adminFormer first lady Michelle Obama rolled out a new video podcast, IMO, with her brother Craig Robinson in March 2025, a project that came with heavy promotion from the mainstream media and the Obamas’ own Higher Ground production company. The launch was billed as warm, sibling-driven conversations about life, relationships, and “everyday questions,” but from the jump it looked less like a cultural event and more like another cable-news hyped vanity project.
Despite the multi-outlet build-up, the numbers tell a blunt story: the show stumbled out of the gate with only a few thousand views on its first uploads and reports of roughly 12,000 views in the first 14 hours, a far cry from the viral reach one might expect for an Obama-branded product. Conservatives and independent observers alike sniffed the weak turnout as proof that elite marketing can’t manufacture genuine engagement when the content doesn’t resonate.
What made matters worse for Team Obama was the tone of the early episodes — Michelle spent airtime airing personal grievances, explaining why she skipped President Trump’s inauguration and fretting about how her choices were perceived, a line of self-absorbed complaint that landed awkwardly for many listeners. Instead of uplifting stories or fresh insight, large swaths of the program read like grievance therapy for the elite class, and conservatives were quick to call it out for sounding whiny and out of touch.
Predictably, conservative voices didn’t hold back: commentators from the right cast the launch as a flop and a metaphor for the broader disconnect between celebrity liberals and everyday Americans, with outlets like The Daily Wire and figures such as Matt Walsh piling on. That reaction wasn’t simply snark; it reflected a pattern where the cultural Left keeps recycling the same personalities and expecting loyalty that simply isn’t automatic anymore.
The weakness wasn’t just a one-day story. A month in, analysts were pointing to a clear drop-off in viewership on YouTube and middling chart placements on streaming platforms — evidence that even with a glittering guest list, the show was failing to build sustained momentum. If a podcast fronted by a former first lady can’t keep listeners after the initial curiosity, it says something about the shrinking cultural power of the DC celebrity class.
Americans are tired of elites lecturing from their ivory towers while acting surprised that real people don’t tune in. The conservative takeaway is simple: stop rewarding hollow performance and grievance with advertising dollars and attention; let market realities sort out which voices actually deserve a platform. If the Obamas want to win back credibility, they’ll need substance, humility, and a willingness to stop feeling sorry for themselves long enough to listen to the country they claim to serve.
