US President Donald Trump, in a podcast with Second Lady Usha Vance, revealed his attitude towards a number of predecessors on the eve of the country's 250th anniversary. The Republican noted that he “still loves” Democrat Bill Clinton, and hopes to “not break the record” of William Taft as the “heaviest” president.
The wife of Vice President J.D. Vance produces an Internet show for children, Storytime with the Second Lady, where various guests read books to them. Previously, her husband, astronauts from the Artemis 2 lunar mission and footballer Ian Frey, among others, came to see her. Trump was invited to celebrate Independence Day on July 4, which will be the 250th for the United States.
The head of the White House chose to read the book “Presidents Play” by Jonathan Pliska with illustrations by John Hutton. The annotation for it on Amazon notes that the publication is designed to show children which presidents they share hobbies in sports and recreation.
Trump, in his characteristic ironic manner, commented on the activities of his predecessors shown in the book. So, he noted that he would like to ride a horse, as Abraham Lincoln did in his time, but he heard that falling from it usually “ends badly.”
“We’ll find an old horse, very slow and lazy, and then maybe I’ll go for a ride,” Trump said to Vance and her young listeners.
Trump called former President John F. Kennedy “the second most handsome” in history, probably hinting that he himself ranks first, and joked about Taft that he “loved baseball and hot dogs.” The Republican emphasized that he tries to keep himself in shape so as not to become “heavier” than Taft and also noted the good physical shape of Usha Vance.
Trump paid special attention to Clinton, who was shown in the book jogging on a track near the White House that was laid out especially for him.
“I don’t think I would have done that, but he was a good guy. I still love Bill Clinton very much,” the Republican said.
Regarding his immediate predecessors, Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Trump noted that he would not mind inviting them to the White House to watch football together, as shown on the last page of the book.
“The press will be delighted,” Trump suggested.
Usha Vance suggested during the conversation that Trump could show the episode with his participation to his 11 grandchildren. The head of the White House joked in response that he would make it “mandatory,” but that it would “lead to nothing.”
J.D. Vance shared his wife's podcast on social network X (formerly Twitter), noting that the episode with Trump was one of his favorites.
