Former United States of America president Barack Obama has admitted that his decision to speak out against current president Donald Trump has put his marriage under stress.
He said there was “genuine tension” between him and his wife Michelle Obama over his criticism of his successor in the White House.
Obama said that it frustrated his wife that he continued to campaign for Democrats even though he was out of office.
The comments came after months of reports about difficulties in the Obamas’ 33-year marriage.
They have two children, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24. Mr Obama previously told a podcast he had a “deficit” with his wife after he left office and that he needed to “work my way out” of it by spending time with her.
But speaking to the New Yorker magazine, Barrack, 64, said that his ongoing involvement in politics was a lingering irritation for Mrs Obama.
“She wants to see her husband easing up and spending more time with her, enjoying what remains of our lives,” Mr Obama said.
“It does create a genuine tension in our household, and it frustrates her. I’m more forgiving of it, in the sense that I understand why people feel that way, because people aren’t looking at me in historical comparison to other presidents.
“They don’t care about the fact that no other ex-president was the main surrogate for the party for four election cycles after they left office.”
Mr Obama has been one of his party’s most high-profile critics of Mr Trump and recently gave his support to efforts by Democrats to redraw the electoral boundaries in Virginia, which would probably give the party four seats in the US House of Representatives.
But by doing so, he continues to make himself a target for the current president, who frequently refers to him as “Barack Hussein Obama”.
Earlier this year, Mr Trump prompted criticism after he posted a racist video on social media depicting the Obamas as apes.
The US president has also shared a fake video of Mr Obama being arrested.
In the interview, Mr Obama said: “There doesn’t seem to be any shame about this among people who used to feel like you had to have some sort of decorum and a sense of propriety and respect for the office.”
However, Mr Obama said that he was holding himself back as he didn’t want to become a “commentator”.
He said: “The media environment is so difficult that people don’t even know all the stuff I am doing, right?“And, I think, when they do see me, then the sense is, well, why isn’t he doing that every day instead of just during a midterm election, or during a referendum campaign around gerrymandering, or what have you?”
