Yes, Obama Wore the Tan Suit. But Apparently It Was Larry David’s Fault

Barack Obama’s presidency included historic healthcare reform, the killing of Osama bin Laden and the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Yet, for a certain corner of the internet, one question has remained unanswered: what on earth was he thinking when he wore that tan suit?

Twelve years later, we finally have an explanation. Naturally, it involves Larry David, a stolen mango smoothie and a disagreement about “old lips.”

Obama makes an acting cameo in the finale of HBO’s Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, the sketch series that drops David’s uniquely stubborn personality into defining moments from American history. Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground banner produces the series, making the former president’s appearance feel less like stunt casting and more like unfinished business.

According to Variety, Higher Ground executive producer Ethan Lewis and Obama developed the idea of revisiting the infamous 2014 tan suit controversy after David and co-creator Jeff Schaffer invited him to appear in a full sketch.

What follows is essentially Curb Your Enthusiasm: The White House Years.

The sketch reveals that Obama had intended to wear a perfectly presidential navy suit to his press conference. Unfortunately, David spots a mango smoothie on the Resolute Desk and asks for a sip. Obama refuses, citing the risk of getting David’s “old lips” on his straw.

The moment Obama leaves the room, Larry helps himself. Predictably, the smoothie ends up all over the navy suit. Faced with an international crisis of his own making, David persuades the president to wear the tan alternative because it is “casual Friday.”

Obama emerges in the suit, prompting David to deliver his famous verdict: “Prettay good… prettay… prettay… prettay… prettay good.”

“People are going to be talking about this for a long, long time,” he assures him. For once, Larry is completely correct.

Schaffer told Variety that Obama’s comic timing was “impeccable”, praising him as a genuinely good actor rather than simply a former president gamely reading some lines. Obama also improvised and even found himself giving David performance notes, telling him he was entering scenes too late. Being directed by a former commander-in-chief is probably one of the few things capable of briefly containing Larry David.

The four-hour shoot took place on a remarkable recreation of the Oval Office designed by Michael S. Smith, who oversaw the real room’s 2010 makeover. Even Obama’s fictional aide was played by Brian Mosteller, his real-life Director of Oval Office Operations.

The strangest revelation came between takes. Schaffer recalled Obama arguing that nobody over the age of 12 should use ketchup because it is “a child’s condiment.” Mustard, apparently, is the mature presidential choice.

Lewis does not expect Obama to launch a full-time acting career, which is probably wise. But if Life, Larry returns for another series, there are surely more scandals to uncover. Perhaps Larry was responsible for the missing White House cocaine. Or maybe he persuaded Bill Clinton that nobody would ever ask about Monica Lewinsky.

For now, history has been rewritten. Obama wore the tan suit, but Larry David made him do it.