Meet Usha Vance, the first millennial second lady
Meet Usha Vance, a millennial and the first person of color to remarry.
President Donald Trump has questioned Barack Obama’s basketball talent, praised John F. Kennedy’s good looks and expressed fondness for Bill Clinton. Then he made fun of his weight.
President Trump read a picture book to children in the Oval Office on June 3rd, while appearing on Second Lady Usha Vance’s podcast, “Second Lady Storytime.” The podcast, launched nearly three months ago to promote literacy among children, featured special guests including her husband, Vice President JD Vance, and Inter Miami CF soccer player Ian Frey. The podcast has nearly 6,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Trump, guest number 10, poked fun at his predecessors, but was also uncharacteristically modest.
The 24-page book “Presidents Play!” – Published by the White House Historical Society in 2020, this book features illustrations of presidents exercising, playing sports, and relaxing on the White House grounds despite their busy schedules.
The president sat across from Vance in the Oval Office and began with a brief introduction to the gilded space, describing it as “probably the most powerful real estate in the world.”
Asked by Vance if he had time to read books, Trump admitted it was “mainly newspapers.”
“I always read stories about myself,” he said
He then served various presidents.
“I think all presidents work hard, but sometimes they take a break to have fun or exercise,” he said.
Ronald Reagan was in “very good shape,” while Lyndon Johnson was “not in great shape, but he was very tough and a really great politician.”
He flipped through a page with an illustration of Clinton running on a special White House jogging track.
“I didn’t know about it until recently,” he says. President Trump praised Clinton after saying he was not a jogger.
“He was actually a nice guy,” he said. “I love Bill Clinton. I still do.”
He recalled a photo of Abraham Lincoln on a horse, which he said gave him “an idea.”
After saying “too many bad things” happen due to people falling off horses, Trump said he’s good at riding “fine old horses that are very slow and lazy and maybe could be ridden.”
After looking at a photo of Gerald Ford and the White House pool he built, President Trump, who calls himself “very handsome,” said, “I don’t know if I look good in a swimsuit. I haven’t worn a swimsuit in a long time.”
President Trump was also modest when it came to evaluating his own physique, although he did consider William Taft’s weight.
“He was a big man, a very big man. He was the heaviest president in our country,” Trump said. “And I have to be careful because I don’t want to break his record. And something like that will be possible if I allow it to happen.”
Still, the signs of self-disappearance did not last long.
I’m talking about John. F. Kennedy, Trump said, “He was the second best-looking president.”
And Trump settled on one of his two favorite political punching bags: Barack Obama. This book was published in 2020, so it was not created by Joe Biden.
“Barack Hussein Obama was a basketball player. I don’t know if he’s a good basketball player. I tend to doubt it,” President Trump said. “Actually, his favorite sport is golf, but he won’t be playing in the Masters anytime soon.”
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is USA TODAY’s White House correspondent. You can follow her at X @SwapnaVenugopal..
