Former President Barack Obama has stated that he has "a suite" in President Donald Trump's head, attributing it to an "obsession" and suggesting it indicates a lack of focus on the American people. Obama made the remarks on the "All the Smoke" podcast with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
When asked about the Trump administration's continued focus on him and the "negativity and the F" directed his way, Obama responded, "You got to ask him what it is that...the obsession. I obviously have a room in his head, a suite in his head."
Barnes interjected, "Rent-free! You do everything with grace." Obama then contrasted Trump's perceived focus on his predecessor with his own experience as president. "When I was president, the last thing I had time to do was worry about what somebody said or what my predecessor did," Obama said. "They're gone. I've got work to do."
He continued, "If you're doing the job right, you've got five to 10 things that are real hard and you have to be constantly focused. And the idea that I'd be worrying about somebody who came before and me trying to measure what he's done today. Look, constantly worrying about that is a strange thing to me. It shows me somebody who's not focused on the American people and the job they're supposed to do."
Obama also suggested that Trump's public persona differs from his private interactions. "I believe in conversation. So if this — whoever you were talking about — was in front of me, which has happened a couple times, he don’t talk like that because he knows better," Obama said.
In response, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital that "Barack Hussein Obama will go down as one of the most dishonest, divisive, and destructive Presidents in history."
Obama acknowledged in a previous interview with The New Yorker that he thinks about pushing back against Trump "every day." However, he stated that he refrains from commenting directly because he is not a "commentator." He explained, "For me to function like Jon Stewart, even once a week, just going off, just ripping what was happening — which, by the way, I’m glad Jon’s doing it — then I’m not a political leader, I’m a commentator."