WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump sat down with second lady Usha Vance for her children’s podcast, but what started as a simple storytime quickly turned into a wide-ranging commentary on former presidents, Trump’s own physique, and what he does with his time in the White House.
The episode of Vance’s podcast, “Storytime with the Second Lady,” was posted online Friday. In it, Trump read aloud from “Presidents Play!” — a children’s picture book from the White House Historical Association showing past presidents enjoying sports and leisure activities on the White House grounds.
The appearance was pre-taped in mid-June inside the Oval Office, which Trump has decorated with extensive gold accents. For the occasion, the setting was dressed up further with a stuffed bald eagle, tables stacked with oversized books, and a globe constructed from Legos.
When Vance asked the president whether he gets time to read for pleasure, Trump said he mostly ends up reading the news. “I usually read stories about myself,” he said.
As he flipped through the pages, Trump offered his take on a string of former commanders-in-chief. He called Lyndon Johnson a “tough cookie,” described Ronald Reagan as a “high-quality person” and said he was “like your father was president.” John F. Kennedy, he said, was “the second-most good-looking president” — leaving it to viewers to guess who he considered the top spot.
On Richard Nixon, who resigned the presidency following the Watergate scandal, Trump said he “got himself into trouble, I guess.” A page showing Herbert Hoover — who led the country during the Great Depression — playing a game he invented called “Hoover Ball” drew a quip from Trump: “That worked out better for him than the economy.”
When Trump came to a page featuring Barack Obama playing basketball, he referred to him by his full name, “Barack Hussein Obama,” and expressed doubt that Obama was actually skilled at the sport. Trump then claimed Obama’s real favorite activity is golf, but added, “He won’t be in the Master’s anytime soon.”
A drawing of Bill Clinton jogging on the track the former president had installed at the White House prompted Trump to say, “I don’t think I’ll ever do that” — though he added that he likes Clinton “a lot.”
A page depicting Abraham Lincoln on horseback got Trump thinking. “That’s great. I’d like to ride horses, too,” he said. “In fact, it gives me an idea, but when you fall off a horse… I’ve seen too many things happen. Falling off horses is not good.” His proposed solution: “A nice old horse that’s extremely slow, lazy” that he would “maybe ride.”
When the book showed John Quincy Adams swimming in what was once the Tiber Creek near the White House’s south lawn, Trump used the moment to mention a construction project. “I think we’re building a beautiful ballroom on top of it,” he said, referencing the large ballroom he is having built on the White House grounds.
Several pages prompted Trump to reflect on his own body. Seeing Gerald Ford swimming, he remarked, “I don’t know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven’t had a bathing suit in a long time.”
A depiction of William Howard Taft — historically noted for his size — gave Trump pause. “I have to be careful because I don’t want to supersede his record,” Trump said. “And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen. For all of you out there watching, keep yourself in good shape.”
Wrapping up the episode, Vance asked Trump what message he would give children about celebrating the country on July 4th. His answer was mixed in tone: “We have a great country. We have a country that, it’s on a little bit of a ledge right now. It can go one way or another, you understand that. But we’re going to make it go the other. And we’re going to make America greater than ever before.”
