Donald Trump used the Donald Trump and Usha Vance podcast to read from Presidents Play! on the Independence Day episode released Friday, July 3. The children’s Storytime with the Second Lady installment put the president on Usha Vance’s show and quickly turned into a discussion of past presidents and his own appearance.
Trump called John F. Kennedy the "second-most good-looking" president and also described him as a "good-looking guy" and a "great guy, handsome." He said, "I don't know if I look good in a bathing suit. I haven't had a bathing suit in a long time," while talking about Gerald Ford’s image in the book.
Usha Vance and Presidents Play!
Storytime with the Second Lady is Usha Vance’s children’s podcast, and the episode centered on Presidents Play!, a book created by the White House Historical Association to show each president’s favorite pastime during office. Jonathan Pliska wrote the book, and Trump read from it as part of the holiday release.
That setup made the episode unusual on its face: a children’s reading segment became a platform for remarks about presidential looks, swimming, and physique. Trump said of William Taft, "He was our heaviest president," then told Usha Vance, "keep yourself in good shape, right? Like you," and "You're in such good shape."
John F Kennedy and Gerald Ford
Trump’s comments moved from Kennedy to Ford to Taft without leaving the book’s framework. He said, "John Kennedy — he was a great guy, handsome," and added, "He was the second-most good-looking president, they say."
While the book showed Gerald Ford in a bathing suit, Trump said, "I'm too busy. It'd be nice... I'm looking at these people swimming, and I'm saying, 'I don't know.' " Usha Vance was 40 years old and nine months pregnant with her and JD Vance’s fourth child during the recording.
Independence Day on July 3
The episode was released Friday, July 3, as an Independence Day installment. Listeners of the podcast heard a president read a children’s book built around the office he holds, then steer the conversation toward the presidents inside it and the host sitting beside him.
For readers, the notable detail is not a policy announcement but the format itself: a holiday children’s episode became a place for Trump to make repeated remarks about presidential attractiveness and his own body. That leaves the main unanswered point at the center of the appearance — why Trump was featured on Usha Vance’s children’s storytime podcast for the Independence Day episode.
