Nothing could stop President Donald Trump from taking a swipe at a Democratic predecessor—not even a wholesome storytime reading for kids.
The 80-year-old president snuck in jabs about former President Barack Obama’s athletic skills while reading a children’s book during his appearance at Storytime with the Second Lady, a reading initiative led by Vice President JD Vance’s wife, Usha.
Trump sat down with Usha, 40, for an awkward reading of Presidents Play, a children’s book produced by John Hutton and Jonathan Pliska for The White House Historical Association. The picture book depicted American presidents playing various sports.
Trump couldn’t help himself from thinking out loud as he flipped through the book, which at one point focused on Obama playing basketball.
“And then you had Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump said when he got to the page, emphasizing the 44th president’s middle name for dramatic effect. “There’s a picture of each: Jimmy [Carter] as a tennis player, Barack Hussein Obama as a basketball player.”
“I don’t know if he’s a good basketball player. I tend to doubt it,” Trump pondered, before concluding, “Actually, his favorite sport is golf, but he won’t be in the Masters [Tournament] anytime soon.”
Usha gingerly nodded with a forced smile as Trump moved on to the next page.
Trump likely confused Obama’s favorite sport with his own, having spent 21 percent of his term so far hitting the links.
Though Obama also regularly played golf, his favorite sport is actually basketball, which he described as a “safe harbor” for him when he was growing up.
“Basketball was a place where I knew, ‘OK, I can belong here and I can meet, hang out with other boys, and compete and learn how to work as a team and everything’s equal,” he told All The Smoke podcast last week.
“So it felt to me like a safe harbor to grow up,” he said. “So it became part of my identity, right? You know, this is something I do.”
Trump’s storytime was filled with several other cringeworthy moments, from admitting that he could possibly become the fattest president ever and thirsting over John F. Kennedy’s looks.
“I don’t know if I look good in a bathing suit,” Trump pondered at one point. “I haven’t had a bathing suit in a long time. I’m too busy. It’d be nice.”
