Former First Lady, Michelle Obama, shared on a recent episode of her and brother Craig Robinson’s podcast, IMO, which daughter Barack Obama found to be “difficult” to raise.
It’s their youngest daughter, Sasha.
When speaking with Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, Michelle confessed that Barack connected more easily with their oldest, Malia.
“I’d say this to Barack, when it comes to, you know, [our] oldest, Malia, she is going to figure out who you are, what do you like and let’s discuss it,” she expressed, noting that that was “unusual” for a teenager. Malia was also always warming up to her father.
Michelle recalled, “When Malia was a teenager, it wasn’t that she was going out any less or doing anything differently. She would tell me, ‘I’m going out this weekend, but I’m going to go in and give dad like 15 minutes.’” She also remembered how Malia’s talks with her dad consisted of questions about politics and such.
“She’d go into the Treaty Room and be like, ‘Tell me about Syria,’” Michelle quipped, adding that Barack would gush afterwards saying, “I just had an amazing conversation with Malia.” Sarcastically, she’d reply, “I’m like, ‘Ok.’”
For Sasha, though, she was the complete opposite. “Sasha is like a cat,” Michelle explained. “She’s like, ‘Don’t touch me, don’t pet me. I’m not pleasing you. You come to me.’”
Barack called Sasha “difficult,” but Michelle noted that parents “have to be a chameleon” and adjust to their children’s varying temperaments.
“Some people parent to one child, or one personality child, but then you have three,” she added. Despite the hardships growing up, he and Sasha have a great relationship and opened up about how proud he is of her this past June for her birthday.
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