Obama's casual off-duty style could be sending an important message

Obama wearing a brown leather jacket after leaving the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. (Associated Press / Jose Luis Magana)

After eight long years of leading the free world, former President Obama is relaxing. He has been spotted wearing casual clothing reminiscent of a dad who's just taking a load off on vacation.

On Sunday, the day after President Trump accused Obama of wiretapping phones in Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign, the former president was photographed leaving the National Gallery of Art in a brown leather jacket and dark denim. GQ called his out-of-office style "on point."

This is a far cry from outfits we've seen on other ex-presidents, who usually favor wearing a suit sans tie, indicating they're off-duty but still professional.

On vacation in the Caribbean just after leaving office, Obama was even spotted wearing a backwards hat. If that doesn't scream "casual cool," nothing does. After all, Obama once said:

"Here's the general rule: You don't put stuff on your head if you're president. That's politics 101. You never look good wearing something on your head."

But he's no longer president, so all bets are off.

Obama's recent outfits are perhaps a signal that he plans to stay out of politics for the time being.

He's simply not dressed for Washington, DC — how many politicians have you seen wearing a leather jacket?

A reminder, of course, that this is only for now. If we start to see Obama adopting the standard uniform of the ex-president or politician, we might expect some political action.

For now, though, Obama is keeping it relaxed.

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