Here’s what is being said.
Former President Barack Obama is speaking out about the personal toll the White House took on his marriage—and how he’s trying to fix it years later.
In a recent public appearance, the 63-year-old Democrat revealed that serving two terms as president left him in what he called a “deep deficit” with former First Lady Michelle Obama. The candid admission came during a talk with Hamilton College President Steven Tepper.
“I had some serious ground to make up with my wife,” Obama said. “So I’ve been working on that by making time for more fun moments together.”
The Obamas have been married since 1992, but Obama has said before that stepping away from Washington in 2017 finally gave them a chance to reconnect. In a 2023 interview, he said, “It sure helps to be out of the White House and to have a little more time with her.”
Life After the White House: Memoirs and the Obama Foundation
Since leaving office, Obama has focused on two main projects: his left-leaning nonprofit, the Obama Foundation, and completing the second volume of his memoirs. The first book, A Promised Land, was published in 2020 and became a bestseller among liberal audiences.
But Obama says writing hasn’t been easy. Comparing the process to writing “50 term papers,” he joked that the work just seems to go on forever. “Do I enjoy writing? Absolutely not,” he said. “But I do enjoy having written, once it’s over.”
What It All Means for America’s Future
While Obama’s remarks were lighthearted, they highlight something many Americans know too well: politics often comes at the expense of family, faith, and personal priorities. For many readers, that message hits close to home.
It also raises questions about the real cost of big government leadership—when even the President of the United States admits it strained his own marriage, it may be time to rethink how much power we place in Washington elites.