--- title: Barack Obama and Giraffe at Maker Faire description: Its name is Russell canonical: https://time.com/2895756/president-obama-meets-a-17-foot-talking-giraffe/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-18T19:18:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:36.155Z og:title: President Obama Meets a 17-Foot Talking Giraffe og:description: Its name is Russell og:url: https://time.com/2895756/president-obama-meets-a-17-foot-talking-giraffe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a51f3dc18cf907b/69869829cd804dca57ccb886/giraffe-obama-maker-faire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: giraffe-obama-maker-faire og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Meets a 17-Foot Talking Giraffe twitter:description: Its name is Russell twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4a51f3dc18cf907b/69869829cd804dca57ccb886/giraffe-obama-maker-faire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Meets a 17-Foot Talking Giraffe > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 18, 2014 7:18 PM UTC  Mandel Ngan – AFP / Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 18, 2014 7:18 PM UTC President Barack Obama checks out a 17-foot-tall, 2,200-pound talking robotic giraffe named Russell on the South Lawn of the White House during the Maker Faire, a showcase of innovation in business, technology, and manufacturing. The commander-in-chief, who [jokes](http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/barack-obama-shrek-ears-dreamworks-jeffrey-katzenberg-100412.html) about the size of his ears, said he liked the ears on the electric animal created by Lindsay Lawlor of San Diego. He also observed that Russell has a bit of a British accent when it said [“that tickles”](http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/obama-met-a-giant-talking-robot-giraffe-at-the-white-house-today-20140618) (dialogue captured below via BuzzFeed): As the Democratic president stares at the giraffe in the photo below, perhaps he’s wondering whether it can take on a GOP elephant.  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