TheBlaze’s Sharona Schwartz contributed to this report from Israel

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Obama Reveals Funny Fantasy Involving a Tel Aviv Bar and Fake Mustache During Interview With Israeli News Station

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak (R) looks on as US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama speaks in front of a display made from the remains of Palestinian Qassam rockets, fired from the neighbouring Gaza Strip, at a police station in the southern Israeli town of Sderot. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

During an recently taped interview with Israel’s Channel 2, President Barack Obama revealed a humorous “fantasy”  of his. The president, speaking of the frustration caused by never being able to have spontaneous interactions with people, said he fantasizes about going into a Tel Aviv bar with a fake mustache and just hanging out like a normal guy.

“This is your third visit. Is there anything you would like to do but won’t be able to because you’re the president? You know, any R&R in the Dead Sea or a falafel at a kiosk or–” Channel 2′s Yonit Levy asked.

“All of the above,” Obama replied. “You know, I’d love to sit at a café and just hang out. The last time I was there as a senator, I still had the option of wandering through the Old City in Jerusalem. That option I think becomes a lot trickier once you’re actually president.”

The president went on to lament the lack of “spontaneous interactions” he is able to have and said he wishes he could meet average people and get a “sense of how they’re feeling, what they’re thinking about the world, about life.”

Then he revealed his “fantasy”:

“So, sometimes I have this fantasy that I can put on a disguise, you know, wear a fake mustache, and I can wander through Tel Aviv and go to a bar and have a conversation, or go down to a university and meet with some students in a setting where it wasn’t as formal. And we’re going to try and find as many opportunities as I can to interact directly with the Israeli people.”

In fact, Obama said not being able to “slip out and interact with people without having a bunch of guy with machine guns” is “the toughest thing about being president.”

Listen to the rough audio via Israel’s Channel 2 below:

Obama talked about his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he has met with him “more than any other world leader.” The president said he and Netanyahu have their policy differences, but have a good working relationship.

The president also addressed a recent quote in a Bloomberg column by Jeffrey Goldberg, in which alleges Obama said “Israel doesn’t know what its best interests are.” Obama downplayed the report and said it is important to take speculative media reports with a grain of salt.

 

Featured image via AP