In a recent interview with Stephen Colbert, former President Barack Obama subtly critiqued Donald Trump, suggesting that the criteria for becoming President have shifted. During the conversation, Obama also entertained the whimsical notion of returning to the political arena as an ambassador for Earth.
Speaking from his expansive presidential center, the 44th President took several jabs at Trump and humorously touted his credentials should an alien invasion occur.
“I think I would make an excellent emissary for the planet,” Obama remarked. “I have some experience in statecraft and diplomacy. I’m approachable, so I believe I could do a pretty good job.”
At one point, Colbert quipped, “A lot of people tell me I should run for president.”
Obama responded, noting that the 61-year-old Colbert has “the look” and “the hair” that could suit the role of President.
Obama said that the 61-year-old has ‘the look’ and ‘the hair’ to be POTUS.
‘For the record, I think it’s a stupid idea,’ Colbert admitted.
‘How dumb do you think it is for people to say that I should run for president?’
‘Well, you know… the bar has changed,’ Obama quipped, to cheers from the host’s studio audience.
Barack Obama joked with Stephen Colbert about running for president in a fawning interview at the former commander in chief’s troubled, soon-to-open presidential center
The 44th president took several barely veiled shots at Donald Trump but one came when Colbert told him that the soon-to-be canceled late night host needs ‘a new gig’
When Colbert suggested the bar for presidents has gone ‘subterranean’ in the wake of the Trump presidency, Obama encouraged him further.
‘Let me put it this way: I think that you could perform significantly better than some folks that we’ve seen,’ Obama said.
Colbert asked: ‘Is that an endorsement?’
‘It is not,’ deadpanned Obama.
Obama continued to criticize his successor without naming him when Colbert asked if there were any powers that the president should not have.
‘The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting. The idea is that the attorney general is the people’s lawyer. It’s not the president’s consigliere,’ he said.
He spoke of the president who ‘starts using that to go after their political enemies or reward their friends.’
On that similar note, he added that the power of the presidential pardon should not be afforded to people ‘who have given you a bunch of campaign contributions or invested in your businesses.’
He suggested that Trump had also politicized the military and broken norms that were trying to make the military loyal to Trump.
Obama dug in one more time at Trump with one last anti-corruption policy he suggested.
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Has the Obama Presidential Center uplifted or harmed its Chicago neighborhood and community?
The project’s cost has risen from an initial estimate of $300 million to about $850 million. Critics have slammed the construction as an eyesore in Chicago’s skyline
Obama continued to criticize his successor without naming him when Colbert asked if there were any powers that the president should not have
‘A good policy that I’d like to see followed is that the president of the United States shouldn’t have a bunch of side hustles,’ Obama said.
Colbert joked that Obama could’ve made ‘coin’ if he tried to sell sneakers, as Trump did.
The former president was then asked about the controversy he created earlier this year by pulling back on his statement that aliens were real but he hadn’t seen them.
Obama continued to deny he meant that he had any evidence of alien life but said that he hopes they are out there and that he’d like to represent earth if they are.
‘I’m putting in a plug now. First contact. I think I would be a good emissary for the planet. I’ve got to back out, some experience in statecraft, diplomacy. I’m friendly. So I actually think, you know, I can do pretty good job.’
He did note that if aliens existed, the government ‘is terrible at keeping secrets’ and would probably be revealed by a security guard taking a selfie with one and sending it to his girlfriend.
Colbert took a shot at Obama’s presidential center by suggesting that if there were aliens, one of the hints would be that ‘a presidential center would look like a scout ship that came down from low orbit and landed in Chicago.’
The CBS host also asked Obama what worried him about the modern Democrat Party but more about the Republicans.
‘I love a Republican Party that was conservative in some ways, they didn’t agree with me on a whole bunch of stuff but believed in the rule of law and judicial independence, empirical evidence, science,’ he said.
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He suggested that Trump had also politicized the military and broken norms that were trying to make the military loyal to Trump
Obama continued to deny he meant that he had any evidence of alien life but said that he hopes they are out there and that he’d like to represent earth if they are
He adds that the current GOP is ‘constantly tapping into our worst impulses.’
As for the Democrats, he believes the divide between liberals and the far left are exaggerated but singled out praise for socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him ‘an extraordinary talent.’
However, he did feel that often the left fails to ‘talk like normal people talk,’ which he said Mamdani excels at.
‘What I’m more interested in Democrats is, do you know how to talk to regular people like we are not at a college seminar? Can you talk plain English to folks, no gobbledygook. Talk like normal people talk.’
Colbert also received a tour of the controversial $850 million Obama Presidential Center, which opens June 19 after coming in over budget and angering many locals.
From the earliest design meetings, some held while Obama was still in the White House, the former president urged designers to ‘up our ante,’ according to architect Tod Williams.
The repeated push for scale and ambition, he acknowledged, came with tension.
‘He was saying we should up our ante,’ Williams said to The New Yorker, adding that the insistence on going bigger made him uneasy at times.
As for the Democrats, he believes the divide between liberals and the far left are exaggerated but singled out praise for socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, calling him ‘an extraordinary talent’
Colbert also received a tour of the controversial $850 million Obama Presidential Center, which opens June 19 after coming in over budget and angering many locals
‘Another time, he drew on one of my drawings, made a strong mark, which indicated that he didn’t think I was being bold enough. Those little things sting. But they also moved everything forward,’ Williams added.
What began as a more understated campus concept soon evolved into something far more imposing: a 225-foot granite tower, nicknamed by critics as the ‘Obamalisk,’ dominating a 19-acre site in one of Chicago’s most historic parklands.
Obama himself challenged the architects to think beyond traditional civic design – at one point invoking modernist sculptor Constantin Brancusi as inspiration.
The reference initially baffled the design team. ‘What the hell does he mean?’ Williams recalled thinking.
But the message became clear that this was not to be just a building but a statement and more a piece of art or a monument.
‘That really cranked it up for us,’ Williams said. ‘Oh, my God, this is serious s***.’ He wanted us to do something that we had not done before, and that is hard. He didn’t let it rest.’
Obama told the architects to experiment with different shapes and met several weeks later with 25 different designs.
Williams acknowledged that the final design is ‘very much a product of his vision as well as ours.’
Former U.S. President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama participate in a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park in September 2021 in Chicago, Illinois.
Some locals have criticized developers for taking away their park (pictured in 2020 before construction) without any input from the community on the plans for new library
That relentless push for scale has coincided with a dramatic escalation in both ambition and price.
Originally pitched at around $300 million, the project’s cost ballooned to $500 million, then $700 million, and now stands at roughly $850 million fueled by rising construction costs, expanded programming, and lavish design elements.
Financial disclosures show tens of millions spent on exhibits and operations alone, while executive salaries at the foundation have also drawn scrutiny.
Valerie Jarrett, a longtime Obama confidante, earned $740,000 last year.
Despite the soaring costs, fundraising has remained strong, surpassing $1 billion, according to the foundation.
Critics have argued the scale of the project and the president’s role in shaping it has contributed to a structure many now view as out of place.
The center is located in Jackson Park, a landscape originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and features a museum, library branch, playground, and even a man-made sledding hill.
Staff say it is intended to serve as ‘a physical manifestation’ of the Obamas’ philosophy.
Colbert took a shot at Obama’s presidential center by suggesting that if there were aliens, one of the hints would be that ‘a presidential center would look like a scout ship that came down from low orbit and landed in Chicago’
Situated in the South Side of Chicago in Jackson Park, the property will serve as the headquarters of the Obama Foundation and will house a museum, library and education center dedicated to Barack and Michelle’s eight years in the White House
Inside, visitors will find a teaching kitchen, recording studios, and a ‘Democracy in Action Lab,’ alongside exhibits chronicling Obama’s presidency and America’s racial history. But outside, the reaction has been far less agreeable.
Residents have described the towering structure in stark terms – ‘a monstrosity,’ a ‘concrete tomb,’ even a ‘totalitarian command center.’ Others say it feels disconnected from the surrounding parkland and community.
Concerns have also mounted over rising rents and displacement tied to the development.
Local leaders have warned that large-scale investment risks pricing out the very residents the project claims to serve.
‘We’re going to see rents go higher and we’re going to see families displaced,’ one local official said previously, reflecting broader anxieties about gentrification on Chicago’s South Side.
The building’s controversial aesthetics have only intensified scrutiny.
An excerpt from Obama’s 2015 Selma speech, etched across the exterior in massive lettering, has been widely criticized as difficult to read.
Some observers say the fragmented text resembles placeholder ‘lorem ipsum’ rather than a coherent inscription.
Others have mocked the structure’s stark, fortress-like appearance, comparing it to everything from a prison to a sci-fi set.
Defenders argue the design reflects a bold attempt to redefine what a presidential center can be – less of an archive and more an immersive civic space.
Michelle Obama has also been closely tied to the project’s mission, particularly its emphasis on community engagement and youth programming.
After the 2013 killing of Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton, she famously said: ‘Hadiya Pendleton was me, and I was her,’ a sentiment reflected in the naming of spaces within the campus.
The Obama Presidential Center is officially scheduled to open to the public on June 19 (Juneteenth).
