During a game of “Hot Seat” on Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show, former First Lady Michelle Obama was compelled to bring out her best impression of her husband, Barack Obama, for the amusement of the audience.
“Well, let me tell you, I have three points. One, and then there’s two, and finally, three,” she said, lowering her voice and masterfully inserting the former president’s idiosyncratic pauses into her sentence.
Then she threw the request back at DeGeneres, who quickly flamed out. “Well,” she said, clearing her throat ostentatiously, “I don’t really do impressions.”
Later on in the game, DeGeneres asked Obama what she does that makes her daughters laugh — and Obama said that she imitates their father, so clearly she’s had some time to perfect her impersonation within her family over the years.
For another question, Obama had to finish the sentence, “My spouse gives the best…” Ever the diplomat, she took a moment before responding with a smile and a laugh: “He’s the best at everything!”
Obama has been on the press circuit this week promoting her new book, Becoming, which shares details of her life in the White House and relationship with her husband and children Malia and Sasha. From opening up about marital challenges to reflecting on sending Malia to prom without the secret service, Michelle has been candidly doling out tidbits of her high-profile family life.
Watch in the videos below.
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Write to Raisa Bruner at raisa.bruner@time.com