"Thomas J. Paladino Jr." wrote

FYI, the president must have had a civillian certification at some
point because I have read a couple of stories of people flying in a
Cessna with him.

Didn't your mother teach you never to say always, never, or must?
I personally know of a couple of pilots who fly Cessna type aircraft
without the benefit of an FAA Airman Certificate. My father was one
of them back in the 1940s.

Bob Moore