--- title: President Obama Is Tired of Taking Selfies description: President Barack Obama is tired of taking selfies, and he's certainly taken many during his presidency canonical: https://time.com/4218764/barack-obama-selfie-ban/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-12T01:15:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:01:33.281Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Is Tired of Taking Selfies og:description: He just wants to shake your hand og:url: https://time.com/4218764/barack-obama-selfie-ban/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34307ea8f6a9539f/69887d648e0601e86646495e/barack-obama-david-ortiz-selfie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: barack-obama-david-ortiz-selfie og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Is Tired of Taking Selfies twitter:description: He just wants to shake your hand twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34307ea8f6a9539f/69887d648e0601e86646495e/barack-obama-david-ortiz-selfie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Is Tired of Taking Selfies > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=11ed1eb7-0800-472b-8ee5-177ecac511c3&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 12, 2016 1:15 AM UTC  Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (L) poses for a "selfie" with U.S. President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House on April 1, 2014. Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (L) poses for a "selfie" with U.S. President Barack Obama during a ceremony at the White House on April 1, 2014. Win McNamee/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Feb 12, 2016 1:15 AM UTC President Barack Obama is tired of taking selfies, and he’s certainly [taken man](https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/02/12/president-obama-selfie-stick-and-healthcaregov)y during his presidency. “No selfies,” Obama told an Illinois crowd on Wednesday in a [video captured by BuzzFeed](https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/status/697575134127747073). “I want to tell you ahead of time.” “Now this is one thing that changed, by the way,” Obama said. “If we had had smartphones when I ran for president, I’m not sure I would’ve run because folks just have their phones; they won’t shake my hand anymore. It’s like, ‘Hey! I’m here! Live! In front of you!’ So we’re not taking selfies, but I want to shake as many hands as possible.” > [](https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/status/697575134127747073) For different reasons, [landmarks](http://time.com/3938078/disney-world-selfie-stick-ban/) and [museums](http://time.com/3740278/selfie-stick-museum-ban/) around the world have banned selfies and selfie sticks due to the danger they might pose to surrounding works of art or the dangerous lengths to which photographers might go for the sake of a good shot. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4218764/barack-obama-selfie-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4218764/barack-obama-selfie-ban/"},"headline":"President Obama Is Tired of Taking Selfies","datePublished":"2016-02-12T01:15:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:01:33.281Z","description":"He just wants to shake your hand","url":"https://time.com/4218764/barack-obama-selfie-ban/","keywords":["Barack Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34307ea8f6a9539f/69887d648e0601e86646495e/barack-obama-david-ortiz-selfie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34307ea8f6a9539f/69887d648e0601e86646495e/barack-obama-david-ortiz-selfie.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"barack-obama-david-ortiz-selfie","caption":"WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 01: Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz (L) poses for a \"selfie\" with U.S. President Barack Obama during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House to honor the 2013 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox April 1, 2014","creditText":"Win McNamee/Getty Images","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":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4218764/barack-obama-selfie-ban/","name":"President Obama Is Tired of Taking Selfies"}}]}] ```