Obama Gives Infamous Tan Suit a Comeback for Larry David’s Show: ‘Time the Truth Finally Came Out’

Former President Barack Obama gave his infamous tan suit a comeback for a segment in Larry David’s limited HBO series Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness.

“People always ask me where the tan suit came from. I think it’s time the truth finally came out,” Obama posted to X on Saturday, sharing part of the scene between him and David.

In the sketch, it turns out David is the one responsible for the fashion choice, which ignited a media firestorm after he wore it during a 2014 press conference. Obama received backlash from critics who felt the color choice was unpresidential. Today you the entire ordeal has its own Wikipedia page.

In the scene, Obama is getting ready for his press conference and David asks for a sip of his smoothie, a request Obama refuses.

When the president leaves the room, David sneaks a sip and ends up ruining the navy blue suit that Obama planned to wear. He then tries distracting Obama by recommending the tan suit because it’s “casual Friday.”

“What do you think?” the tan suit-wearing Obama asks.

“Pretty good!” David said, then calling back to his signature line: “Prettay, prettay, prettay, prettay, pretty good.”

As they make their way out of the Oval Office, David tells an unsure Obama, “People are going to be talking about this for a long, long time.”

Obama produces David’s show through his Higher Learning company, and executive Ethan Lewis told Variety he came up with the tan suit idea when David asked to use Obama in a scene.

“From the very beginning, my dream was to close the book on the tan suit once and for all,” Lewis said.

The show’s co-creator, Jeff Schaffer, also described the nerve-wracking process of directing a former president and he applauded Obama’s acting and improv skills. He even said Obama was giving David notes during the filming.

“The funny thing was watching him go, ‘Larry, you’re coming in late!’ He was the president, so he’s used to telling people what to do. Larry was in the odd position of being told what to do, which never happens on a Larry set,” he said.

Schaffer said Obama has “fun” being “annoyed” by David.

“The president said, ‘I have fun being annoyed by Larry, and when we get together, I realize I start sounding like him.’ “Larry is sucking him into his black hole of negativity.”

Watch the full scene above via HBO.

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