In the latest instance of DNC-late night comedy show synergy, Comedy Central's occasional host of The Daily Show, Josh Johnson, joined former First Lady Michelle Obama and her brother, former college basketball coach Craig Robinson, on their IMO podcast on Thursday to discuss his career, which naturally included The Daily Show. Obama gushed about how he and The Daily Show supposedly fools people “into eating their vegetables” by educating them on the news in an entertaining way, but such praise is hard to reconcile with the actual show.
Late in the episode, Johnson lamented, “I think that there just need to be more, you know, this is like, probably not the most charitable way to put it, but there just need to be more spines all around. I think that there's a lot of, like, Dems consistently fail to capitalize on some of the just pure, pure L’s that Republicans take.”
In more late night-DNC synergy, Michelle Obama gushes to The Daily Show's Josh Johnson, "Well, the beauty of who you are and how you're showing up in the world is that you're doing comedy with spine and with information. And we're at a stage in life where, you know, you kind of… pic.twitter.com/zOdZGIObDT
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 19, 2026
He also declared, “And that's what I mean about, like, a new wave. I think that at a certain point, you need to either make room for or start nurturing the people who actually see the vision in a different way. Like, these institutions are, they are fragile, and they exist in so much as we are willing to protect them. And so if the people that are supposed to be standing guard aren't willing to do that, then it's a lot like speeding. It's like, you're not supposed to do it, but I guess if you don't get caught, it's fine, you know?”
Obama offered up some words of encouragement, “Well, the beauty of who you are and how you're showing up in the world is that you're doing comedy with spine and with information. And we're at a stage in life where, you know, you kind of have to get—fool people into eating their vegetables.”
She had even more words of praise, “I mean, and you're doing that in—at so many different levels. Finding a way to tell the story in a way where you're teaching and making people laugh at the same time, but also making points that get a whole generation and a whole, sort of, constituency of people thinking about issues that they can just put away too easily. And for that, you know, I mean, we're just excited about the comic, the entertainer that you're becoming. Because now's the time that we need people talking with a great spine about these issues, and you're making it happen.”
For liberals, The Daily Show is more like indulging in ice cream. “Spine” just means routinely attacking Republicans while occasionally attacking Democrats from the left. As for the idea that The Daily Show provides viewers with critical information, earlier in the show, Johnson hyped The Daily Show’s supposed ability to educate people on obscure topics like the Congo, but the only time The Daily Show has spent any time discussing that country was making fun of President Trump for not being able to pronounce President Felix Tshisekedi’s name.
Here is a transcript for the February 18 show:
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
2/18/2026
JOSH JOHNSON: I think that there just need to be more, you know, this is like, probably not the most charitable way to put it, but there just need to be more spines all around. I think that there's a lot of, like, Dems consistently fail to capitalize on some of the just pure, pure L’s that Republicans take. And that's what I mean about, like, a new wave. I think that at a certain point, you need to either make room for or start nurturing the people who actually see the vision in a different way. Like, these institutions are, they are fragile, and they exist in so much as we are willing to protect them.
And so if the people that are supposed to be standing guard aren't willing to do that, then it's a lot like speeding. It's like, you're not supposed to do it, but I guess if you don't get caught, it's fine, you know?
MICHELLE OBAMA: Well, the beauty of who you are and how you're showing up in the world is that you're doing comedy with spine and with information. And we're at a stage in life where, you know, you kind of have to get—fool people into eating their vegetables.
JOHNSON: Sure, sure, sure.
OBAMA: I mean, and you're doing that in—at so many different levels. Finding a way to tell the story in a way where you're teaching and making people laugh at the same time, but also making points that get a whole generation and a whole, sort of, constituency of people thinking about issues that they can just put away too easily. And for that, you know, I mean, we're just excited about the comic, the entertainer that you're becoming.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
OBAMA: Because now's the time that we need people talking with a great spine about these issues, and you're making it happen.
JOHNSON: Oh, thank you. That means a lot to me.
OBAMA: Yeah.
JOHNSON: Thank you so much. Thank you for watching.
