--- description: David Cameron is so chummy with Barack Obama that the U.S. President calls him “bro,” the U.K. Prime Minister boasts title: The U.K. PM Says Obama Calls Him 'Bro' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3142cd2807709840/698778082dce01ef2b9dcc19/rtr451eh.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Foreign Relations](/tag/foreign-relations/) ## Foreign Relations Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Boasts That Obama Calls Him 'Bro' by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 5, 2015 8:27 AM CUT  U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama watch a flypast by the Red Arrows during the NATO summit in Wales on Sept. 5, 2014 U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, left, and U.S. President Barack Obama watch a flypast by the Red Arrows during the NATO summit in Wales on Sept. 5, 2014Andrew Winning—Reuters by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 5, 2015 8:27 AM CUT U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron says he’s so [chummy](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2895612/David-Cameron-fixing-U-bend-making-Boris-wait-asking-Sam-saving-hostages-biggest-Election-generation.html "undefined") with U.S. President Barack Obama that he’s often referred to as “bro” by his American counterpart. The British leader told the _Daily Mail_ in an interview that Obama sometimes calls him “bro” on the phone, adding that the relationship between 10 Downing Street and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is “stronger than it has ever been, privately and in public.” The “bro” comment set off some confusion in the British press regarding whether Obama was rather rudely calling Cameron a “bro” — that is, a member of a beer-pounding, usually shirtless tribe of “young white Americans, often fellow members of a university fraternity, who [emulate black rap culture](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11323967/David-Cameron-President-Obama-calls-me-Bro.html "undefined"),” according to the _Telegraph_’s consultation with Urban Dictionary; or “an alpha-male idiot,” as the American term is alternatively [translated](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/obama-likes-to-call-me-bro-sometimes-says-cameron-9956178.html "undefined"), according to the _Independent_’s perusal of the same source. Or, perhaps Obama was simply referring to his British comrade as his “bro,” meaning he feels a warm relationship with Cameron. Like all brothers, the playful pair have been scolded together, especially after the two world leaders [snapped](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/david-cameron-explains-selfie-with-obama-and-helle-thorningschmidt-at-mandela-memorial-8998090.html "undefined") a “selfie” at Nelson Mandela’s funeral in December 2013\. Cameron has also been criticized for behaving a bit like a younger sibling to Obama, a point bolstered when the American President upstaged the British Prime Minister while [shaking hands](http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/david-cameron-handshake-fail-barack-4170860 "undefined") with NATO delegates September last year (leaving his “bro” without a hand to shake). But older bro Obama looked decidedly more sprightly playing [ping-pong](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390485/Barack-Obama-David-Cameron-team-table-tennis-partners.html "undefined") than Cameron (five years his junior) did in 2011, to the amusement of the U.K. press. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3653282/david-cameron-barack-obama-bro/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3653282/david-cameron-barack-obama-bro/"},"headline":"U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Boasts That Obama Calls Him 'Bro'","datePublished":"2015-01-05T08:27:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:15:58.735Z","description":"But which definition of \"bro\" is he referring to?","url":"https://time.com/3653282/david-cameron-barack-obama-bro/","keywords":["Foreign Relations","Barack Obama","Britain","David Cameron","United Kingdom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3142cd2807709840/698778082dce01ef2b9dcc19/rtr451eh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3142cd2807709840/698778082dce01ef2b9dcc19/rtr451eh.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama watch a fly-past by the Red Arrows during the NATO summit at the Celtic Manor resort, near Newport","caption":"Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama watch a fly-past by the Red Arrows during the NATO summit at the Celtic Manor resort, near Newport","creditText":"Andrew Winning—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-relations/","name":"Foreign Relations"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3653282/david-cameron-barack-obama-bro/","name":"U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Boasts That Obama Calls Him 'Bro'"}}]}] ```