CBS This Morning has a special connection to Democratic stars Barack and Michelle Obama. That connection's is named co-host Gayle King, an Obama donor who partied at the White House. Whenever the Obamas want a lot of air time, they can count on Gayle King. On Friday, she devoted 3 minutes and 58 seconds to fawning over Mrs. Obama. Monday saw another 14 minutes and 48 seconds for a grand total of 18 minutes and 46 seconds.
The two discussed racism in America, as well as the former Fist Lady's new Netflix series on healthy eating. King sounded like a PR operative: “In the year since her family left the White House, Mrs. Obama could have taken some well-earned time off, but she told us she does not take for granted the reach of her voice and the unique platform of a former First Lady.”
Soon the two were playfully discussing Mrs. Obama’s love for knitting:
GAYLE KING: You're knitting? That's sounds -- no disrespect -- but it sounds for old lady. I was surprised.
MICHELLE OBAMA: You know, it's sort of me because I like creating something out of nothing. It's not old lady. I don't want you to come after my knitting community, Gayle.
KING: That’s why I said no disrespect.
OBAMA: Don't get me started with my little knitting. I made Barack a sweater, a crew-neck sweater.
KING: Has he worn it?
OBAMA: He will. It was finished when it got a little warmer. So it’s ready for him. I made halter tops for Malia and Sasha that they love.
KING: There’s something special about that, to know that mom made this for me.
Back in November, King and CBS devoted 48 minutes to pushing Barack Obama’s book A Promised Land. Talking about unidentified "people," the co-host enthused over her own interview: “People have been reaching out, saying they forgot, not forgot, but it was reminder about the humanity and intelligence of Barack Obama and also Michelle Obama."
On Friday, she insisted the Obamas “try very much not to get involved in a political way.” The Obamas aren’t political? This is just a flat-out lie. According to Ballotpedia, the former President has endorsed 591 candidates, all Democrats, since leaving office in 2017.
CBS morphing into the Obama PR firm was sponsored by Jeep and Toyota. Click on the links to let them know what you think.
A partial transcript from Monday is below. Click "expand" to read more.
CBS This Morning
5/10/2021
8:06
GAYLE KING: In the year since her family left the White House, Mrs. Obama could have taken some well-earned time off, but she told us she does not take for granted the reach of her voice and the unique platform of a former First Lady.
MICHELLE OBAMA: I'm 57. Barack will be 60 this year. We still have a lot of life left. To sit by, you know, when you see all the need and all the stuff that needs to be done, we still feel like we have a responsibility to be engaged in this planet. I mean, I'm still not working at the pace I was working. I — I still have more freedom do the things that I want. I'm knitting now.
KING: I was surprised -- you're knitting? That's sounds -- no disrespect -- but it sounds for old lady. I was surprised.
OBAMA: You know, it's sort of me because I like creating something out of nothing. It's not old lady. I don't want you to come after my knitting community, Gayle.
KING: That’s why I said no disrespect.
OBAMA: Don't get me started with my little knitting. I made Barack a sweater, a crew-neck sweater.
KING: Has he worn it?
OBAMA: He will. It was finished when it got a little warmer. So it’s ready for him. I made halter tops for Malia and Sasha that they love.
KING: There’s something special about that, to know that mom made this for me.
OBAMA: Yeah, it’s good. It’s good. The point being is that there's time to do it all. There's plenty of time to continue to work on issues that matter without sort of being in the middle of it. And let me tell you, it helps to have our president, Joe Biden, in office because, you know, when you have a responsible, mature president in office, it's -- it makes it even easier for us to move on to the next phases of the work that we do because we're not sitting and worrying every day about what's going to happen next. But there's still plenty of time to do some good.
