John Boehner on Why President Obama Never Snuck Cigarettes: 'He's Scared to Death of His Wife'

In a new interview, former House Speaker John Boehner explains why he never saw Barack Obama sneak a cigarette while he was president

Boehner-obama
Photo: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty

In a new “unchained” interview, noted veteran smoker John Boehner was asked whether he’d ever seen noted former smoker Barack Obama sneak a cigarette while he was president.

“Oh no. No no no,” the former Republican House Speaker told Politico Magazine.

Why not?

He’s scared to death of his wife,” Boehner said of former First Lady Michelle Obama. “Scared. To. Death.”

Obama has admitted as much himself.

In 2013, the then-president revealed that he hadn’t smoked a cigarette in about six years.

“That’s because I’m scared of my wife,” he told a United Nations official at the time, while sporting a big grin.

Obama may or may not have been tempted by Boehner himself. In a spoof video Obama made before leaving office, Boehner, who was just recently retired at the time, offered the president advice on his post-White House life — and a pack of Camels.

Boehner also referenced his infamous smoking habit to highlight the differences between himself and and his friend from across the aisle.

RELATED VIDEO: Backstage With Michelle And Barack Obama! All the Best Photos from Their ‘Afterlife’

Setting the scene of a 2011 meeting he had with Obama, Boehner told Politico, “I’m smoking a cigarette, and they bring me a glass of merlot.”

“And we’re sitting there a little while, and here’s the president drinking iced tea and chomping on Nicorette. What else do you need to know about the two of us?”

Related Articles