Barack Obama made history immediately after becoming the 44th president of the United States as the first African-American president. Obama’s victory in the 2009 US presidential election was a major event for a country with a history of racial problems, and it indicated a major shift in American political culture. Under Obama, the US pulled through an economic crisis, and the country’s wealth grew. Although Obama promised to change the world, as a politician, he did not allow himself to take risks and listened to his team a bit too much. He was often criticized for such caution, but in the end, it did pay off. At the beginning of his presidency, he even received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Upon moving into the White House, Obama was immediately reminded of several military campaigns that were left unresolved. George W. Bush did not do a good job with those. That much is certain. At least Obama tried not to start any new wars, which was good news for Russia since they started their war with Ukraine. At least he condemned the aggression, but both Republicans and fellow party members still criticized his neutrality. Obama sought to change too much, so eventually, everything he promised failed.
Since leaving the Oval Office, Obama’s shift in priorities was as evident as the meaning of the caption he added to his Twitter account bio: “Dad, Husband, President, Citizen.” He spent some time writing his memoirs and switched his focus to his family.
After leaving the White House, he created the “Obama Foundation” in Chicago, which became his favorite place to give lectures at universities around the world and write books. The presidential memoirs brought Obama 65 million dollars, and in 2020, his new book, “The Promised Land,” became a bestseller. At the same time, his wife, Michelle Obama’s book, debuted in 2018 with great hype — 10 million copies were sold in 5 months worldwide, making her memoir one of the most popular in history.
Together with his wife, Barack Obama has been working with Netflix, producing documentaries and series for the streaming company. Yes, their documentaries American Factory and Crip Camp received positive reviews, and one of them even won an Oscar. They also record and produce podcasts for Spotify if you want something to listen to.
In 2020, Obama started to take a significantly more active part in political life. In particular, he criticized Trump’s disregard for the scale of the coronavirus pandemic and his attitude to the killing of George Floyd by the police, which resulted in nationwide protests related to racism.
More recently, Obama also actively campaigned for his old friend and associate Joe Biden, supporting his candidacy for the post of US president. That’s more than enough action for an ex-president, wouldn’t you say?