This week, former President Barack Obama made a surprising revelation about his relationship with his wife, Michelle. Speaking to students at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., on Thursday, the 44th president admitted that he needs to work to overcome a “deep deficit” in his marriage. According to the Daily Mail, Obama shared that he has been trying to “dig himself out of that hole by doing occasional fun things.”
Rumors About the Obama Marriage
His unexpected comment comes months after rumors about the state of the Obama marriage intensified. In January, speculation reached a fever pitch when Obama attended the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter alone and also appeared solo at President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
Obama Critiques Current Political Climate
When asked by college President Steven Tepper what he had been up to, Obama responded that he had mostly been focused on working on the next volume of his memoirs. “Beyond that, look, I was in a deep deficit with my wife,” Obama said, adding, “so I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasional fun things.”
Obama also expressed disbelief at what the 47th president has been able to get away with during his second term. “Imagine if I had done any of this,” Obama remarked. “It’s unimaginable that the same parties who are silent now would have tolerated behavior like that from me or many of my predecessors.”
Trump’s Controversial Actions and Obama’s Memoir Progress
He continued, “I just want to be clear about this. Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps. You’re laughing, but this is what’s happening.” Obama also referenced other political controversies, saying, “Imagine if I had told law firms representing parties upset with policies my administration had implemented that they would not…”
He was partly alluding to how Trump had revoked the Associated Press’ White House credentials after the AP refused to follow his lead in calling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
As for the new installment of his memoirs, Obama humorously described the writing process as feeling “like 50 term papers. I mean, it just goes on forever. I’m hoping to get to the finish line on that.”
