Mark your calendar: Noah McCullough is declaring himself a Republican candidate for the office of President of the United States in 2032.
But since he’s only 13 years old, for the time being he’ll have to settle for being a presidential historian and expert on White House children with his — believe it or not — second book: “First Kids: The True Stories of All the Presidents’ Children.”
Regarding his 2032 platform, the political whiz kid admitted to TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira on Wednesday: “I don’t know what the issues are going to be in 24 years — but I’ll try to do the best I can and make sure that I make the decision that is right for the country.”
Political introduction
Noah, a fresh-faced redhead, got hooked on politics and its processes during the 2000 election. While in kindergarten, he became incurably curious about candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore during a mock election at his school.
“When I got up to the front of the line, I asked the guy at the computer different questions,” he said. “Like, ‘Is my vote a popular vote or an electoral vote? What does Bush believe about this? What does Gore believe about this?’ And I asked so many questions that he kicked me out of the line and wouldn’t allow me to vote.”
But Noah was undaunted in his pursuit of knowledge. He hit the books — and spread the word about what he was learning. Before long he was appearing on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” as a political correspondent. He also showed off his knowledge on “Oprah” and “Martha Stewart Living.”
He appeared on the TODAY Show when he was 9 to talk about Social Security reform, and again in 2006 to promote his first book, “The Essential Book of Presidential Trivia.”
Noah reached out to all of the living First Children to contribute, but he didn’t get much response. He feels there’s a reason for that.
“I think a lot of them actually didn’t want to talk because they feel like their childhood or teenage years or college years were invaded by the press or media during their time as a First Kid,” he told Vieira. “I think that definitely played a role in it.”
Noah said if he was a First Kid, he would embrace it. “You can let it bother you, get you down,” he said. “If I was a First Kid, I would try to take advantage of it and try to advance my career — and also stop by the movie theater and bowling alley.”
Testing and being tested
Noah then challenged Vieira with some tough trivia questions about First Children.
The TODAY co-host nailed the first question when Noah asked which kid hosted her senior prom at the White House: Susan Ford. But she had a little more difficulty when he asked: “Which First Son had two pet alligators: Alan Hoover, George W. Bush or Michael Reagan?”
“Sounds like something Bush would do,” Vieira mused.
“No, he didn’t live in the White House when he was a First Kid,” Noah prompted (in fact, George W. was already the grown-up owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team when George H.W. Bush was in the White House). The correct answer was Allan Hoover, the youngest son of President Herbert Hoover.
Full of fascinating facts, Noah added: “John Quincy Adams had pet alligators when he was president, but not as a First Kid.”
But when it came to predicting who would win the current political election, Noah wasn’t as forthcoming. “I think all the candidates can do a good job for our country,” he said. “They have different political aspects of them.”
Sounds like he's ready to run for office right now.