--- title: Barack Obama Tells Letterman About Taking Malia to College description: Barack Obama used his time as the first guest on David Letterman's 'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,' to talk about his daughter. canonical: https://time.com/5099991/barack-obama-talks-taking-daughter-malia-to-college-david-letterman/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-12T08:01:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:45:45.614Z og:title: Obama Talks About Raising His Daughters With David Letterman og:description: Peak dad mode og:url: https://time.com/5099991/barack-obama-talks-taking-daughter-malia-to-college-david-letterman/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8d52003e572fc05/6988f810096a94ce8f6a113a/barck-obama-malia-college-david-letterman-my-next-guest-needs-no-introduction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-OBAMA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Talks About Raising His Daughters With David Letterman twitter:description: Peak dad mode twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb8d52003e572fc05/6988f810096a94ce8f6a113a/barck-obama-malia-college-david-letterman-my-next-guest-needs-no-introduction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Even Barack Obama Had a Hard Time With DIY Furniture When He Moved His Daughter at College > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman _ Trailer HD _ Netflix [Watch (HLS stream): My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman _ Trailer HD _ Netflix](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GIrUaNJw.m3u8) (0:46)  _Published 2018-01-05. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman _ Trailer HD _ Netflix_  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 12, 2018 8:01 AM UTC My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman \_ Trailer \[HD\] \_ Netflix  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Jan 12, 2018 8:01 AM UTC [Barack Obama](http://time.com/barack-obama-joe-biden-friendship-photos/) may be the former [leader of the free world](http://time.com/obama-and-copeland/), but that doesn’t mean that he’s above [the challenges that every parent experiences](http://time.com/5098712/barack-obama-dancing-dad-moves-david-letterman/) and that includes the struggles that come with sending [a child off to college](http://time.com/5036859/malia-obama-smoking-ivanka-trump-chelsea-clinton/). As the inaugural guest on David Letterman’s new, six-episode [Netflix series, _My Next Guest Needs No Introduction_](http://time.com/5090142/barack-obama-david-letterman-new-talk-show/), the [Dad-in-chief](http://time.com/4621362/barack-obama-best-dad-moments/) divulged that, like most people, he sometimes has issues when it comes to assemble-yourself furniture. According to Obama, when he and the rest of the family moved in his daughter Malia into her new college digs (she’s currently a freshman at Harvard,) he was feeling pretty emotional about firstborn moving out, so Malia suggested that he help her put together a lamp that she had gotten for her desk. While the lamp initially appeared to be easy to put together, Obama ran into some challenges assembling it. “I was basically useless. Everyone had seen me crying and misting up for basically the previous three weeks, so Malia, who’s very thoughtful, she goes, ‘Dad, you know, I’ve got this lamp in this box, could you put the desk lamp together?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ It should have taken five minutes or three minutes and it had one of those little tools. It only had like four parts and I’m just sitting there, toiling at this thing for half an hour and meanwhile, Michelle has finished scrubbing and she’s organizing closets and I was just pretty pathetic.” While Obama noted that dropping off Malia at college was like having “open-heart surgery,” he also divulged that it’s been easier because of technology since the two text on an almost daily basis, with Malia checking in on him and sending him lots of heart emojis. ## Transcript [00:00] I had a show for a long time, then I didn't have a show [00:04] for a long time. And I can't tell you how great it is to be [00:08] out of the damn house, wow. [ APPLAUSE ] [00:13] You never know when you might learn something, and [00:15] that's what this is about for me. These are people that [00:18] I admire. Please welcome My next guest. [ MUSIC ] Well [00:20] let note hand on. 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