--- title: President Obama Says Campaigning Against Trump Would Be Fun description: President Barack Obama thinks he would have enjoyed campaigning against Donald Trump, the president said in an interview published in GQ canonical: https://time.com/4116024/president-obama-donald-trump-bill-simmons-interview/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-17T15:29:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:51.362Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Says Campaigning Against Trump Would Have Been 'Fun' og:description: "That would’ve been fun," the President said og:url: https://time.com/4116024/president-obama-donald-trump-bill-simmons-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Says Campaigning Against Trump Would Have Been 'Fun' twitter:description: "That would’ve been fun," the President said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Obama Says Campaigning Against Trump Would Have Been 'Fun' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump [Watch (HLS stream): Watch The Best Quotes By Donald Trump](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7MzTpVq2.m3u8) (1:21)  _Published 2015-07-23. Donald Trump's Most Ridiculous Quotes_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 17, 2015 3:29 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 17, 2015 3:29 PM UTC President Barack Obama thinks he would have enjoyed campaigning against Donald Trump, according to an [interview](http://www.gq.com/story/president-obama-bill-simmons-interview-gq-men-of-the-year) published in _GQ_ Tuesday. “That would’ve been fun,” Obama told HBO’s Bill Simmons, formerly of Grantland. Obama discussed a wide range of topics in the interview, from the 2008 election to living in a house with two teenage girls. Much of the conversation centered around sports. Obama said he would be interested in owning an NBA team but declined to delve too deep into a conversation about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In another segment of the interview, Obama identified the few people whose calls he would answer during a date night with Michelle. National Security Advisor Susan Rice and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough both make the cut, as do his daughters. His mother-in-law received a “maybe.” [Read the full interview at _GQ_](http://www.gq.com/story/president-obama-bill-simmons-interview-gq-men-of-the-year). ## Transcript Rosie O'Donnell's disgusting, I mean both inside and out. You take a look at her, she's a slob. She talks like a truck driver. So he could have been born in Kenya and gone over to the United States. And everybody wants to be a US citizen. And his grandparents put an ad in saying he was born in the United States. He didn't kill Bin Laden. He gets so much credit for that. Ok excuse me. He had the guts to make that decision. And the genius. Excuse me. Guts. First of all Vince, your grapefruits are no match for my Trump Towers. They're bringing drugs They're bringing crime, they're rapist, and some I assume are good people, and I love the Mexican people. I've had thousands of Mexicans working for me. I sell apartments for millions of dollars to people from Mexico. They love me, they love me. [ CROSSTALK ]. He's a war hero cuz he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay? I hate to tell you this. And I see your Senator. What a stiff? What a Stiff? Lindsay Graham. I'm not using the lobbyists, I'm not using donors. I don't care. I'm really rich. 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