Skip to main content

President Obama is officially tired of selfies

President Obama is officially tired of selfies

Share this story

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

President Obama may have been filmed using a selfie stick early last year, but he's finally revealed his true feelings for the smartphone self-portrait: he doesn't like them, and wishes they would just go away. Speaking to supporters this evening at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in Springfield, Illinois, Obama noted how the selfie has tainted campaign trail traditions like shaking hands and kissing babies.

"This is one thing that changed by the way. If we had had smartphones when I first ran for president, I’m not sure I would have run," he told the crowd. "Because folks just have their phones, they don’t want to shake my hand anymore." Obama then mimicked the act of someone hiding behind their screen. "It's like, 'Hey! I'm here, live in front of you." This president has certainly had a unique vantage point of the rise of smartphones. When he was campaigning to become commander in chief in 2008, the iPhone was still relatively new — and not nearly as prevalent as today. And this isn't just talk, mind you; Obama shut down someone's selfie request while making his exit from last month's State of the Union address.