President Donald Trump sat down in the Oval Office to read a children's book about past presidents, and turned the session into an unscripted commentary on everything from Abraham Lincoln's horseback riding to his own bathing-suit prospects. The episode of "Storytime with the Second Lady," Usha Vance's podcast promoting childhood literacy, was posted online Friday, July 3, just ahead of the nation's 250th Independence Day.
Trump's appearance, pretaped in mid-June inside the Oval Office, marked the highest-profile guest yet on Vance's show, which launched on March 30 and has featured readings from celebrities, authors, athletes, veterans, and musicians. The book he read, "Presidents Play!," is published by the White House Historical Association and illustrates how past commanders-in-chief spent their leisure time on the White House grounds.
What followed was less a bedtime story and more a guided tour of presidential personalities, delivered with the off-the-cuff asides that have become a Trump trademark.
Flipping through illustrations of Lincoln on horseback, Trump told Vance he liked the idea of riding, in theory.
"That's great. I'd like to ride horses, too. In fact, it gives me an idea, but when you fall off a horse... I've seen too many things happen. Falling off horses is not good."
His solution? "A nice old horse that's extremely slow, lazy", one he said he would "maybe ride."
The riff set the tone for the rest of the episode. Each page of "Presidents Play!" became a springboard for Trump to size up his predecessors, and himself.
On Herbert Hoover, who invented a game called "Hoover Ball" during the Great Depression, Trump was blunt: "That worked out better for him than the economy." He called Lyndon Johnson "a tough cookie" and described Ronald Reagan as "a high-quality person", "like your father was president."
John F. Kennedy earned a compliment as "the second-most good-looking president." The New York Post noted Trump left unsaid who he considered the best-looking, a gap he let the audience fill on its own.
When the book reached William Howard Taft, the heaviest president in American history, Trump paused to deliver a public-health message of sorts. The Washington Examiner reported Trump's full remark on the subject:
"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. For all of you out there watching, keep yourself in good shape."
Gerald Ford's White House swimming pool prompted another moment of self-assessment: "I don't know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven't had a bathing suit in a long time."
The Second Lady, who has drawn public interest for her growing family and expanding public role, kept the conversation moving by steering Trump toward each new illustration.
Not every president received the same warmth. When the book showed Barack Obama playing basketball, Trump referred to him as "Barack Hussein Obama," questioned whether Obama was actually a good basketball player, and claimed golf was Obama's real favorite sport. "He won't be in the Masters anytime soon," Trump added.
Bill Clinton fared better. The book depicted Clinton running on a jogging track he had installed at the White House. Trump said flatly, "I don't think I'll ever do that," but added that he likes Clinton "a lot."
Richard Nixon drew a brief and diplomatic acknowledgment. "Got himself into trouble, I guess," Trump said of the only president to resign the office.
One of the more intriguing moments came when the book depicted John Quincy Adams swimming in what was then Tiber Creek, which ran near the South Lawn. Trump's response pointed to one of his own White House projects: "I think we're building a beautiful ballroom on top of it." No further details about the construction, its scope, cost, or authorization, were offered during the episode.
Usha Vance launched "Storytime with the Second Lady" in late March with the stated goal of reversing declining childhood literacy rates. She read Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" in the debut episode and has since brought in a rotating cast of guests.
"Reading for pleasure at home builds stronger literacy and classroom skills and opens the door to a world of opportunity for children."
That was Vance's own description of the podcast's mission. Vice President JD Vance has also participated; he joined the show for a Father's Day reading of "Winnie-the-Pooh" earlier this year.
The Second Lady promoted the Trump episode on social media ahead of Independence Day, writing: "Celebrate our country's 250th birthday with me and special reader President Trump as he reads about our former (and current!) presidents' favorite pastimes."
For a White House that has drawn media scrutiny over everything from policy battles to personnel fights, the podcast offered a different register. The Oval Office was decorated for the taping with a bald eagle stuffed animal, tables made of stacks of oversized books, and a globe built from Legos, all layered on top of the gold accents Trump has added to the room.
When Vance asked the president whether he has time to read for fun, Trump gave a characteristically direct answer: "I usually read stories about myself." He said he mostly reads newspapers.
The episode closed with Vance asking Trump what advice he would give children about why they should celebrate the Fourth of July. His answer moved from candor to optimism, as Newsmax reported:
"We have a great country. We have a country that, it's on a little bit of a ledge right now. It can go one way or another, you understand that. But we're going to make it go the other. And we're going to make America greater than ever before."
It was a rare moment where a children's podcast carried an unmistakable political charge, not through partisanship, but through a president speaking plainly about the stakes he sees for the country.
Usha Vance has steadily built a public profile that balances family, policy, and cultural engagement. She has drawn admiration at White House events honoring military families and has shown a willingness to push back against media narratives she considers trivial, including mocking the New York Times for reading political meaning into an $8.75 Old Navy maternity dress.
The literacy podcast fits the same pattern: a substantive initiative that doesn't depend on Washington's approval to justify itself. Getting the president of the United States to sit still long enough to read a picture book, and then let him riff, may be the most telling proof yet that the project has legs.
In a capital that treats every public appearance as a political weapon, there's something refreshing about a president who will read a children's book, joke about his waistline, and tell kids to stay in shape. Washington could use more of that and less of the alternative.
