Obama tells Colbert 'the bar has changed' and suggests he could beat recent White House occupants

WASHINGTON, DC: Former President Barack Obama turned a lighthearted conversation with late-night host Stephen Colbert into a headline-grabbing political moment on Tuesday, May 5, joking that the standards for the White House are no longer what they once were.

During a wide-ranging interview in Chicago, Obama suggested Colbert might actually do better than “some folks” Americans have already seen in office, triggering instant political speculation online.

Obama says Stephen Colbert can 'outperform few folks'

The exchange came during Colbert’s visit to the Obama Presidential Center, where the two sat down for one of the final major interviews of Colbert’s late-night run. 

As the conversation shifted toward Colbert’s future beyond television, the host jokingly floated an idea that has followed him for years.

“I’m looking for a new gig soon, and a lot of people tell me I should run for president,” Colbert told Obama.

Obama smiled and played along. “Well, you certainly have the look,” he replied. “You have the hair.”

Colbert then leaned into the joke further, telling Obama that he personally thought the idea was ridiculous before asking him directly, “How dumb do you think it is for people to say I should run for president?”

That’s when Obama delivered the remark that quickly took over social media.

“Well, you know the bar has changed,” Obama said. He then added, “Let’s put it this way, I think you could perform significantly better than some folks that we’ve seen. I have great confidence in that.”

Obama says 'US can survive a lot'

Though the remark on Colbert's presidential run became the viral moment of the night, the interview also included more serious discussions about leadership, government power, and the future of American democracy.

Obama warned that while the United States can survive political disagreements and even major policy mistakes, there are certain lines presidents should never cross.

“We can survive a lot,” Obama said. “We can’t overcome the politicization of the criminal justice system. The awesome power of the state, you can’t have a situation in which whoever is in charge of the government starts using that to go after their political enemies or reward their friends.”

He followed that with another warning: “The second thing is our military. Don’t politicize our military.”

The interview also featured lighter moments, including Colbert asking Obama about alien life after some of his past comments on UFO speculation.

Obama joked that if extraterrestrials were secretly being held by the US government, somebody would have leaked it by now.

“Some guy guarding the installation would have taken a selfie with one of the aliens,” he said.