'President shouldn't have a bunch of side hustles': Barack Obama takes jab at Donald Trump
Former U.S. President Barack Obama took fresh jabs at current President Donald Trump in an interview with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night. Among other things, Obama said that a president should not be involved in "side hustles." "A good policy that I'd like to see followed is that the president shouldn't have a bunch of side hustles that companies and foreign entities can invest in," he said.
OBAMA: A good policy that I'd like to see followed is that the president shouldn't have a bunch of side hustles that companies and foreign entities can invest in
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 6, 2026
COLBERT: How much of that is just jealousy that you didn't think of selling sneakers? pic.twitter.com/DjMKTlVyWL
While Obama did not name the President directly, several recent reports have noted that the Trump family's wealth has increased significantly during Trump's second presidential term. According to a New Yorker report in January, the Trump family had made $4 billion in a single year of his presidency. As per the report, the Trumps had made $3.4 billion by August of 2025, and by the end of the year, that number had crossed $4 billion. The wealth increase came through several companies: American Bitcoin, World Liberty Financial, Binance, and Alt5 Sigma, among others.
By the end of last year, the Trumps had made $4.05 billion through putting their names on complex transactions and making use of cryptocurrency and the markets to their advantage. According to a separate report in Time magazine, Trump launched several new licensing deals only a couple of weeks before taking the oath of office as President. The report claims that he has made millions from selling Trump-branded Bibles, watches, guitars, books, and fragrances.
President Trump's 2025 financial disclosure states that he made $3 million from the sale on the website of Trump ally and musician Lee Greenwood. The President is also a real estate mogul, which contributes significantly to his income.
Obama warns against weaponization of DOJ
During the interview, Obama also spoke seriously about the independence of the Department of Justice. "The idea is that the Attorney General is the people's lawyer. It is not the President’s consigliere," Obama said. He added that while the American democracy could overcome a lot of hardships, the politicization of the criminal justice system was not one of them.
So far into Trump's second term, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been accused of going after individuals with whom the President has had a falling out, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and, more recently, the former director of the FBI, James Comey.
Speaking about the U.S. Army, Obama said that the President, as the commander-in-chief, should never "politicize" the military. "There had been a whole series of norms that were in place to ensure that you were not trying to make the military loyal to you as opposed to the Constitution and the people of the United States. We are going to have to find mechanisms to restore that," he added.
