lifetime to feel confident in stating and identifying the things we know are true. We need a lifetime of success to say, well, maybe I know something. Maybe I got a few things right. Maybe I can trust my gut finally at 61. And I'm also at the point in life where. And my team thinks this is morbid. I mean, at 61, there are a limited amount of summers. You know, I mean, if. If I'm lucky and blessed and stay healthy, maybe 30. All right, let's say I got 30 summers left, and that's great. But let me tell you, I want to be mindful about those 30 summers. I want to know what I'm doing with them. I don't want to look up and have 10 years go past and go, what happens? Because guess what? I think life is beautiful. And I want it to slow down a little bit. And if you don't see, slow it down for yourself. People will fill it up with stuff and you'll look up and a summer has gone by and you don't know where it's gone. So I am. I love life so much that I want to take it slow. And part of taking it slow is learning to be very clear about how I want to spend my time.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you for spending some of it here. Thank you. Enjoy. Every summer. The book is the Look. It's available now. First lady Michelle Obama, everybody. Thank you for listening to the late show pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives. This November, action is free on Pluto tv. Go on the run with Jack Reacher.

[Michelle Obama]

Every suspect was a train killer.

[Stephen Colbert]

Then buckle up for drive. World war Z. Every human being we save is one less fight and Charlie's angels. Damn, I hate to fly. Launch into sci fi adventure with the fifth element and laugh through the mayhem in tropic thunder. What is going on here? All the thrills, all for free. Pluto tv Stream now pay never now.

[Michelle Obama]

Streaming on Paramount plus witness an intimate look at Ozzy Osbourne's fight.

[Stephen Colbert]

I should take pills for fun.

[Michelle Obama]

I would take just her life to reclaim the magic. I took dad to the studio every day. God, he's having a great time.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, of course he's making music.

[Michelle Obama]

I think that that's fuel for my dad. One last time. What do you think about the big farewell show?

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not good at being sick. I'd be long up there, you know.

[Michelle Obama]

Had a brilliant career and it ended in a brilliant way. Ozzy no escape from now. New documentary now streaming on Paramount plus.