President Barack Obama smiles as he walks down the steps of the Capitol with Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny after attending a “Friends of Ireland” luncheon
President Barack Obama holds a book of poetry given to him by Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny during their meeting in the Oval Office
Vice President Joe Biden listens during a meeting between President Barack Obama and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, on St. Patrick’s Day in the Oval Office
The U.S. economy has grown faster when the President of the United States is a Democrat rather than a Republican. princeton.edu/~mwatson/paper…
— (@LOLGOP) February 20, 2025
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VP Biden strongly condemns the offensive by Russia-backed separatists in the Ukrainian town of Debaltseve. whitehouse.gov/the-press-offi…
— Vice President Biden (@VP) February 20, 2025
Portland raises minimum wage for city workers to $15 thkpr.gs/3625092
— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) February 20, 2025
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Our education continues:)
#BlackHistoryMonth: Ruby Bridges was the 1st black child to attend an all-white public elementary school in the South http://t.co/JZg6CYqk2U
— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) February 18, 2025
#BlackHistoryMonth: Madam Walker invented hair-straightening formula & the hot comb, and was the 1st self-made female millionaire in America
— Valerie Jarrett (@vj44) February 20, 2025
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whoever decided to have a photo booth at essence's 2015 black women in hollywood event is such a kind, generous human http://t.co/KF7f4VYgaS
— Hannah Giorgis (@ethiopienne) February 20, 2025
Jerry Lawson, a self-taught engineer, gave us video game cartridges engt.co/1zU62Ap http://t.co/mMgYcr6fto
— Engadget (@engadget) February 20, 2025
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Honoring the strength and power of Black women everywhere #BlackHistoryMonth huff.to/187F571 http://t.co/sSctXcqRZV
— HuffPost BlackVoices (@blackvoices) February 20, 2025
Nelson Mandela spent how many years behind bars resisting apartheid in South Africa? #BlackHistoryMonth #AfAmEdChat http://t.co/3zzyZJ87BS
— White House Af-Am Ed (@AfAmEducation) February 20, 2025
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Pres. Obama to host town hall on #immigration on Feb. 25 with @jdbalart. on.msnbc.com/1zTfvb5 #ObamaTownHall http://t.co/DbSQ6U98J1
— Voto Latino (@votolatino) February 20, 2025
White House extending 2015 Obamacare enrollment for those who owe penalty for being uninsured in 2014. cnnmon.ie/1DArPon
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) February 20, 2025
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This is the horror that occurs when you don’t view people as human beings because of the color of their skin
James Jameson once bought a 10-year-old slave girl for six handkerchiefs so he could sketch cannibals eating her. modernnotion.com/james-jameson-…
— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) February 16, 2025
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James Jameson, heir to the Jameson Irish Whiskey company, once bought a 10-year-old slave girl for six handkerchiefs because he wanted to sketch the event as cannibals killed, mutilated, and finally, ate her According to a report from The New York Times, Jameson had a fascination with cannibalism and wanted to experience the act firsthand. Jameson was on a trip in Africa in 1890 when an opportunity to fulfill his sick fantasy presented itself because he and his translator happened upon a cannibalistic tribe. Jameson consulted the tribe’s chiefs who told him if he wanted to witness the event, he’d have to buy a slave girl to be killed. Jameson returned a few minutes later with a 10-year-old girl he bought from a nearby slave trader for six handkerchiefs. The translator then approached the chiefs and said, “This is a present from a white man who desires to see her eaten.” According to an eye witness report of the scene, the cannibals tied the girl to a tree and stabbed her twice in the belly. The natives then cut pieces off of her body as Jameson sat sketching in his notebook. Jameson and his translator then made their way to chief’s hut where Jameson finished his sketches in watercolor.
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The same holds true once again
America's Forgotten Mass Lynching: When 237 People Were Murdered In Arkansas thebea.st/1FRPXAC http://t.co/iGbncGnahV
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) February 16, 2025
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In 1919, in the wake of World War I, black sharecroppers unionized in Arkansas, unleashing a wave of white vigilantism and mass murder that left 237 people dead. The visits began in the fall of 1918, just as World War I ended. At his office in Little Rock, Arkansas, attorney Ulysses S. Bratton listened as African American sharecroppers from the Delta told stories of theft, exploitation, and endless debt. A man named Carter had tended 90 acres of cotton, only to have his landlord seize the entire crop and his possessions. From the town of Ratio, in Phillips County, Arkansas, a black farmer reported that a plantation manager refused to give sharecroppers an itemized account for their crop. Another sharecropper told of a landlord trying “to starve the people into selling the cotton at his own price. They ain’t allowing us down there room to move our feet except to go to the field.” No one could know it at the time, but within a year these inauspicious meetings would lead to one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. Initiated by whites, the violence—by any measure, a massacre—claimed the lives of 237 African Americans, according to a just released report from the Equal Justice Initiative. The death toll was unusually high, but the use of racial violence to subjugate blacks during this time was not uncommon. As the Equal Justice Initiative observes, “Racial terror lynching was a tool used to enforce Jim Crow laws and racial segregation—a tactic for maintaining racial control by victimizing the entire African American community, not merely punishment of an alleged perpetrator for a crime.” This was certainly true of the massacre in Phillips County, Arkansas.
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Justice Department to seek emergency stay to allow immigration action reut.rs/1Eep37b
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) February 20, 2025
An arrest has been made in last month's Colorado NAACP bombing. thebea.st/1EdQ4b1 http://t.co/F7n9o2j0Mp
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) February 20, 2025
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World Health Organization approves 15-minute test for detecting Ebola bit.ly/1AYNTqB
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) February 20, 2025
UN team investigates Saudi surge in cases of deadly MERS virus reut.rs/1Gd36Vk
— Reuters Health (@Reuters_Health) February 20, 2025
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My column today on guns and "reasonable-person" tests, two terrible ideas for addressing rape on college campuses. on.tnr.com/1BqyTD0
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) February 20, 2025
Bills to legalize recreational marijuana introduced in House: ow.ly/JpJJk http://t.co/GI4ZWUl2AN
— The Hill (@thehill) February 20, 2025
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#BREAKING Dow, S&P 500 hit records after Greece earns bailout extension
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) February 20, 2025
Moody's downgrades Russia sovereign debt to junk » cnb.cx/1Ln2iQC http://t.co/XCkcyLqNKr
Read @jbouie's fascinating look at the assertion by Rudy Giuliani that President Obama doesn't love America. slate.me/1BvcgNM
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) February 20, 2025
White House spokesman: "I feel sorry for Rudy Giuliani" huff.to/188FlSY http://t.co/1W13r1Tf2P
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) February 20, 2025
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Our first-ever Chief Data Scientist wrote a memo to Americans on unleashing the power of data. Read it on @Medium → WhiteHouse/unleashing-the-power-of-data-to-serve-the-american-people-198534d009a2"> medium.com@WhiteHouse/un…
— Kori Schulman (@ks44) February 20, 2025
If you’ve recently bought a Lenovo Windows laptop, READ THIS. Preferably, on a different computer. slate.com/articles/techn…
— Phil Plait (@BadAstronomer) February 20, 2025
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Amidst all the noise, a very smart take from Fareed Zakaria washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-l…
— Ben Rhodes (@rhodes44) February 20, 2025
Legal move limits AG Ken Paxton's options to void Travis County same-sex marriage: statesman.com/news/news/lega… #ssm #gaymarriage
— Chuck Lindell (@chucklindell) February 20, 2025
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“American Sniper” is not a war movie: It’s a revisionist western about "frontier masculinity" slnm.us/XwbZPeC
— Salon.com (@Salon) February 20, 2025
Britain says Libya needs unity government before arms embargo change reut.rs/1EbHysT
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) February 20, 2025
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That no Republican of any stature feels compelled or feels the need to forcefully condemn Giuliani is disgraceful. wapo.st/1w5EGN2
— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) February 20, 2025
How can America tolerate Rudy Giuliani when he says moronic and offensive things like this? politico.com/story/2015/02/… http://t.co/8JYMpNxf6O
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) February 19, 2025
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Obama’s Economic Report Focuses on Income Inequality nyti.ms/1Ebrrvz
— NYT First Draft (@nytpolitics) February 20, 2025
Bill O'Reilly's Falkland Island war story is being called into question: mm4a.org/1BrVAHd http://t.co/BTKeKHdkUD
— Media Matters (@mmfa) February 19, 2025
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*GROWL* Comic books come to life
There is only one true King. #unitetheseven http://t.co/RDFG8jbuI6
— (@ZackSnyder) February 20, 2025
I hope you enjoy my new book "Rudy Giuliani is an Asshole and Other Things We've Known For 20 Years"
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 20, 2025
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Never change, Canada
Canadian politician says tight, cheap underwear caused him to miss anti-terror vote: apne.ws/1GcFtfA
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 20, 2025
Fifty shades of grey is romantic only because the guy is a billionaire. If he was living in a trailer it would be a Criminal minds episode.
— ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ (@IostinheII) February 20, 2025
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Relationship status: I shout "PIZZA'S HERE" so the delivery guy doesn't think I'm eating two pizzas by myself.
— Slightly funny Jew (@Dani_Feld) August 29, 2025
put a wig on the dog and frightened the crap out of the postman. http://t.co/CkReJX0jfU
BREAKING: About 11.4 million Americans are signed up for private health coverage. #11MillionAndCounting #ACAWorks
amp.twimg.com/v/a56d09e5-c91…
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 17, 2025
RT the news: About 11.4 million people are ✍ up for private health coverage through the #ACA. #11MillionAndCounting http://t.co/E7eiiI0oZe
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 17, 2025
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Watch the First Lady and @BigBird play "Ariana Grande or Eating a Carrot" with @BillyEichner: FunnyOrDie.com/m/9i20 http://t.co/3uhO9ZtRIN
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) February 17, 2025
Me, Michelle Obama (@FLOTUS), BIG BIRD and...ELENA.
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED. #BillyOntheStreet.
funnyordie.com/videos/3ea0a43…
— billy eichner (@billyeichner) February 17, 2025
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Obama rejects immigration ruling and says administration will appeal. "The law is on our side and history is on our side," he tells pool.
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) February 17, 2025
The WSJ editorial page is REAL MAD that Obama did that Buzzfeed video. This is amazing: wsj.com/articles/bret-… http://t.co/6AyiO7Uplu
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) February 17, 2025
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11.4 million: That's the number of Americans who are signed up for private health coverage. The #ACA is working. http://t.co/ujdVOZYK5J
— Vice President Biden (@VP) February 18, 2025
"11.4 million people have either reenrolled or signed up for the first time." —Obama: on.fb.me/1zm2A2r #11MillionAndCounting #ACAWorks
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 18, 2025
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Obama on immigration: "The law is on our side" ow.ly/JdX6n http://t.co/Fptw9Z3fmC
— The Hill (@thehill) February 17, 2025
Obama: the “law is on our side” on immigration executive actions. politi.co/19tzM20
— POLITICO (@politico) February 17, 2025
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While dying, she was hounded by insurance company
Her son vowed to fight for people like her
Be proud, Barack Obama http://t.co/M58Y4UV0xW
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) February 18, 2025
@TheObamaDiary Stanley Ann Dunham bless and THANK YOU for bringing @BarackObama into the world. I love you and #ILoveObama
— Wanna Scream (@JustWannaScream) February 18, 2025
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Congratulations to President @BarackObama & his administration, an astonishing achievement, unparalleled. youtube.com/watch?v=y4GcgH… #Obamacare
— meta (@metaquest) February 18, 2025
Tragedy today as the White House says 11.4 million people suffer the tyranny of having health care.
Only SCOTUS can restore their freedom.
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) February 17, 2025
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#ILoveObama because #11MillionAndCounting
#Obamacare http://t.co/T9UP0TSq6d
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) February 18, 2025
Real conversation
Me: Wow, 11.4m people have signed up for Obamacare
Mom: Oh my, that's a lotta lives made better http://t.co/boedyxV8zR
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) February 18, 2025
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This is the perfect response to a white feminist who believes it is her right to dictate to a Black woman what she should do with her life and career. Bravo, Jessica Williams!
@shorterstory @TheBillfold This is incredibly insulting.
— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2025
@shorterstory @TheBillfold Because of my choice, you have diagnosed me with something without knowing me at all. For the world to see.
— Jessica R. Williams (@msjwilly) February 17, 2025
“At the annual State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol, Chuck Kennedy captured this poignant moment between the First Lady and U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. First Class Cory Remsburg. Cory first met the President in 2009 at a D-Day ceremony in Normandy. Four months later, Cory was badly injured in Afghanistan and in a coma for three months. In early 2010, shortly after Cory came out of his coma, the President happened to be visiting patients at Walter Reed Hospital. As he walked into one of the patient’s rooms, hanging on the wall was a photo I had taken of the President and Cory in Normandy. The President then realized that he had met this badly injured Army Ranger at Normandy. Two years later, we were visiting Arizona, where Cory had gone home to further recuperate. The President asked if Cory would be able to greet him backstage. Amazingly, Cory was able to salute the President and walk across the room aided by a walker to shake hands with the President.” (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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February 4, 2025
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“Members of Congress vie for the President’s attention following a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus in the East Room of the White House.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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My 2014 Year in Photos: wh.gov/2014-in-photos
— (@petesouza) December 30, 2025
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March 1, 2025
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“The President talks with some of his national security advisors before a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in Ukraine. I’m sure there will be people quick to comment about his wearing casual clothes and having his feet on his coffee table. Let’s keep perspective in mind: it was a Saturday, and a President is the President whether he’s wearing a suit on a weekday or casual clothes on a weekend. And a President, any President, isn’t disrespecting the office if he puts his feet on a table or a desk; he’s just being relaxed.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama speaks at an event for the Senior Executive Service at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. The Senior Executive Service (SES) is composed of the senior leadership of the Federal workforce
President Barack Obama takes a question about immigration reform during a visit to Casa Azafran in Nashville, Tennessee. Casa Azafran, located in Nashville’s most international and socially diverse district, is a community center and home to a number of immigrant-related nonprofits
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Father Breen tells President he and others are proud of his actions.#ObamaInNashville
— NewsChannel 5 (@NC5) December 09, 2025
“People who are here, let’s give them a shot, let’s get them out of the shadows.” —President Obama #ImmigrationAction http://t.co/D1xf6ZMamd
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 09, 2025
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The President is greeted by Lilia & Carlos Yepez at their restaurant in Nashville after he spoke on immigration reform.
President Barack Obama waves as he is introduced at Copernicus Community Center in Chicago to speak on immigration reform
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The President’s remarks on Ferguson
I need to begin by saying a few words about what’s happened over the past day, not just in Ferguson, Missouri, our neighbor to the south, but all across America.
As many of you know, a verdict came down - or a grand jury made a decision yesterday that upset a lot of people. And as I said last night, the frustrations that we’ve seen are not just about a particular incident. They have deep roots in many communities of color who have a sense that our laws are not always being enforced uniformly or fairly. That may not be true everywhere, and it’s certainly not true for the vast majority of law enforcement officials, but that’s an impression that folks have and it’s not just made up. It’s rooted in realities that have existed in this country for a long time.
Now, as I said last night, there are productive ways of responding and expressing those frustrations, and there are destructive ways of responding. Burning buildings, torching cars, destroying property, putting people at risk - that’s destructive and there’s no excuse for it. Those are criminal acts, and people should be prosecuted if they engage in criminal acts.
But what we also saw - although it didn’t get as much attention in the media - was people gathering in overwhelmingly peaceful protest - here in Chicago, in New York, in Los Angeles, other cities.
We’ve seen young people who were organizing, and people beginning to have real conversations about how do we change the situation so that there’s more trust between law enforcement and some of these communities. And those are necessary conversations to have.
We’re here to talk about immigration, but part of what makes America this remarkable place is being American doesn’t mean you have to look a certain way or have a certain last name or come from a certain place; it has to do with a commitment to ideals, a belief in certain values. And if any part of the American community doesn’t feel welcomed or treated fairly, that’s something that puts all of us at risk and we all have to be concerned about it.
So my message to those people who are constructively moving forward, trying to organize, mobilize, and ask hard, important questions about how we improve the situation - I want all those folks to know that their President is going to work with them. Separate and apart from the particular circumstances in Ferguson, which I am careful not to speak to because it’s not my job as President to comment on ongoing investigations and specific cases, but the frustrations people have generally - those are rooted in some hard truths that have to be addressed.
And so those who are prepared to work constructively, your President will work with you. And a lot of folks, I believe, in law enforcement and a lot of folks in city halls and governor’s offices across the country want to work with you as well.
So as part of that, I’ve instructed Attorney General Eric Holder not just to investigate what happened in Ferguson, but also identify specific steps we can take together to set up a series of regional meetings focused on building trust in our communities. And next week, we’ll bring together state and local officials, and law enforcement, and community leaders and faith leaders to start identifying very specific steps that we can take to make sure that law enforcement is fair and is being applied equally to every person in this country.
And we know certain things work. We know that if we train police properly, that that improves policing and makes people feel that the system is fair. We know that when we have a police force that is representative of the communities it’s serving that makes a difference. And we know that when there’s clear accountability and transparency when something happens that makes a difference.
So there are specific things we can do, and the key now is for us to lift up the best practices and work, city by city, state by state, county by county, all across this country, because the problem is not just a Ferguson problem, it is an American problem. And we’ve got to make sure that we are actually bringing about change.
The bottom line is, nothing of significance, nothing of benefit results from destructive acts. I’ve never seen a civil rights law, or a health care bill, or an immigration bill result because a car got burned. It happened because people vote. It happened because people mobilize. It happened because people organize. It happens because people look at what are the best policies to solve the problem. That’s how you actually move something forward.
So don’t take the short-term, easy route and just engage in destructive behavior. Take the long-term, hard but lasting route of working with me and governors and state officials to bring about some real change.
And to those who think that what happened in Ferguson is an excuse for violence, I do not have any sympathy for that. I have no sympathy at all for destroying your own communities.
But for the overwhelming majority of people who just feel frustrated and pain because they get a sense that maybe some communities aren’t treated fairly, or some individuals aren’t seen as worthy as others, I understand that. And I want to work with you and I want to move forward with you.
Your President will be right there with you.
Rest of transcript from today’s speech here
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President Barack Obama discusses immigration reform with community leaders
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President Barack Obama with Billy Lawless who introduced him
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President Obama addresses three hecklers who rudely interrupted him while he was speaking about immigration reform