Do Americans going back into the usa need a passport?

Yes, he needs a passport, but it's not like everyone else's. The President of the United States, his immediate family, certain top officials, and diplomatic personnel are issued diplomatic passports, which have a black cover and for which the bearer doesn't have to pay a passport fee. When the president travels, a team of people, usually from the State Department, coordinate the paperwork of the trip and hold onto the president's passport. After the president emerges from Air Force One, waves to the crowd, and gets in his limo, he doesn't then stand in line at customs. The State Department employees take his passport, and those of the others in his entourage, through the host country's customs procedures.