Trump has been known to make an unusual overture. In this case, it was a proposal to have a few of his former counterparts in for a game, something he put on the table during a storytelling session on Usha Vance’s show. With the 250th anniversary of American Independence on the horizon, it was a somewhat cheeky way to put it.
How a children’s book led to a football idea
He was on Storytime with the Second Lady to read from President’s Play!, one of those White House Historical Association titles on how the job is put aside for a while. At one point, as he was looking at a picture of a Super Bowl, he let the thought of a get-together around the sport come up.
“Maybe I should invite Barack Hussein Obama, Joe Biden, with the Bushes – or Bush,” he said. “Maybe I should invite some of those people to watch a football game together. Wouldn’t that be a nice story? The press would go wild.”
Vance, who has her guests put on a show for the kids on YouTube, was quick to say: “A president reunion? That would be fun.”
Why the remark stands out
It is no small thing for Trump to make such a comment when he is so given to having a word in against Obama or making light of Biden in front of the media. The idea of them all in the same room for a game is a bit of a departure. He put it out there as a thought, not a plan of action.
Some of what came up in the episode:
– An open invitation to Obama, Biden and the Bush family
– The 250th of Independence coming up
– Some good words for Bill Clinton’s time in the White House
– A bit of levity with William Howard Taft and baseball
There was also a moment where he put in a word about the nature of the work. “My attitude is you’re at the White House for a short period of time and it’s an honour to be here and you should work for the people, right?”
Light moments: Clinton praise, Taft jokes
The book allowed for some of that. When a page on Bill Clinton’s fitness routine came up, Trump made note of a track that was put in during his administration and had a kind word for him.
“I didn’t even know that until recently, but he had a track built at the White House,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever do that. I don’t see myself doing that. But he actually was a nice guy. I like Bill Clinton a lot. I still do.”
Then there was William Howard Taft, with a baseball in hand in the book. “He was a large man, very large. And he loved baseball. He’d go to baseball games, loved the hot dogs at the baseball games,” Trump said. “He was our heaviest president, and I have to be careful ’cause I don’t want to supersede his record. And a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen.”
What to watch for next
You won’t find any official invites out there, nor did the podcast get into the details. It was just a line of conversation prompted by what was in President’s Play!.
But then again, a watch party with Obama, Biden and the Bushes would be a sight to see. We will have to wait and see if he does anything with the kind of tease he put out on Friday.
For the time being, the clip shows a side of him you don’t always get. It is a quiet read for the young ones and some musing on what presidents do in their spare time, with the odd suggestion of ex-presidents on a couch at the White House for a little football.
