On the second lady’s podcast aimed at promoting child literacy, Trump also said the country is “on a little bit of a ledge right now.”
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President Donald Trump had a lot to say about how he views his predecessors, the optics of the presidency and even his own physique during a podcast interview with second lady Usha Vance.
The latest episode of “Storytime with the Second Lady,” which was posted online Friday, featured a discussion with Trump about a children’s book called “Presidents Play!” from the White House Historical Association.
But during the podcast, which is aimed at encouraging children to read, he also talked about aspects of the presidency he hasn’t typically discussed in news interviews or on social media.
Vance has hosted several high-profile guests since launching her show in March, including her husband, Vice President JD Vance, astronauts who flew aboard NASA’s Artemis II and former racing driver Danica Patrick. The format involves reading and discussing children’s books.
Trump’s appearance was pretaped in mid-June inside the Oval Office. The office — which Trump redecorated with gold accents, presidential portraits and a copy of the Declaration of Independence — was transformed into a set complete with a globe made of Legos and end tables made up of stacks of oversize books.
Here are takeaways from the president’s appearance:
Vance asked Trump whether he still has “any time to read for fun” given his responsibilities as president.
Since taking office for a second term, the president has frequently used social media to promote books by his friends and political allies. But he told Vance during the podcast that he’s not doing much reading for recreation.
“I end up reading mostly newspapers,” said Trump, who was seated next to a side table displaying a toy bald eagle holding an American flag. “I usually read stories about myself.”
Trump offered positive words for past presidents of both political parties, calling John F. Kennedy the “second-most good-looking president” and saying he likes Bill Clinton “a lot.”
Of one-term president Jimmy Carter, Trump said: “He had a hard time as president. … He was a nice man.” Speaking about Watergate scandal-ridden Richard M. Nixon, Trump remarked, “He spent a lot of time fighting to stay in office because … a lot of people got him into trouble and he got himself into trouble, I guess.”
Trump stopped short of wading into the details of Watergate. But last week, the vice president suggested Nixon was wrongly forced out as president and compared Nixon’s political travails decades ago to those Trump is facing.
On the podcast, Trump also referred to the 44th president by his full name, “Barack Hussein Obama,” when flipping to an illustration of Obama shooting hoops on a court outside the White House. Trump said he doubted Obama was a good basketball player. Obama’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment
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“Actually, his favorite sport is golf,” said Trump, who is also a golfer. “But he won’t be in the Masters anytime soon.”
When Trump turned to a page in the book showing William Howard Taft throwing out a pitch during a baseball game, he commented on the 27th president’s size.
“He was a large man, very large. And he loved baseball. He’d go to baseball games, loved the hot dogs at the baseball games. He was our heaviest president,” Trump said. “I have to be careful, ’cause I don’t want to supersede his record. And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen.”
The optics-conscious president indicated that he had outward appearances in mind during several portions of the interview.
When referencing Dwight D. Eisenhower’s use of a putting green outside the White House, Trump said, “The putting green’s right outside.”
“I’ve never used it, because I don’t want to be seen putting at the White House,” said Trump, who installed a room-size golf simulator in the White House during his first term and often spends weekends golfing at his properties. “I want to be seen working at the White House.”
Discussing Gerald Ford’s use of a swimming pool outside the White House, Trump said: “I don’t get to use it. I don’t know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven’t had a bathing suit in a long time. I’m too busy.”
“My attitude is — you’re at the White House for a short period of time and it’s an honor to be here and you should work for the people, right? It’s very important,” he added.
At another point in the conversation, Trump mused about the possibility of inviting all the living presidents to the White House to watch a football game, remarking that “the press would go wild.”
When the second lady asked the president if he had any advice for children on why they should celebrate the country on the Fourth of July, Trump — who famously once asked a 7-year-old if she still believed in Santa before adding, “‘cause at 7, it’s marginal, right?” — offered a somewhat unfiltered message to kids watching.
“We have a great country,” Trump began. “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. But the Fourth of July is a fantastic day.”
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