File image.
President Donald Trump riffed on his White House predecessors in a children’s podcast Friday, while also joking about his weight and musing as to whether his body is swimsuit-ready.
Speaking with Usha Vance on “Storytime with the Second Lady,†as America celebrated its 250th birthday, the billionaire property tycoon opened with his favorite topic — real estate, of course.
The pair were sitting in the White House Oval Office, explained the 80-year-old grandfather of 11.
“It’s the most powerful piece of real estate, probably in the world. Everything starts here, ends here, starts again,†he said, with a plush bald eagle at his elbow.
Trump then added that he doesn’t have much time to read books.
“I end up reading mostly newspapers. I usually read stories about myself,†he said.
Turning to “Presidents Play!â€, a book detailing pastimes of former White House occupants, Trump offered a stream of commentary as he flipped through the illustrated pages.
Abraham Lincoln rode horses: “I’d like to ride horses, too,†Trump said, but warned of the risks of falling off.
“We get a nice old horse that’s extremely slow, lazy, and maybe ride him.â€
John Quincy Adams swam in a nearby creek.
“I think we’re building a beautiful ballroom on top of it, based on this picture,†Trump noted, referring to his pet construction project which has been snarled by lawsuits.
Franklin D Roosevelt swam in an indoor pool which today is the White House press room, while Gerald Ford enjoyed an outdoor 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. I’m too busy,†Trump said.
John F. Kennedy was a sailor and “the second most good-looking president,†Trump said, leaving unsaid who is the first.
Bill Clinton, a jogger, “actually was a nice guy.â€
“I like Bill Clinton a lot,†Trump said, making him a rare Democrat to earn a spot on Trump’s list of nice people, even though his wife Hillary — whom Trump defeated in the 2016 election — is a longtime political nemesis.
Trump said another foe, Barack Obama, liked to shoot hoops but “I don’t know if he’s a good basketball player. I tend to doubt it.â€
Baseball fan William Howard Taft, who served from 1909 to 1913, was America’s heaviest president at well over 300 pounds (136 kilos).
“I have to be careful because I don’t want to supersede his record, and a thing like that would be possible if I allowed it to happen,†said Trump, a big man himself who is known to like junk food.
Turning to a current topic, Vance asked Trump why children should celebrate Saturday’s anniversary of the US declaration of independence from Britain.
“We have a great country. We have a country that is under a little bit of a ledge right now,†he said. “It can go one way or another, you understand that, but we’re going to go the other.â€


Comments
Start the conversation about this story.