I say this with some sincerity: I am not actually sure if Donald Trump knows how to read. Sure, he can read a chyron on Fox News, or a mean tweet posted about him by Chuck Schumer, but when it comes to an actual, physical book, the extent of his literacy is up for debate. As evidence, look no further than the latest installment of the YouTube video series Storytime with the Second Lady, in which Usha Vance welcomes guests to read books to children. A seemingly simple enough task that past guest readers — from Danica Patrick to Cheryl Hines to Vice President JD Vance — have handled without much of an issue. As for Donald Trump, he doesn’t so much read as he observes and, at various points, describes the pictures featured in the book in question, Presidents Play! by Jonathan Pliska.
The segment begins with Vance asking Trump about his reading habits. “I end up reading mostly newspapers, mostly stories about myself,” he responds, before a very noticeable jump cut leads to Vance having Trump introduce the book he is on hand to read. “Here’s your cover, it’s called Presidents Play! We don’t play too much. Alright? And it says, ‘Let’s visit the White House.’ So exciting,” Trump exclaims. From there, he goes off on an odd tangent about Run Spot Run and how the book he is reading is “much more exciting.” We then begin a whirlwind journey in which Trump casually shifts between narrating various words printed on the page and offering unfiltered commentary on his predecessors in relation to his own success. He also frequently comments on their physical appearance (“William Taft, he was a very large man… He loved the hot dogs at the baseball games”), as well as his own (“I’m not sure if I look good in a bathing suit.”). Another notable moment comes when he accuses Obama of being both a bad basketball player and golfer. Remember he is supposedly reading to children.
Spanning 22 pages, with roughly five to 10 words on each, Presidents Play! has an estimated second-grade reading level. My wife, a middle school English teacher, casually joked that if a student read like Trump did in her class, they would be sent off for testing. Maybe cognitive testing?
