Nicolai Haugsted
Barack Obama reveals what Donald Trump is really like behind closed doors
Political rivals rarely agree on much, but Barack Obama now says one thing changes completely whenever Donald Trump is no longer speaking through a microphone.
Appearing on the latest episode of the All the Smoke podcast, the former president argued that Trump’s public attacks bear little resemblance to the way he behaves during their private encounters.
Obama says Trump changes his tone in person
During the interview with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, the conversation turned to Trump’s frequent references to Obama.
Obama described the repeated mentions as an “obsession” and suggested they reflected misplaced priorities before revealing what he says happens when the two men actually meet face to face.
“If this – whoever you were talking about – was in front of me, which has happened a couple times, he don’t talk like that because he knows better,” Obama said.
According to Obama, the difference comes down to the distance created by modern communication.
“That filter of the phone creates a situation where people just say kind of crazy stuff that they would never say to your face with no consequences.”
Comments follow fresh Trump attack
Obama’s remarks came only days after Trump publicly referred to his predecessor as a “stupid son of a b*tch” while discussing the Iran nuclear agreement signed during Obama’s presidency.
Although Obama never mentioned that specific insult during the podcast, the timing of his comments immediately drew attention.
Earlier in the discussion, Obama also questioned why Trump continues to bring him up so frequently in public appearances.
He described the pattern as an “obsession” and argued that the president should instead be concentrating on issues affecting the American people.
The exchange offered a rare glimpse into how Obama says his interactions with Trump differ from the combative rhetoric that often dominates headlines.
