Donald Trump has a new pitch. He wants to host a watch party. Not for his usual crowd, but for the exclusive club of men who have actually held the keys to the Oval Office. Yes, even the ones he spent years trashing on the campaign trail.
The idea popped up during an appearance on “Storytime with the Second Lady,” a YouTube podcast hosted by Usha Vance where guests read children’s books. Trump was flipping through “Presidents Play!”—a picture book from the White House Historical Association detailing the hobbies of past commanders-in-chief. When he hit a page showing a president hosting a Super Bowl viewing, the lightbulb went off.
He looked at Vance and floated the concept of inviting Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and George W. Bush over for kickoff. He predicted the media would absolutely lose its mind. Vance, playing the polite host, agreed it would be fun.
Instead of actually reading the book’s text to the kids watching, Trump did what Trump does. He ad-libbed. He offered color commentary on his predecessors. He paused on William Howard Taft, noting the man’s legendary girth and love for ballpark hot dogs, joking that he had to watch his own diet so he wouldn’t accidentally break Taft’s weight record.
Then came Bill Clinton. The book showed Clinton jogging on the outdoor track he had installed at the White House. Trump admitted he had no plans to use the track himself, but surprisingly offered some warm words for the man who beat his preferred party in the nineties. He called Clinton a “nice guy” and insisted he still likes him.
Whether this bipartisan football summit ever happens is highly doubtful. The living presidents—minus Trump—recently gathered for the opening of Obama’s presidential center. Trump was conspicuously left off the guest list. Maybe a bowl of chips and some wings at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is his way of trying to get back into the club.
