Former President Barack Obama said that continuous pressure to stay on the campaign circuit during a Republican presidency has created “genuine tension” between him and his wife, Michelle Obama.
He said the demands of his schedule are of “great concern” to the former first lady.
“She wants to see her husband easing up and spending more time with her, enjoying what remains of our lives,” he told The New Yorker, adding that pressure to stay politically active “does create a genuine tension in our household, and it frustrates her.”
Almost a decade after leaving the White House, Mr. Obama has remained a central figure within his party, even urging President Biden to step aside from his reelection campaign to make way for former Vice President Kamala Harris’ run.
“People aren’t looking at me in historical comparison to other presidents,” he said. “They don’t care about the fact that no other ex-president was the main surrogate for the party for four election cycles after they left office.”
He said that President Trump’s recklessness drew him back into politics “more than I would have preferred.”
Democrats are glad to have him in the mix.
“To know that Obama will continue to be in this fight [against Mr. Trump] gives me some comfort,” said Beto O’Rourke, a former Texas Democratic nominee for Senate and onetime presidential hopeful.
He added that Mr. Obama is playing his cards right when choosing not to spar with Mr. Trump regularly.
“If he were to do it in a big, public, confrontational way, it would be counterproductive,” Mr. O’Rourke said.
When asked about what else he could do in the political sphere, the 44th president said, “I think about it every day,” adding that speaking out much more often would quickly depreciate his impact.
Mr. Obama compared himself to a quote by Michael Corleone in “The Godfather Part III”: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
