GQ announced on Tuesday, Nov. 17, that President Barack Obama is the magazine’s Man of the Year. The leader of the free world’s accompanying interview with Grantland founder and 30 for 30co-creator, Bill Simmons,
includes several insightful revelations about his relationship with his
wife, Michelle Obama, and his teenage daughters Malia and Sasha.
This is the president’s second time gracing the cover of GQ. Here, Us Weekly rounds up the 10 most memorable moments and quotes from his Q&A.
1. He Would Travel Back in Time to Tell Himself This in 2008
“‘You’re
going to be busy,'” Obama told GQ. “Coming in, we were going through an
unprecedented economic upheaval, combined with an upheaval in the
Middle East that we hadn’t seen in our lifetimes. There was going to be a
huge amount of disruption. I would probably tell myself to communicate
more effectively early on than I did. We ran a great campaign. It wasn’t
as great as it seems in retrospect — there’s always rose-colored
glasses but there’s no doubt that we captured the country’s imagination.
And somehow in those first two years, I think a certain arrogance crept
in, in the sense of thinking as long as we get the policy ready, we
didn’t have to sell it.”
POTUS
knows football! The leader of the free world compared himself to Green
Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers when he’s under pressure. “One
thing I learned during the campaign was that I’ve got a good
temperament. I don’t get too high and I don’t get too low. I’m able to
stay focused even when there’s a lot of stuff going on around me,” he
shared, saying he was “maybe Rodgers in the pocket, in the sense of you
can’t be distracted by what’s around you, you’ve got to be looking
downfield.”
“Malia
and Sasha,” Obama told GQ with a laugh. “And maybe my mother-in-law. My
national security advisor, Susan Rice, and Denis McDonough, my chief of
staff. Those are the only people whose call I would take during a date
night with Michelle.”
4. He Considers the Sandy Hook Shootings Among “the Worst Few Days” of His Presidency
“Think
about 2013, right after I’d been re-elected: Our goal was to lead with a
big push on immigration reform,” Obama recalled. “And then, before the
second inauguration has even happened, [the school shooting at] Sandy
Hook happens. Which remains, by the way, the worst few days of my
presidency. I went up and visited with those families and — you know,
Bill, you’ve still got small kids. These are 6-year-olds, right? And you
have 20 of them who’ve been massacred. Right away, our focus had to
shift to ‘Is there a way for us to capture this moment to see if we can
get over this incredible hump to try to put in place some common-sense
gun-safety rules?’ And we knew it was a stretch, just because of the
politics of Congress and the NRA. But we had to try.”
5. He Marvels at His Daughters’ Cell Phone Habits
“It’s
so interesting watching my daughters. Both are complete ninjas on the
phone, right? And they can do things that I don’t even understand —
they’re doing it in two seconds,” Obama shared. “But I even see a
difference between Malia, who’s 17, and Sasha, who’s 14. There’s almost a
mini-generational gap in terms of Sasha being so connected seamlessly
to this smartphone in a way that Malia, who was already a little bit
older when it really started to take, is not.”
6. He’s Entertained by Obama Conspiracy Theories
Obama
revealed that the most entertaining theory he’s read about himself was
this: “That military exercises we were doing in Texas were designed to
begin martial law so that I could usurp the Constitution and stay in
power longer. Anybody who thinks I could get away with telling Michelle
I’m going to be president any longer than eight years does not know my
wife.”
7. He Finds Some of “the Secret Stuff” Disappointing
“People
always ask me about Roswell and the aliens and UFOs, and it turns out
the stuff going on that’s top secret isn’t nearly as exciting as you
expect,” the president said. “In this day and age, it’s not as top
secret as you’d think.”
8. He Is Not Pleased With How Some People Look at Malia
The
president was asked if anyone has driven up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
to pick up his eldest daughter, Malia, for a date. “No,” he replied.
“But I’ve seen some folks glancing at her in ways that made me not
happy.” In fact, Obama joked that he tells the Secret Service to “keep
an eye on him.”
Jokes aside, Obama
praised the women in his family. “My daughters are amazing girls.
They’re smart, they’re funny. They take after their mom, and Michelle’s
done a great job with them,” he gushed. “You get these teenage moments —
they love you, but what I think really affects you most is they just
don’t have time for you. It’s not an active disdain for you. It’s just
their calendars start filling up and they’ve got all these friends who
are much more interesting.”
9. He Reveals the Presidency Perk He’ll Miss Most
“So
the clear answer would be Air Force One: an amazing plane with an
amazing crew, they clear out airspace so you don’t have to wait. And you
land anytime, you leave anytime,” Obama replied. “But it may be Marine
One, because even post presidency, I may be able to round up a private
plane sometime, but it’s tough not to have your helicopter waiting for
you.”
10. He Would’ve Enjoyed Running Against Donald Trump
“I would’ve enjoyed campaigning against Trump. That would’ve been fun.”
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