Former President Barack Obama revealed he was not surprised by Donald Trump's behavior as Trump was not considered to be a "serious guy" in New York where he spent most of his time before earning fame and entering the White House.
In a joint podcast along with President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton, Obama did not hide his surprise at Trump's behavior.
The Hill reported that Obama, speaking in a "SmartLess" podcast, said, "Trump didn't surprise me. He comes from New York. There's not anybody in New York who will do business with him or lend money to him. He's not considered a serious guy."
Obama appeared alongside Clinton and President Biden in the latest episode of the "SmartLess" podcast.
Obama though wondered why the Republican "guardrails" failed to stop Trump. The former President revealed he was more surprised that the "guardrails" in the Republican Party did not do anything to stop or criticize Trump.
Obama said he expected "some folks" around the Republican party would say, '"No, you can't go that far. You can't start praising Putin and saying that his intelligence is better than the U.S. intelligence agencies.'"
Responding to host Jason Bateman question on how the "protection and passion for democracy was diluted", the 44th president stated that the trend began during "President Clinton's time in the White House before accelerating during his presidency."
Trump is currently entangled in the hush money trial, where he is accused of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has also been indicted in Washington and Georgia on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Trump who is known for his controversial comments and social media posts found in rough waters when Judge Juan Merchan found him in violation of the gag order imposed in his historic hush-money trial.
Merchan on Monday ruled that Trump had violated the gag order nine times and fined him $1,000 per violation. Trump was ordered to remove the "offending posts" from his Truth Social platform and his presidential campaign website.
The Republican former president, who will face Democrat incumbent Joe Biden in November's election, set out a stark vision for an authoritarian second term in an interview with Time magazine published Tuesday. The remarks invited strong criticism from current President Biden, especially for his stance on immigration, particularly his mention of mass deportations if he were to return to power.
