Hours after Michelle Obama launched a video podcast, Fox News anchor Jesse Watters had already declared it a “flop.”
In a Wednesday night episode of Jesse Watters Primetime, the conservative firebrand said he had been wondering where Obama had been after she skipped a string of major events, including President Donald Trump’s inauguration and former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
“Turns out, Michelle has been busy working on a new podcast, and so far, it’s been a flop,” Watters said. “The first two episodes have been up all day and only gotten a few thousand views on YouTube. Half of them are probably Primetime producers, but still.”
Michelle teamed up with her basketball executive brother to launch IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson, a weekly show where they’ll be joined by guests to answer viewers’ questions and share personal anecdotes. It’s produced by Higher Ground, the media company Michelle and former President Barack Obama founded in 2018.
The show’s first two episodes, including one featuring actress Issa Rae, were released on Wednesday. By late evening, both episodes had only garnered about 21,000 views on YouTube, though the show was rated favorably by thousands of listeners on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The episodes included stories about how Michelle had to train the former president to get ready on time and how their daughters, Sasha and Malia, hated the White House tradition of pardoning turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Fox News personality Rachel Campos-Duffy joined Watters to dismiss the show as “boring.”
“This would’ve been such interesting stories about 15 years ago,” she said. “I don’t care about any of these stories; I didn’t even find them funny.”
Watters also speculated whether the podcast was Michelle’s way of dipping her foot into politics, as Campos-Duffy noted that liberals like California Gov. Gavin Newsom have been making forays into the popular medium.
“Liberals have been wanting to break into this podcast medium for a long time,” Campos-Duffy said. “Conservatives have been so successful at it. It’s basically what helped Donald Trump ride into the White House, showing just who he is, and liberals can’t seem to break into it.”
