I usually read stories about myself: Trump on Usha Vance's podcast for children

Appearing on Second Lady Usha Vance's podcast to read a picture book for young audiences, US President Donald Trump veered off script with jokes about ex-presidents, his own looks, his weight, and even the new White House ballroom.

In Short

• The episode showed frequent pauses by Trump for unscripted commentary
• Reading from 'Presidents Play!', he offered quick takes on several ex-presidents
• The children's book is published by the White House Historical Association

It began as story time for children. It quickly became classic Donald Trump.

Appearing on Second Lady Usha Vance's podcast to read a picture book for young audiences, United States President Donald Trump veered off script with jokes about ex-presidents, his own looks, his weight, and even the new White House ballroom. At one point, when asked if he finds time to read for pleasure, Trump delivered the line that summed up the episode.

"I usually read stories about myself," he quipped.

Trump appeared on "Storytime with the Second Lady," a podcast hosted by Usha Vance in which guests read picture books to children. In the episode, released on Friday, the President read "Presidents Play!", a children's book from the White House Historical Association that highlights how various US presidents spent their leisure time at the White House.

The episode was pre-recorded in the Oval Office in mid-June, according to the Associated Press. It showed Trump frequently pausing to add his own commentary rather than simply reading the book.

Turning the pages, Trump offered quick takes on several former presidents.

He described Lyndon B Johnson as "a tough cookie," Ronald Reagan as "a high-quality person," and called John F Kennedy "the second-most good-looking president," without identifying the president he thought was the most handsome.

Richard Nixon, he remarked, "got himself into trouble, I guess," supposedly referring to the Watergate scandal and the 37th US president's subsequent resignation.

He also joked about Herbert Hoover's favourite game, "Hoover Ball," which was invented by a White House physician to keep the erstwhile president physically fit. "That worked out better for him than the economy," Trump was quoted as saying by AP.

When the book depicted Barack Obama playing basketball, Donald Trump questioned his athletic ability.

Referring to the former president as "Barack Hussein Obama," Trump said Obama's favourite sport was actually golfing before adding, "He won't be in the Master's anytime soon."

Seeing an illustration of Bill Clinton jogging, Trump admitted, "I don't think I'll ever do that," before adding that he liked the former president "a lot."

The book also prompted Trump to reflect on his own fitness.

Looking at an illustration of Gerald Ford swimming, Trump joked, "I don't know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven't had a bathing suit in a long time."

When the book mentioned William Howard Taft, he described him as the US's "heaviest president," adding, "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."

He used the moment to advise children watching the programme: "For all of you out there watching, keep yourself in good shape."

A page showing Abraham Lincoln on horseback also sparked an anecdote.

"I'd like to ride horses, too," Trump said, before joking that he would prefer "a nice old horse that's extremely slow, lazy" because "falling off horses is not good."

Another illustration showing John Quincy Adams swimming near what was once Tiber Creek led Trump to plug a project closer to home.

"I think we're building a beautiful ballroom on top of it," he said, referring to the new ballroom planned on the White House grounds.

At the end of the episode, Usha Vance asked Trump what message he had for children celebrating the Fourth of July.

"We have a great country," the president said. "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," he added.

- Ends
(With inputs from agencies)