--- title: President Barack Obama's Legacy: 10 Days That Defined It description: As President Obama's two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency canonical: https://time.com/4636294/president-barack-obama-highlights/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-19T16:01:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:48.957Z article:section: Politics og:title: 10 Days That Defined Barack Obama's Presidency og:description: His most consequential moments in the White House og:url: https://time.com/4636294/president-barack-obama-highlights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Days That Defined Barack Obama's Presidency twitter:description: His most consequential moments in the White House twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 10 Days That Defined Barack Obama's Presidency > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=6a7bb88f-f1cc-449b-bfcf-03e9439e0bc6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: 10 Days that Define the Obama Presidency: Trump's Election [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Days that Define the Obama Presidency: Trump's Election](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/93eTfkcq.m3u8) (4:10)  _Published 2017-01-18. As President Obama's two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) and [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/) Jan 19, 2017 4:01 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) and [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/) Jan 19, 2017 4:01 PM UTC As [President Obama](http://time.com/4302043/barack-obama-2016-time-100/)‘s two terms in office come to a close, TIME is taking a look back at the most pivotal moments of his presidency. From the day he was [inaugurated](http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1872698,00.html) in 2009 as the nation’s first African-American president, to the day[ Osama bin Laden was killed](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2068895,00.html), up to [the Supreme Court decision that made same-sex marriage the law of the land](http://time.com/3937983/supreme-court-gay-marriage-ruling-2/), some of the most consequential moments of the past eight years will have impacts that reach far beyond Obama’s time in office. Relive the 10 days that defined Obama’s presidency below. Watch the full version [here](http://time.com/4636262/president-barack-obama-highlights-video/). ### Jan. 20, 2009: Obama’s First Inauguration Obama was inaugurated as the nation’s 44th, and first African-American, president on Jan. 20, 2009\. An estimated 1.8 million people attended his first inauguration. ### Feb. 17, 2009: The Stimulus Bill Days before taking office, Obama declared that “dramatic action” was need to fix the U.S. economy, and on Feb. 17, 2009 he signed the economic stimulus bill, formally known as the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” into law. ### March 23, 2010: Obamacare Becomes Law Obama used 22 pens to sign the health care overhaul, known as the Affordable Care Act, into law on March 23, 2010, marking the dawn of a new day for the American health care system—and the beginning Republican efforts to undo it. ### May 2, 2011: Osama bin Laden Killed An early morning raid in Pakistan by U.S. Special Forces delivered the end of a years-long effort to bring down the al-Qeada leader behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. ### June 15, 2012: Executive Action for Young Immigrants Though he has somtiems been referred to as the deporter-in-chief, Obama took steps to protect some immigrants from deportation through the executive action known as DACA. It would become the President’s strongest action on immigration after legislation in Congress languished. ### Dec. 14, 2012: Sandy Hook Massacre The President’s two terms were marked by gun tragedies, but none was more devastating than the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 children, all between the ages of six and seven, were killed alongside six adults. Obama sought to use the tragedy to finally get gun control legislation passed in Congress, but ultimately failed. ### July 13, 2013: George Zimmerman Verdict After the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida neighborhood watchman who shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, the President seemed to find his footing on the subject of race, something he’d been criticized for not talking about seriously enough throughout the first term. ### June 26, 2015: Obergefell v. Hodges Though it was the Supreme Court that ruled that same-sex marriage was the law of the land on June 26, 2015, the road to that decision could be linked back to the shifting tune President Obama took on the issue of in same-sex marriage in the lead up to the 2012 presidential election. ### Dec. 12, 2015: Paris Climate Deal Reached The Paris Climate Agreement, adopted on Dec. 12, 2015, was a monumental multinational agreement that set out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and roll back damage done to the environment. ### Nov. 9, 2016: Donald Trump Wins Despite all of the efforts of key officials in the Obama administration, including the President, Vice-President and First Lady, Donald J. Trump was elected to succeed Obama on Nov. 9, 2016, after running a campaign that was largely a rebuke of the past eight years. With the election of Trump, key parts of Obama’s legacy, including environmental reform and health care reform, hang in the balance. ## Transcript I had a chance to talk to President Elect Trump last night, about 3: 30 in the morning I think it was, to congratulate him on winning the election, and I had a chance to invite him to come to the white house tomorrow to talk about making sure there is a successful transition between our presidencies. In 2016 President Obama Spent a lot of time on the campaign trail, trying to rally the country around his former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. I believe in Hillary Clinton, and I want you to help elect her to be the next President of the United States of America. But on November 8th, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. While the campaign is over Our work on this movement is now really just beginning. Which was kind of a shock for the Obama administration and in a way can be seen as a rebuke of his legacy and his policies. Trump presented himself as about as opposite A person from President Obama's you could be Obama had talk about being inclusive and uniting. We should be doing everything we can to welcome new generations of hopeful striving immigrants. Trump profited a great deal from being very divisive and alarming. Mr Trump. Yes. So, the former president of Mexico says, they will not [ INAUDIBLE ] what is your response to that? My response is the world just got ten feet higher. I think that the biggest issue that let to Trump's victory was that the same forces that had elected Obama in 2008, 2012 played in Trump's favor. And that was that Obama was able to sell the idea that he was the person Who could best bring relief from the economic frustrations that the country was feeling. The fact that Obama was never able to deliver on what was really a central promise of his entire presidency, to really materially improve the life of middle- class Americans. That ended up being the decisive thing that helped Trump win. For most Americans, are they better off the day Barrack Obama left office and didn't the day he entered? Almost without a doubt, unquestionably so. The question is, do they give him any credit for it? And how much credit will history give him? We don't know the answer to that yet. The challenge for the President, in a lot of ways, is that the first 20 lines of his obituary were written [ MUSIC ] The minute he took office. His election itself was so historic that it overshadowed a lot of what came next. I think the lack of scandal in his administration is notable. The enormous social change that happened under his presidency is notable. The fact that he was able to get so much legislation enacted in his first two years was very dramatic. At the same time. His central promise that he would be able to unite red and blue America into something else never came to be. I think looking back you see a man who ran on hope and change. Who brought his version of change to the country that people either liked or they didn't. Barack Obama, no matter what you thought about him going in, was at the end of the day a man who tried to his best for the sake of the country. My fellow Americans, it has been the honor of my life to serve you. I won't stop. [ APPLAUSE ] In fact I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But, for now whether you are young, or whether you're young at heart, I do have one final ask of you As your president. The same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I am asking you to believe not in my ability to bring about change, but in yours. Yes, we can. [ APPLAUSE ] Yes, we did. [ APPLAUSE ] Yes, we can. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you, God bless you. May God continue to bless the United States of America. 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