Barack Obama Once Hinted He Misses Being Unrecognizable Since His Presidency

Post-White House, Barack Obama’s recognizability remains high. Obama won an Emmy for narrating the Netflix docuseries “Our Great National Parks,” and he wrote a bestselling memoir, “A Promised Land.” In addition, he’s continued appearing on late-night TV, and on streaming media, discussing issues like A.I. technology.  Despite his decision to remain in the spotlight, Obama still reflects on his desire to appear incognito in public. 

During a June 2023 interview, Hasan Minhaj asked Obama if it felt surreal to live in the White House. Obama acknowledged that the first morning he woke up there, he felt rather awestruck. However, Obama noted that the sweetest dreams he had as president were ones where he moved through life unnoticed. He described a sunny scene where he’d go walking and treat himself to iced coffee. “I’d sit on a bench and suddenly I realized that nobody recognizes me,” Obama told Minhaj. “And that’s the only thing that happened in the dream: I’d just be sitting there, chill. And I felt like I won the lottery.”

When he envisioned life post-presidency, Obama presumed he’d recapture some of his previous anonymity. While that didn’t come to pass, Obama did feel like a normal, non-famous person when he masked up during the COVID-19 pandemic and traveled around Martha’s Vineyard. Although he’ll never truly be unrecognizable again, Obama is sanguine about post-presidency perks, like the freedom to plan his day and choose his projects.