Michelle Obama reveals she saved her choking friend's life at dinner while 'useless' daughter Malia just sat at the table

By RACHEL BOWMAN, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:10, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 15:14, 18 June 2026 Michelle Obama revealed she saved her choking friend at dinner while her 'useless' daughter Malia sat at the table unable to assist. The former first lady, 62, shared the story during an interview with Kevin Hart on a recent episode of her podcast, IMO, that she co-hosts with her brother, Craig Robinson. 'I gave one of my girlfriends the Heimlich at dinner,' she said. Michelle explained she was out to dinner with her friend, her daughter, Malia Obama, and Malia's two friends. 'We're the same age, and you know, you start having swallowing problems. Things just stop,' she said. 'But [Michelle's friend] had chewed her food; she had told me before that she had this esophageal issue where things will get stuck, so I knew that about her.' Michelle said her friend had finished eating, stood up and started choking, and the former first lady sprang into action. 'I think she coughed up something, and it got stuck in her throat. She was straining, and I said, "Are you OK?"' she said. Michelle Obama revealed she saved her choking friend at dinner while her 'useless' daughter watched The former first lady said Malia and her friends stood idly by as she performer the Heimlich maneuver  'I had never done the Heimlich before, and it dislodged it. It just popped up right away.' Michelle added that Malia and her friends 'pushed away from the table' during the ordeal. 'I looked at the kids, and I was like, "What were you all doing?" Obama said. 'They were like, "You're right, we were useless." They realized that that was a mother moment.' Hart chimed in that he was impressed by Michelle's heroism. 'How good is your life to throw out a casual hero story of, yeah, I saved a life,' he said. It comes as Michelle and her husband, former president Barack, have been in the headlines as they promote the grand opening of his presidential library in Chicago.  On Sunday, she was targeted with a vile slur at Donald Trump's White House UFC event.   Obama said her friend had finished eating, stood up and started choking, and the former first lady sprang into action Obama and her husband, former president Barack Obama, have been in the headlines as they promote the grand opening of his presidential library in Chicago UFC fighter Josh Hokit cried out, 'Michelle Obama is a man,' during a post-fight interview at Trump's birthday celebration. Hokit was being interviewed by Joe Rogan inside the Octagon after beating Derrick Lewis in the second round. He had exited the cage moments earlier to give Trump, who was sitting ringside, a necklace and returned for a moment of glory. 'Shout out to Trump for having the b***s to put this s**t on. If I'm going to say anything, there's only one person more incredible than the Incredible Hulk, and that's my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. 'Now listen, Alex Pereira, I want to shama [sic] on your mama. 'And lastly, Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?' Hokit yelled down the microphone, shocking the audience, which responded with a mix of cheers and jeers. CNN reported that Trump was spotted showing a 'half smile' after Hokit made the remark, as cheers and boos mingled. The Obamas have not officially commented on the insult, but have been making media appearances this week to promote the Obama Presidential Center. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.