Obama aides have described how they underestimated Donald Trump before his 2016 presidential run, even as his influence grew online and in politics. The interviews, released Tuesday in conjunction with Columbia University, are a sweeping oral history of the Obama presidency. Advisers note how social media helped conspiracy theories spread, including Trump's false claim that Obama was born abroad. They thought Trump would collapse after the “Access Hollywood” tape in October 2016 and still expected Democrat Hillary Clinton to win. Former aides also recalled the lead-up to Obama releasing his long-form birth certificate in 2011 and, that same year, Obama mocking Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. They admit in the project that they misread Trump’s resilience.
