Trump Did Not Stay on Script for Storytime With Usha Vance

President Trump joined second lady Usha Vance on her podcast where guests read picture books to children, but Trump, who's notorious for veering off script, offered a running commentary on his predecessors, his physique, and how he's spending his time in the White House. In Trump's appearance on Vance's Storytime With the Second Lady podcast, which was posted online on Friday, the president read Presidents Play!, a children's book from the White House Historical Association that features illustrations of various presidents enjoying sports and using the White House and its grounds for recreation, per the AP.

Trump pretaped the appearance in mid-June in the White House's Oval Office. When Vance asked Trump if he has much time to read for fun while serving as president, he replied that he ends up mostly reading newspapers. "I usually read stories about myself," Trump said. As the president turned through the children's book, he made observations about past presidents, cracked some jokes, and threw in a plug for the extensive ballroom he's building on the White House grounds.

He described Lyndon Johnson as a "tough cookie," Ronald Reagan as a "high-quality person" and "like your father was president," and John F. Kennedy as "the second-most good-looking president" (left unsaid was who Trump felt was the best-looking president). Richard Nixon, the only president to resign the office after he became embroiled in the Watergate scandal, "got himself into trouble, I guess." Barack Obama, who has been a longtime object of Trump's derision, was illustrated playing basketball. Trump, calling him "Barack Hussein Obama," said he doubted Obama was a good basketball player.

Trump then shared that Obama's favorite sport is golf, but added, "He won't be in the Masters anytime soon," referring to the professional golf tournament. When he reached a page with a drawing of Bill Clinton running on the jogging track that the former president installed at the White House, Trump remarked, "I don't think I'll ever do that." But, he added, he likes Clinton "a lot." Trump also mused about riding a horse after seeing a picture of Abraham Lincoln riding one. Some of the other presidents' physical activity prompted some reflection on his own physique. When he saw Gerald Ford swimming in a pool, Trump said, "I don't know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven't had a bathing suit in a long time."