Barack Obama Hits Donald Trump With A Harsh Truth About His Hometown

Former President Barack Obama said fellow former President Donald Trump is not considered a serious guy in his hometown of New York.

Obamas analysis of his four-times-indicted successor in the White House came during the latest episode of the Smartless podcast that is hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes and was released Monday. Obama appeared alongside President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton. They recorded the show in March.

Bateman asked Obama if hed been surprised with how fast the protection and passion for democracy was diluted during Trumps administration.

Obama admitted he was surprised at the lack of guardrails within the GOP that allowed Trump to take over the party.

But Trump didnt surprise me, he said. You watch Trumps campaign, you watch his career, hes never changed.

I mean, he comes from New York. Theres nobody in New York who does business with him or will lend him money. He is not considered a serious guy here, Obama added.

So, I was surprised he was elected, but I wasnt surprised in terms of his behavior, Obama said. I did expect there would be some folks in the Republican Party who would say, No you cant go that far, you cant start praising [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and saying that his intelligence is better than the U.S. intelligence agencies.

Trump changed his official residence from New York to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2019. 

In February, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties after he was found guilty  in a civil fraud trial in New York of overvaluing his companys assets for years to secure loans and cut deals. Trump is currently attending his hush money trial in the city too.

Listen to the full episode here: