As US President Barack Obama bids a final farewell to the White House, we look back at some of his best moments caught on camera during his eight years in office.
First dance
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106244","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Throughout his time as President, Obama showed his proficiency on the dance floor, from performing the tango in Argentina to throwing some shapes on the Ellen DeGeneres Show – but one of his most iconic moments remains his first dance with his wife Michelle at the Neighborhood Ball in 2009.
Fly swatting
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106243","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
Obama's strengths were not limited to the political arena. In an interview in 2009 he showed ninja-like hand-eye coordination and extra-sensory awareness to swat a fly at the first attempt.
Iron Man
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106242","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
The President became famous for his quick-witted quips to waiting journalists before big announcements. One of his best was when he revealed the Marvel blockbuster Iron Man might not be so fanciful after all.
Best Buds
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106241","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
Every good hero needs a sidekick and Vice-President Joe Biden featured in many of Obama's lighter moments, particularly when there was a good cause in need of money.
Mean tweets
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106240","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
The President appeared on a variety of different talk shows over the years, becoming the first of America's leaders to really embrace the digital revolution of the 21st century. Obama had to take the rough with the smooth, however, when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's beloved Mean Tweets segment and read out some home truths from the public.
When Barack met Raul
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106239","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
The easing of relations between the US and Cuba was one of the big successes of Obama's time in office. But when the respective leaders of the two nations met in Havana, Raul Castro declined Obama's offer of a hug with amusing consequences. Ever the master of cool, the President shrugged off the rejection with a trademark grin.
Obama calls out Kanye
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106238","attributes":{"class":"media-image","style":"font-size: 0.8125em;"}}]]
It isn't often that a president really speaks his mind, but back in 2009 Obama let slip what he really thought of the villain of the moment, Kanye West. West had abruptly halted Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech and Obama's off-the-record assessment went viral.
'Obama out'
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"106237","attributes":{"class":"media-image","style":"font-size: 0.8125em;"}}]]
The President is famed for his awareness of popular culture –something that can't be said about many of the UK's leaders over the years. Finger on the pulse to the very end, Obama pulled off the fabled "mic drop" at the denouement of his last White House Correspondents' Dinner speech with the words "Obama out".
