There are a few rules that even close friends are subject to when a buddy gets elected president, and it really is a life-changing deal — which means there's stipulations that continue even after their term ends. Here are some rules that friends of the American president have to follow.
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00:00There are a few rules that even close friends are subject to when a buddy gets elected president,
00:05and it really is a life-changing deal, which means there's stipulations that continue even
00:10after their term ends.
00:12Here are some rules that friends of the American president have to follow.
00:17Presidents are allowed to largely set their own sort of schedule.
00:20What that looks like depends largely on the president in question.
00:23President Trump, for example, had a schedule interspersed with executive time for watching
00:28TV and tweeting.
00:30President Obama, on the other hand, made sure he was always home for family dinners.
00:34President Jimmy Carter was notorious for working long hours and getting little accomplished.
00:39But when it comes to personal time, that's subject to some serious oversight.
00:43According to Virginia Commonwealth University's Homeland Security professor Matt Pinsker,
00:48phone calls and video chats between a president and his personal friends can't just happen
00:52any time, meaning friends aren't allowed to just pick up the phone and call.
00:56These are coordinated by the Secret Service, and that includes a friendly chat about how
01:00the kids are doing in school.
01:02The president has to let them know about the call first, and a secure line has to be used.
01:07For all that trouble, they'd better have something good to say.
01:10So, what do you have in the White House for toilet paper?
01:12Gottenell, Charmin, AngelSoft?
01:13I don't know.
01:14I have to tell you, that Quilted Northern is terrific.
01:19All business owners know how important a shout-out from the right people can be.
01:23While it might seem like a given that an endorsement from the president might be even better, not
01:27even close friends should expect some free publicity for the simple reason that it's
01:31illegal.
01:32In 2017, President Trump tweeted,
01:34"'Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L. Bean for your great support and courage.
01:39People will support you even more now.
01:41I, L.L. Bean.'"
01:42U.S. News & World Report said the tweet came in response to L.L. Bean's $30,000 donation
01:47supporting the Trump cause.
01:49It came with something else, too.
01:51A very direct reminder from the Office of Government Ethics.
01:55They posted a refresher announcement to all employees of the executive branch of the government,
02:00and it was a reminder that they are prohibited from endorsing any quote, product, service,
02:04or company.
02:05Director Walter Schaub went even further, specifying that it was absolutely forbidden
02:10for anyone to use public office for their own private gain or for the private gain of
02:14their friends.
02:15So, as awesome as it would be to have the president do an Instagram post promoting their
02:20buddy's startup soap company, it just can't happen.
02:23"'He said there's a steak company, and we have Trump Steaks.
02:27And by the way, if you want to take one, we'll charge you about, what, 50 bucks a steak.'"
02:32According to The Washington Post, the Obamas became another first in 2018.
02:36They were the first modern, post-presidential family to remain in Washington, D.C. after
02:41his term was up.
02:42The announcement that they were staying was a huge deal, but it quickly became clear that
02:46they were enjoying being private citizens once again.
02:49But that's not to say they're just like every other American citizen.
02:53Former presidents and their families are still afforded protection by the Secret Service,
02:58and in the case of the Obamas, here's hoping their neighbors are cool with it, too.
03:02Why?
03:03Because not only does a police car sit at, and block, the street in front of their home
03:0624-7, 365, but all visitors to not just the Obamas, but any house on the block needs to
03:13check in with security first.
03:15It's gotta be hugely inconvenient, but honestly, there's worse excuses for running late.
03:21It's rarely been just a president in office by himself.
03:24There's typically been a first lady and children along for the ride, too.
03:28So what happens when a friend's dad gets himself elected president?
03:31In 2019, Michelle Obama spoke candidly about how difficult things were for their girls
03:36at times.
03:37Things that most teenage girls might take for granted, like spending the night at a
03:41friend's house, were extremely complicated.
03:43She spoke with Gayle King about just what a standard sleepover for Malia and Sasha Obama
03:48entailed, and it's far from simple.
03:51It started with a phone call to the friend's parents and a request for information like
03:54social security numbers and birthdates.
03:57Then, there was a knock on the door from men who were sent to sweep the house for anything
04:01illegal or questionable.
04:03When all was clear, the former first lady was informed that a man with a gun would be
04:07sitting outside of her house all night.
04:09Does that sound complicated?
04:11Absolutely.
04:12In her interview with Gayle King, Michelle Obama jokingly said, quote,
04:16"'I'm surprised my kids have any friends.'"
04:18For most people, email is pretty standard stuff.
04:21The worst thing that might realistically happen is that a snooping coworker might peek at
04:25your mail while you're at lunch and get an eyeful of some home drama.
04:29When it comes to the president's friends, however, the stakes are a little higher.
04:33There's been a lot of news about the use of private email servers and the suggestion that
04:37something shady is going on.
04:38In 2020, The Washington Post ran a story that said Melania Trump had been regularly
04:43using private email accounts throughout her time in the White House.
04:47Here's where technicalities come into play.
04:49Technically, the Presidential Records Act does allow the use of private email, but not
04:54when discussing official business or classified information.
04:57Also, it's entirely possible that the courts might subpoena those emails, so they need
05:02to be kept and produced if anyone asks for them.
05:05The website JustSecurity says that the president and any White House staffers who use private
05:09email have just 20 days to forward any and all communications to a secure, official,
05:15and archived server for the White House.
05:17That includes any emails simply sent to the president.
05:20They don't have to respond, but they do need to forward every communication, even from
05:24a best friend asking,
05:26"'Wassup?'
05:27Presidential pardons are powerful things, and according to PBS, the official wording
05:31in the Constitution reads,
05:33"'The President shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against
05:38the United States, except in cases of impeachment.'"
05:41While it seems like the potential to issue a massive get-out-of-jail-free card to personal
05:46friends might be a conflict of interest, there's nothing in the U.S. laws that prevents the
05:51president from handing them out to his buddies.
05:54According to The Washington Post, President Trump's pardons of personal friends like Louis
05:58Scooter Libby and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio are perfectly legal.
06:02But that certainly doesn't make them any less controversial.
06:05"...I stand by my pardon of Sheriff Joe, and I think the people of Arizona, who really
06:11know him best, would agree with me.
06:14Thank you very much."
06:15Interestingly, PBS also points out that historically, presidential pardons have been handed out
06:20to enemies instead of friends.
06:22George Washington pardoned some of the men sentenced to death for their participation
06:26in the Whiskey Rebellion, Abraham Lincoln pardoned Army deserters, and Gerald Ford pardoned
06:3113,000 draft evaders from the Vietnam era.
06:34Today, though, it's friends of the president that are most likely to get pardoned.
06:38"...Drumstick, you are hereby pardoned."
06:47When Barack Obama was elected president, there was one thing that he fought to keep, his
06:51BlackBerry.
06:52According to The New York Times, he became the nation's first emailing president when
06:56he won the right to keep his own phone, but it did come with restrictions.
07:00"...And I was the first president to have a BlackBerry."
07:02Not only was security on the specially made BlackBerry heightened to a level more fitting
07:06for the leader of the free world, but there were an incredibly limited number of people
07:10who could reach him on it, including the senior members of his staff and a very small, very
07:15select group of personal friends.
07:18It follows, then, that not all his friends made the cut.
07:20For those that did, however, they had to go through a White House briefing first.
07:24All of the messages fell under the same restrictions as any other emails, and could potentially
07:29become public domain if subpoenaed.
07:30For this reason, Obama also had to change his email, and everyone knows what a pain
07:35that is.
07:36In order to avoid any awkward situations and accusations of bribery, there's a ton of rules
07:41in place for the giving and receiving of gifts.
07:44Executive branch employees are only allowed to accept gifts if they're less than $20,
07:49not cash, or the equivalent of cash, and they can't be interpreted as bribery.
07:54There are, however, a handful of exceptions to the rule.
07:57For example, if the gifts are received because of the president's spouse's employment, that's
08:02all right.
08:03It's also completely fine for friends and family to give any kind of gifts they want.
08:07Those who want to give the president a birthday gift can definitely do so.
08:11As long as they can prove a history and personal relationship with the president, they're not
08:15bound by the long list of stipulations.
08:18There is one stipulation gift-giving friends of the president have to abide by, however.
08:22They have to personally pay for the gift themselves, and not just pass it along from someone else.