Barack Obama has offered a rare and candid glimpse into his marriage – and it turns out Donald Trump is causing trouble at home.
The former President, 64, admitted in an interview that Michelle wants him to step back from public life so the couple can enjoy their later years together.
The problem? He keeps getting pulled back into the politics of the day.
The former commander-in-chief said Trump’s return to the White House is the reason he cannot simply walk away, and that his inability to do so has become a source of friction at home.
‘It does create genuine tension in our household, and it frustrates her,’ Obama told The New Yorker. ‘I’m more forgiving of it, I understand why people feel that way.’
He also pushed back against critics who say he isn’t doing enough, arguing his continued involvement is without precedent. ‘No other ex-president was the main surrogate for the party for four election cycles after they left office,’ he said.
As for the public clamor for him to do still more, Obama was philosophical: ‘The fact that people want me to be doing more is a good sign.’
Obama was just 47 when he entered the White House and 55 when he left – younger than most of his predecessors – and has remained one of the most active ex-presidents in modern memory.
In an interview with The New Yorker, Barack Obama has said Donald Trump’s return to the White House is the reason he cannot simply walk away from politics
The former president offered a rare glimpse into his marriage to Michelle
Just last month, Obama was the top national figure supporting the Virginia amendment to gerrymander the state’s congressional maps and give a number of currently GOP-controlled seats to Democrats.
He also recently appeared alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a visit to a childcare center.
Obama left a group of children in fits of giggles as he pulled a stunt on them during a visit to a childcare center in New York in April.
He and Mayor Mamdani read to preschoolers and led a sing-along during the visit, and did not take questions after their appearance.
While at the Learning Through Play Pre-K school, Obama and Mamdani read the book Alone and Together to the children and led a sing-along of The Wheels on the Bus.
After sitting on chairs during the reading, the two sat on the floor to play out a key theme from the book.
‘Remember the book said, we are strong together,’ Obama said to the children.
‘So you’re going to have to all help me get up,’ the former president continued amid shrieks and laughter from the young attendees, before adding, ‘Because I’m old.’
Obama pretends to struggle to stand as children lift him up during a visit to Learning Through Play Pre-K in New York on April 18
The former president was there with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and the pair sang a song
Obama served as president from 2009 to 2017, long before most of his crowd were born.
The 44th president has also offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, 34, whose star power, youth, and progressive agenda have made him stand out in Democratic politics and even drawn similarities to Obama’s own political rise.
Other, more mainstream Democrats also appear to hold the former president in high regard.
The Democratic Party has snubbed their most recent president, Joe Biden, in their Easter Sunday message this year.
Last month, they posted a photo of the back of Obama’s head with the Easter Bunny, along with the caption ‘better times at the White House.’
The duo was looking at the Washington Monument, positioned between them, in the snap that was taken during Obama’s presidency over a decade ago.
Joe Biden served as Obama’s vice president and then became president himself from 2021, but has been apparently snubbed from Democratic Party messaging
The Democrats notably missed out on mentioning Biden in a ‘better times’ post on X last month
But many were quick to realize that the Democrats seemingly forgot to praise their most recent leader in the Oval Office – Biden.
Despite serving as Obama’s vice president and then being president himself from 2021 to last year, the Democrats’ X account notably missed out on mentioning Biden in their ‘better times’ post, with some voters saying they were ‘erasing’ him from history.
Obama is also set to make another permanent mark on the US later this year when his presidential center and library open in Chicago in June.
