Obamas Share Game-Day and Post-White House Plans in Super Bowl Interview
First lady Michelle Obama joined her husband President Barack Obama for the first time in his traditional pre-game interview with Gayle King at the White House before Super Bowl 2016. The live telecast, which took place in the Executive Mansion's Blue Room, was more casual and less politically charged than in the past. During the interview, the Obamas shared their game-day and post-White House plans, while giving viewers a look inside their life as a married couple.
When asked about any special Super Bowl plans, the pair said their annual gathering isn't much different than most American families (Michelle joked that guests get a break from having to follow the “Let’s Move” rules).
“We have a regular group of friends that we have been having the last four or five years,” said the President, who also noted that they watch and rate the commercials. “We all go upstairs in the Treaty Room, which is my office. We clear everything out. It’s your basic wings, pizza, nachos, guac.”
Michelle also broke down how guests can watch the game in three different rooms with different experiences. Although the couple did not share if they were rooting for the Carolina Panthers or Denver Broncos, they said that if there’s a good play, there will be screaming.
“We have the serious watchers, that’s the Treaty Room,” said Michelle. “If you are in that room then you are watching the game. Then there is the outside room where the kids are fooling around by the food. Then there’s what I call the 'champagne room.' That’s where my mother sits, where you don’t know what’s going on but you are close to the champagne.”
Michelle explained that what she's most excited for is the halftime show, featuring Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars. The first lady, who has attended Beyonce’s concerts as a fan in the past, told King she hasn’t talked to Beyonce in preparation for the performance.
“I care deeply about the halftime show,” said Michelle. “I got dressed for the halftime show. I hope Beyonce likes what I’ve got on.”
King preceded to get to know the Obamas on a personal level. She held up a picture of the couple in the elevator together after the Inaugural Ball, asking them to share what what was running through their minds at the time. Both admitted that their feet hurt, but Michelle added that she remembers thinking about how proud she was of her husband during that moment.
King also touched on the Obamas' dating life, and mentioned that in the Sundance film Southside With You (based on the couple's first date), Barack picked up Michelle in a raggedy car with a hole in it. When King asked Michelle her thoughts on the date, Michelle responded, "I thought I'm going to upgrade this brother. We can work with this."
Gayle also played a quick game where she asked the two to complete sentences on how they feel about each other, with Michelle saying, “I love it when he ... holds my hand,” while Barack answered, “I love it when she ... laughs. She’s got a great laugh.”
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The President also said that when it comes to his wife, he “can always count on her to ... tease me about something.” While Michelle said, “I can always count on him to ... not disappoint me.”
With this being the last pre-game presidential interview for Barack, both the POTUS and FLOTUS told King they will be most looking forward to simply relaxing and performing normal tasks without being watched under the public eye.
Michelle said that Barack will want to take a walk by himself outside, while he said Michelle is “going to want to travel and roam around the world in ways that we can't do when traveling in official capacities.”
Barack however did say that when it comes to having any advice for the next president and first lady, he’s working on making the White House more digitally savvy.
“The whole tech thing, we’ve been trying to get that straight for the next group of folks, because this is an old building and there are a lot of dead spots where Wi-Fi doesn’t work,” said Barack.
King ended her interview by asking the President to circle his Super Bowl prediction on a piece of paper, which will be revealed on CBS This Morning on Monday.
