{"id":6223,"date":"2026-07-03T20:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T20:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6223"},"modified":"2026-07-03T20:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T20:08:15","slug":"trump-gives-his-take-on-taft-nixon-obama-in-usha-vance-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6223","title":{"rendered":"Trump gives his take on Taft, Nixon, Obama in Usha Vance interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the second lady\u2019s podcast aimed at promoting child literacy, Trump also said the country is \u201con a little bit of a ledge right now.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Yankees place LHP Carlos Rod\u00f3n on 15-day injured list with left elbow inflammation<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Donald Trump talks with Usha Vance on Inauguration Day in 2025. (Evan Vucci\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The latest episode of \u201cStorytime with the Second Lady,\u201d which was posted online Friday, featured a discussion with Trump about a children\u2019s book called \u201cPresidents Play!\u201d from the White House Historical Association.<\/p>\n

But during the podcast, which is aimed at encouraging children to read, he also talked about aspects of the presidency he hasn\u2019t typically discussed in news interviews or on social media.<\/p>\n

Vance has hosted several high-profile guests since launching her show in March, <\/b>including her husband, Vice President JD Vance, astronauts who flew aboard NASA\u2019s Artemis II and former racing driver Danica Patrick. The format involves reading and discussing children\u2019s books.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s appearance was pretaped in mid-June inside the Oval Office. The office \u2014 which Trump redecorated with gold accents, presidential portraits and a copy of the Declaration of Independence \u2014 was transformed into a set complete with a globe made of Legos and end tables made up of stacks of oversize books.<\/p>\n

Here are takeaways from the president\u2019s appearance:<\/p>\n

Vance asked Trump whether he still has \u201cany time to read for fun\u201d given his responsibilities as president.<\/p>\n

Since taking office for a second term, the president has frequently used social media to promote books by his friends and political allies<\/a>. But he told Vance during the podcast that he\u2019s not doing much reading for recreation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI end up reading mostly newspapers,\u201d said Trump, who was seated next to a side table displaying a toy bald eagle holding an American flag. \u201cI usually read stories about myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump offered positive words for past presidents of both political parties, calling John F. Kennedy the \u201csecond-most good-looking president\u201d and saying he likes Bill Clinton \u201ca lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of one-term president Jimmy Carter, Trump said: \u201cHe had a hard time as president. \u2026 He was a nice man.\u201d Speaking about Watergate scandal-ridden Richard M. Nixon, Trump remarked, \u201cHe spent a lot of time fighting to stay in office because \u2026 a lot of people got him into trouble and he got himself into trouble, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump stopped short of wading into the details of Watergate. But last week, the vice president suggested Nixon was wrongly forced out as president <\/a>and compared Nixon\u2019s political travails decades ago to those Trump is facing.<\/p>\n

On the podcast, Trump also referred to the 44th president by his full name, \u201cBarack Hussein Obama,\u201d 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\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment<\/p>

Read more Jannik Sinner\u2019s parents skip the chance to sit in Royal Box at Wimbledon<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cActually, his favorite sport is golf,\u201d said Trump, who is also a golfer. \u201cBut he won\u2019t be in the Masters anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s size.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a large man, very large. And he loved baseball. He\u2019d go to baseball games, loved the hot dogs at the baseball games. He was our heaviest president,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI have to be careful, \u2019cause I don\u2019t want to supersede his record. And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The optics-conscious president indicated that he had outward appearances in mind during several portions of the interview.<\/p>\n

When referencing Dwight D. Eisenhower\u2019s use of a putting green outside the White House, Trump said, \u201cThe putting green\u2019s right outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never used it, because I don\u2019t want to be seen putting at the White House,\u201d said Trump, who installed a room-size golf simulator <\/a>in the White House during his first term and often spends weekends golfing at his properties. \u201cI want to be seen working at the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discussing Gerald Ford\u2019s use of a swimming pool outside the White House, Trump said: \u201cI don\u2019t get to use it. I don\u2019t know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven\u2019t had a bathing suit in a long time. I\u2019m too busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy attitude is \u2014 you\u2019re at the White House for a short period of time and it\u2019s an honor to be here and you should work for the people, right? It\u2019s very important,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cthe press would go wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 who famously once asked a 7-year-old if she still believed in Santa<\/a> before adding, \u201c\u2018cause at 7, it\u2019s marginal, right?\u201d \u2014 offered a somewhat unfiltered message to kids watching.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a great country,\u201d Trump began. \u201cWe have a country that \u2014 it\u2019s on a little bit of a ledge right now. It can go one way or another, you understand that. But we\u2019re going to make it go the other. And we\u2019re going to make America greater than ever before. But the Fourth of July is a fantastic day.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Boston Celtics sign center Neemias Queta to a 4-year extension, AP source says<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the second lady\u2019s podcast aimed at promoting child literacy, Trump also said the country is \u201con a little bit of a ledge right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump gives his take on Taft, Nixon, Obama in Usha Vance interview - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6223\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump gives his take on Taft, Nixon, Obama in Usha Vance interview - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the second lady\u2019s podcast aimed at promoting child literacy, Trump also said the country is \u201con a little bit of a ledge right now.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6223\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T20:08:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/49d848ea5b21fa2672feae0f54acdf25-1024x684.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"684\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"Trump gives his take on Taft, Nixon, Obama in Usha Vance interview\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T20:08:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223\"},\"wordCount\":1001,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/87047274380eb72229d104de1c850af7.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223\",\"name\":\"Trump gives his take on Taft, Nixon, Obama in Usha Vance interview - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/87047274380eb72229d104de1c850af7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T20:08:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=6223#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/87047274380eb72229d104de1c850af7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/87047274380eb72229d104de1c850af7.jpg\",\"width\":1754,\"height\":1171,\"caption\":\"FILE - President-elect Donald Trump, from right, talks with Usha Vance and Vice President-elect JD Vance, not pictured, before a service at St. John's Church, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. 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