After initially airing more substantive portions of her April 15 interview with President Obama, on Wednesday, NBC Today
co-host Savannah Guthrie made time to show a third part of the
exchange: "...because of breaking news, we weren't able to show you yet
our brief chat after that interview..." The "chat" that followed
covered such hard-hitting topics as the First Lady's "mom dancing" on
Jimmy Fallon, the President's own dance skills, and what viral videos he
watches. [Listen to the audio [1]]
Guthrie wondered: "What did you think of her [Michelle Obama's] mom dancing?" A clip followed of the First Lady recently dancing with Late Night host Jimmy Fallon. Guthrie followed up: "Do you have dad dancing that can give it a run for its money?"
The President explained: "You know, she consistently maintains, and I
don't argue with her, that she's a better dancer than me....And in
private, you know, I can bust a move and I think I'm pretty good."
After grilling Obama on his "dad dancing," Guthrie further pressed him on his moves: "I heard a rumor of Gangnam Style around inauguration at the White House. Can you confirm?" Obama replied: "I can confirm that. Fortunately, we destroyed all the tapes."
Guthrie then tried to pin the President down on other important matters of state: "Is there any trend or viral video or music that the girls are into right now that you just don't get?" Obama responded: "You know, the girls have been pretty good about keeping me posted on what's cool and what's not."
Guthrie pushed back: "If you like it, is it immediately uncool?" The
President then revealed: "No. Although Michelle and I have used this
strategy when it comes to things like tattoos. What we've said to the
girls is, if you guys ever decide you're going to get a tattoo, then
mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo....our thinking is that
might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that's a good way to
rebel."
In the first part of the interview aired on the April 16 Today, Guthrie pushed Obama from the left on gun control [2]. In the second portion aired on the 17th, she wondered if the President was rooting for Hillary Clinton in 2016 [3].
Here is a full transcript of the exchange featured on the April 24 Today:
8:15AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well, President Obama of course was also one of the people on Time's list. We actually talked to him shortly before the tragedy in Boston. And last week we showed you our interview, which covered topics like gun control, North Korea, and immigration. But because of breaking news, we weren't able to show you yet our brief chat after that interview, where we touched on life at the White House, his kids, and his predecessor.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Savannah One-On-One With The President; Obama on Legacy of President George W. Bush]
You'll be in Texas, dedicating or being part of the dedication of the Bush Library. Has your viewpoint changed on him and his legacy as you've now walked these halls and held this job?
BARACK OBAMA: Well, I've always thought that President Bush was gracious, he was patriotic. He couldn't have been nicer to my team and my family when we made the transition in. And I always had a good, friendly relationship with him. Obviously, we had some deep disagreements in terms of policy, but there's no doubt that anybody who takes on this job has a greater appreciation for the challenges involved. And it is a humbling job, you know you're going to make some mistakes. You know that there are going to be times where you wish you could roll back the clock.
GUTHRIE: Have to ask you, from the sublime to the ridiculous, Mrs. Obama slipped a little bit a couple weeks ago and accidentally referred to herself as a single mother. And I wonder, did you get a kick out of that, or were you consulting your Freud textbook?
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Obama on First Lady's "Single Mother" Comment]
OBAMA: You know, as somebody who has stumbled over my lines many times, you know, I tend to cut my wife, or anybody, some slack when it comes to just slips of the tongue. But there's no doubt that there have been times where Michelle probably felt like a single mom. I know that before we got here, when we were still, when I was running for the U.S. Senate, when I was running for president, there were times where I wouldn't see her for a week, and she was still working and having to look after the girls. And so there's – she definitely, I think, understands the burdens that women in particular tend to feel if they're both responsible for child rearing and they're responsible for working at the same time.
GUTHRIE: What did you think of her mom dancing?
[FOOTAGE OF MICHELLE OBAMA DANCING WITH JIMMY FALLON]
GUTHRIE: Do you have dad dancing that can give it a run for its money?
OBAMA: You know, she consistently maintains, and I don't argue with her, that she's a better dancer than me. I think that, you know, now in private-
GUTHRIE: You're a competitive guy?
OBAMA: I am. And in private, you know, I can bust a move and I think I'm pretty good. But she tends to hold out when it comes to praise of my dancing.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Obama on Dancing and Viral Videos]
GUTHRIE: I heard a rumor of Gangnam Style around inauguration at the White House. Can you confirm?
OBAMA: I can confirm that. Fortunately, we destroyed all the tapes.
GUTHRIE: Is there any trend or viral video or music that the girls are into right now that you just don't get?
OBAMA: You know, the girls have been pretty good about keeping me posted on what's cool and what's not. And we use the – we use the music series here sometimes to invite new artists, just so that I can seem like I'm up to speed on things.
GUTHRIE: If you like it, is it immediately uncool?
OBAMA: No. Although Michelle and I have used this strategy when it comes to things like tattoos. What we've said to the girls is, if you guys ever decide you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo, in the same place, and we'll go on YouTube and show it off as a family tattoo. And our thinking is that might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that's a good way to rebel.
GUTHRIE: Part of our chat with President Obama last week after our interview.
