When Michelle Obama made an appearance on the “Daily Show” Tuesday night, host Jon Stewart tried to get the first lady to discuss President Obama’s past—specifically his pot smoking past.
President Obama never kept his drug use a secret from the nation, admitting that he often smoked marijuana during his youth. Although that part of the President’s life is long gone, it has arisen once again in a new book by David Maraniss of The Washington Post that alleges Obama was an active member of the group of boys called the “Choom Gang” that spent a lot of time smoking marijuana.
“I really related to that,” Stewart said referencing Obama’s life before the “turn around” when he decided to stop smoking. The first lady simply laughed along with the host before she said, “I’m not taking any bait.”
The political satirist was very impressed with the first lady for refusing the bait. Jokingly, Stewart pointed at the first lady and said, “I see what this man sees in you.” After being on the campaign trail with her husband and traveling to promote her new book, “American Grown,” it wasn’t surprising that the first lady seemed to be one step ahead of the media strategy.
The host was constantly trying to prod his way into the President’s past but not only did Michelle refuse to provide any damning details, she engaged Stewart in a friendly banter that exposed several of Obama’s accomplishments while in office. She pointed out Obama’s advances towards better health care and even getting the troops home from Iraq.
Early in the interview, Stewart made an observation concerning the President’s recent approval ratings. The TV host began by saying, “Your approval ratings are like ice cream, your husband’s approval rating is like…” The first lady cleverly cut off Stewart and finished his sentence by answering, “It’s like vegetables.” As the conversation carried on, Stewart even suggested that the first lady should use her “through the roof” approval ratings against the president whenever they had disagreements at home. Even the first lady couldn’t help but laugh along with the audience before admitting that she doesn’t have to make the tough decisions that the President is forced to make.
Stewart spared nobody from his comedic wrath as he then moved on to Vice President Biden. “Is it hard for you to raise a kid around Biden,” Stewart asked the first lady. “I would assume that there’s a lot of like ‘Joe! Language.’”
Michelle Obama was forced to hold her stomach in laughter as Stewart wondered if Biden might bring the kids guns to play with. “No, he’s a great vice president and he’s a great friend,” she answered as she wiped away a few tears of laughter.
The interview came to a close with Stewart reminding audiences that Michelle Obama’s new book promoting healthier lifestyles for Americans had finally hit the shelves.
