Former President Barack Obama is reportedly feeling “relieved” that he isn’t saddled with the “burden” of being commander in chief anymore, according to one of his ex-White House press secretaries.
“It’s obvious to most people who are watching that he is relieved to no longer be bearing the burden of the presidency,” Josh Earnest told the Hill in an article published Monday.
“I think there’s no doubt that he is more relaxed and more at ease and more unburdened than he’s been in a decade, and it shows,” Earnest, who started as Obama’s Iowa communications director during the then-candidate’s first presidential campaign, continued.
Since leaving office, Obama has been selective about when he has re-entered the political fray outside his work with the Obama Foundation.
One recent instance was Obama’s tweets in the wake of the Parkland high school shooting in Florida in February.
“My sense is that he was watching what those young people were doing under extraordinary circumstances and was genuinely impressed and inspired by their maturity and their passion,” Earnest said.
“This is an example of him wanting to use the influence and currency that he has to encourage the students in their efforts but also to hold them up as good examples of what passionate citizens can accomplish in a democracy,” he added.
