Obama's cries have young students in fits of giggles during Pre-K school visit in New York

By VICTORIA CHURCHILL, US POLITICAL REPORTER Published: 19:51, 19 April 2026 | Updated: 19:51, 19 April 2026 Former President Barack Obama left a group of children in fits of giggles as he pulled a stunt on them during a visit to a childcare center in New York on Saturday. Obama and Mayor Zohran Mamdani read to preschoolers and led a sing-along during the visit, and did not take questions after their appearance. While at the Learning Through Play Pre-K school, Obama and Mamdani read the book 'Alone and Together' to the children and led a sing-along of 'The Wheels on the Bus.'  After sitting on chairs during the reading, the two sat down on the floor to play out a key theme in the 'Alone and Together' book. 'Remember the book said, we are strong together,' Obama inquired of the children. 'So you're going to have to all help me get up,' the former president continued amid shrieks and laughter from the young attendees, before adding 'Because I'm old.' Obama, now 64, served as president from 2009 to 2017, long before most of his Saturday crowd were born. The 44th president offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, 34, whose star power, youth, and progressive agenda have made him stand out in Democratic politics. Former US President Barack Obama pretends to struggle to stand as children lift him up during a visit to Learning Through Play Pre-K in New York, on April 18, 2026 Former President Barack Obama and Mayor Zohran Mamdani pose for a photo with children at Learning Through Play Pre-K in New York, Saturday, April 18, 2026 Former President Barack Obama and Mayor Zohran Mamdani sing 'Wheels on the Bus' to children at Learning Through Play Pre-K in the Bronx in New York, Saturday, April 18, 2026. Obama placed second in a recent Daily Mail/JL Partners Poll asking readers who they believed was the most powerful man in America, while Mamdani ranked 16th. Current President Donald Trump topped the list. The Saturday visit came as the Mamdani mayoral administration pushed its policy plan of free, universal childcare in the Big Apple. In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC News, Mamdani told Meet the Press moderator Kirsten Welker that his efforts 'are not only providing free childcare for every three-year-old in this city, we're now doing it for two-year-olds as well.' 'And by the end of our first term, we will see every single two-year-old receiving free childcare across the five boroughs of New York City,' Mamdani also noted. If elected to a second term, Mamdani also pledged to pursue providing free childcare to 'one-year-olds and those from six weeks and above.' 'We've always said over the course of the campaign, we would deliver it for New Yorkers from the ages of six weeks to five years,' Mamdani also told Welker.  'We're talking about $20,000 a year that a family won't have to shell out for childcare any longer, because they know they can afford to raise their kid in the city they love,' the Mayor added to sell his idea. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.