The second lady runs a children’s literacy podcast that is sweet, simple, and made for toddlers. Donald Trump appeared this week, and by the time the conversation ended, it felt like the message had grown well beyond story time.
The featured book was “Presidents Play!” from the White House Historical Association, filled with illustrations of former presidents enjoying sports and recreation on the White House grounds. The Oval Office was dressed for the occasion with a stuffed bald eagle, stacks of oversized books, and a globe built entirely out of Legos. It was wholesome, cheerful, and exactly what you would expect from a children’s reading program.
Then Trump started reading.
As he turned each page, the story quietly transformed into an unscripted presidential ranking, with opinions on nearly every commander in chief who appeared in the book. Lyndon Johnson was “a tough cookie.” Ronald Reagan was “a high-quality person” and “like your father was president.” John F. Kennedy was crowned “the second-most good-looking president.” As for who ranked first, Trump left that question hanging in the air.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
Richard Nixon did not receive nearly as much analysis.
“Got himself into trouble, I guess,” Trump said, producing what might be the shortest summary of Watergate ever delivered on a children’s podcast. Herbert Hoover fared no better. The book showed Hoover playing the game he invented, Hoover Ball, and Trump quickly added: “That worked out better for him than the economy,” reducing the Great Depression to a single punchline before flipping to the next page.
Barack Obama brought a noticeable shift in tone.
Calling him “Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump questioned whether Obama was really that good at basketball before steering the conversation toward golf. “He won’t be in the Masters anytime soon,” he remarked. Bill Clinton, meanwhile, received a much friendlier review. Looking at an illustration of Clinton jogging around the White House grounds, Trump admitted, “I don’t think I’ll ever do that,” before adding that he likes Clinton “a lot.” It was a remarkably warm compliment considering what had just been said about Obama only moments earlier.
Eventually, the conversation circled back to Trump himself.
A photograph of Gerald Ford swimming prompted some unexpected self reflection. “I don’t know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven’t had a bathing suit in a long time,” Trump said. When William Howard Taft appeared, identified as America’s heaviest president, Trump became noticeably more careful. “I have to be careful because I don’t want to supersede his record,” he joked. “And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen.” He finished by encouraging young listeners to stay in shape.
The closing message returned to the children listening at home, though it quickly became something much bigger.
“We have a great country,” Trump said. “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.”
Featured image via YouTube screengrab
