President Barack Obama says the Supreme Court's recent gay marriage orders may have the biggest impact of any ruling of his presidency.

Obama told The New Yorker that the court's Oct. 6 rejection of appeals from states seeking to preserve gay marriage bans is the best of his tenure.

The former law professor says although the court was not ready to expand gay marriage rights nationwide, "it was a consequential and powerful signal of the changes that have taken place in society and that the law is having to catch up."

The rejection effectively made gay marriages legal in 30 states and could lead to an expansion nationwide.

Obama says he doesn't see himself ever serving on the Supreme Court because it would be too "monastic" for him.