“One child is going to be driving this summer. Look out.”
During an interview on Access Hollywood about the role of arts in education, host Billy Bush asked First Lady Michelle Obama about her daughters, ages 12 and 15.
As most “normal” children, Mrs. Obama said that they are anxiously awaiting summer. She also added that Malia, the oldest, would be turning sixteen in July.
So who will be teaching Malia to drive? Mom? Dad?
When former President Bill Clinton was in the White House, he taught 16-year old Chelsea to drive, although he hadn’t driven a car himself in twelve years. Mrs. Clinton referred to the situation as “scary.”
However, Mrs. Obama set the record straight, saying, “I think our [Secret Service] agents don’t want us driving with teenagers … Especially the president’s detail. I don’t think they want him in the state when she’s learning how to drive. We will fortunately be able to hand that responsibility over to someone else.”
Most previous young adults who turned 16 while they were in the White House when their fathers were president did not learn how to drive because cars had not been invented yet.
When John and Jacqueline Kennedy entered the White House, they brought with them a 4-year old and an infant, neither of which were close to driving. This was the first time children this young had been in the White House since Theodore Roosevelt’s family in the early 1900s.
When asked if Malia was dating anyone, Mrs. Obama dodged the question.
“You just want me to get pushed off the Truman Balcony,” she joked, suggesting that could be her punishment for saying anything about her daughters’ personal lives.
Of course any parents, especially those in the public eye, have to be safe revealing any kind of information about their children. Two weeks ago, a suspicious vehicle was stopped and searched after trailing a motorcade carrying Malia and Sasha Obama. It was not made clear whether it was a mistake or intentional, but an “all clear” was issued approximately an hour later.
Malia turns 16 on the July 4, the birthday of our nation. Sasha will turn 13 on June 10.
Image via YouTube