Obama to Letterman: No Sense of Relief After Turning Presidency Over to Trump

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/obama-to-letterman-no-sense-of-relief-after-turning-presidency-over-to-trump?source=TDB&via=FB_Page


Obama to Letterman: No Sense of ‘Relief’ After Turning Presidency Over to Trump
In his first talk-show appearance since leaving the White House, Barack Obama got real with David Letterman.
Matt Wilstein
01.12.18 4:26 AM ET

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In lieu of a traditional monologue, Letterman emerged onto the stage and delivered a few off-the-cuff remarks before asking members of the audience to guess who his surprise guest will be. One guessed “William Jefferson Clinton,” but the crowd seemed far more enthusiastic to see Obama emerge from the wings.

When Letterman began by noting that both men recently left long-term jobs, Obama joked, “I was not fired though,” making the host laugh—and not for the last time. What Letterman wanted to know is what Obama’s first post-presidency day was like.

“It was later, I slept in, which I was pretty happy about,” Obama said. “And I took Michelle on a holiday, because I missed my wife.” When they got back to their new house in D.C., Obama said he did not miss the “trappings” of his old job and “enjoyed puttering around the house.”

When Letterman asked if there was a feeling of “relief,” Obama said no. Rather, “there was a sense that I had run the race, I had completed it, I was proud of the work that we had done, and I was ready for the next stage.”

Letterman admitted that there was a “palpable sadness” on his part when Obama left the White House. “But then I see you and you’re hang gliding and your climbing volcanoes and you’re windsurfing and you’re wrestling sharks on somebody’s private island,” he said, “and I’m at Bed, Bath and Beyond picking out hangers! Something’s wrong here.”

The two men spent a good part of their interview reminiscing about the early days of the Obama administration—and the early years of Obama’s life—but the conversation was most compelling when they discussed the year since he turned the presidency over to Donald Trump, especially because we have heard so little from the former president during that time.

The interview was taped well in advance of its release, so there wasn’t much talk about current events. No reaction from Obama to Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury or President Trump’s “shithole countries” comment. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t talk politics.