President and First Lady Obama had a few reservations when moving to the White House with daughters Sasha and Malia eight years ago. The heightened security and attention from the press was bound to go to the girls head, right? Wrong! President Obama tells ABC News that his wife, Michelle, has done a spectacular job with rearing the girls in the right direction.
“They are sweet, kind, funny, smart, respectful people, and they treat everybody with respect,” the president shares. “You know, we feel pretty good when … they go to other folks’ houses and when the parents say, ‘Oh, you know, Malia, she’s just so sweet,’ or ‘Sasha helped to pick up the dishes. What is it that you’re doing?'”
Although they are loving and respectful, Sasha and Malia are not fond of the added security. “As you might imagine, if you’re a teenager having a couple of people with microphones and guns always following you around, that could grate on them,” President Obama admits. “But they’ve handled it with grace, and I give Michelle most of the credit for how well they’ve done,” he adds.
Sasha and Malia have contributed to their dad’s success in office in more ways than one. “When you open a door and they’re in their pajamas and they’re, you know, wrestling with you and asking you, you know, to read to them and stuff, you know it starts feeling like home pretty quick,” the commander-in-chief explains. “It feels even more like home now because you have all these memories that were formed watching your kids grow up.”
The Obamas will leave the White House on January 20, 2017, after two presidential terms. Sasha will continue her schooling in Washington D.C. while Malia begins her first year at Harvard University later this year.
