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Did Barbara Walters Tell Barack Obama a Secret About Her Retirement?

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 24: Barbara Walters attends an evening with Ralph Lauren hosted by Oprah Winfrey and presented at Lincoln Center on October 24, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Ralph Lauren)
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/2011 Getty Images

TMZ has a (thin) report claiming that during a taping at the White House today, Barbara Walters, not knowing her microphone was still on, “leaned over to Obama and said, ‘I need one more interview with you because I’m retiring next year.’” Maybe! She is 82 years old. Next year seems as a good a time as any. “Barbara has joked that she is retiring every year since the Clinton Administration,” said an ABC News VP. “Anyone who just did a day trip to Syria, 90-minute prime time special and an interview with the President and First Lady hardly sounds like someone retiring from anything.” Walters could have also been manipulating the president into making her a promise, savvy insider journalist that she is. The ABC rep admitted, “She’s one of the greatest bookers who ever lived.” Or maybe the source misheard and she actually said that she was expiring next year, but that joke seems a little dark for the holiday season.

Did Barbara Walters Tell Barack Obama a Secret?