Sasha And Malia Obama ‘Complained About Secret Service As They Became Teenagers,’ President Shares

Sasha and Malia Obama have spent eight years in the White House as the nation’s first daughters. As President Barack Obama prepares to leave office, he opened up in an interview about his daughters’ time in the residence.

The president reveals that he and wife Michelle Obama had their initial worries about raising Sasha and Malia in such magnificence. He told George Stephanopoulos of Sunday’s This Week that their concern was “mostly about whether they’d develop an attitude.”

Sasha was only 7 and Malia just 10 when the Obamas moved into the White House back in 2008. The girls have made their father proud in how they’ve turned out.

“They are sweet, kind, funny, smart, respectful people, and they treat everybody with respect. 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?'”

Sasha and Malia Obama, growing up in the White House https://t.co/ko9PFR8lHh #Washington #Post #news

— WorldNews_net (@worldnews_net) January 5, 2017

Sasha and Malia Obama grew tired of a few things that came with being daughters of the nation’s leader. President Obama stated that one of the aspects they really didn’t like was having constant protection around them.

“They complained about Secret Service as they became teenagers. But 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. But they’ve handled it with grace, and I give Michelle most of the credit for how well they’ve done.”

Teenagers often grow tired of several things they normally didn’t mind putting up with before. Many speculated that may have been the case with the annual turkey pardon last November when Sasha and Malia Obama weren’t present for the event with their father. The president was instead accompanied by his two younger nephews and said to reporters that his girls “just couldn’t take my jokes anymore.” He added that Sasha and Malia were absent due to “scheduling conflicts.”

President Obama reflected on the earlier days in the White House and said his daughters are what made the White House feel more like home. He said when they were in their pajamas and wanted to play, be read to, and things like that, it “starts feeling like home pretty quick.”

With all of the memories he has of the last eight years watching Sasha and Malia grow up, it’s even more like home to him now.

The president acknowledged that it’s unknown how his daughters would’ve developed had they been brought up in “Chicago or a more normal environment” instead of the White House. In some ways, that’s been food for thought for him and his wife given the more privileged upbringing Sasha and Malia Obama have had.

Additionally, President Obama credits Michelle for how their daughters have flourished after living a high-profile life during his time in office. She’s managed to shield them from the spotlight and maintain some kind of normalcy in the White House. The president said the girls do what a lot of kids do and have sleepovers at their friends’ houses, etc.

Gorgeous! First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters through the years: https://t.co/iDA6dSDjpM pic.twitter.com/ioiXXpEH1i

— ESSENCE (@Essence) January 3, 2017

Malia has been in the news for attending wild parties as photos of her near bongs were circulated on social media. A particularly scandalous video showed puffing on a suspicious-looking cigarette at Chicago’s Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago last summer. After September, the crazy headlines died down, and rumors emerged that she was attending rehab, but there’s been no confirmation on that.

Sasha and Malia Obama will remain Washington, D.C., with their parents for another year after they move out of the White House. Malia will attend Harvard in fall of this year, and Sasha has one more year to finish her school year in the D.C area at Sidwell Friends School.

[Featured Image by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images]