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---
title: Girl Disappointed President Obama Is Not Beyonce
description: President Obama visited a D.C. charter school and a young girl told him she had hoped the surprise guest would be Beyoncé instead.
canonical: https://time.com/3340464/little-girl-disappointed-obama-is-not-beyonce/
author: Tessa Berenson
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article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2014-09-12T16:08:00.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:13:09.466Z
og:title: WATCH: Girl Tells President She Wished Surprise Guest at School Was Beyoncé
og:description: Michelle wanted to see Queen Bey too
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og:image:width: 5334
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og:image:alt: President Barack Obama and volunteers take part in a service project at the Inspired Teaching School in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2014.
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twitter:title: WATCH: Girl Tells President She Wished Surprise Guest at School Was Beyoncé
twitter:description: Michelle wanted to see Queen Bey too
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# Girl Tells President She Wished Surprise Guest at School Was Beyoncé

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## Tessa Berenson


Sep 12, 2014 4:08 PM UTC

![President Barack Obama and volunteers take part in a service project at the Inspired Teaching School in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2014.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa02f26d86d97b1f/6986a2ffcd804d284ecccb93/455279158.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

President Barack Obama and volunteers take part in a service project at the Inspired Teaching School in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2014.

President Barack Obama and volunteers take part in a service project at the Inspired Teaching School in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2014. Martin H. Simon—Pool/Getty Images

![Tessa Berenson](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec0484fe1b20c577/698a0ced86f68ed9d96ee9e6/tessa-berenson-author-2020.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1:1)

by 

[Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)


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## Tessa Berenson


Sep 12, 2014 4:08 PM UTC

President Obama got a bit of an ego blow yesterday at a visit to a D.C. charter school when a young girl told him she had hoped the surprise guest would be Beyoncé.

“I understand,” Obama told Madison, a sixth grader at Inspired Teaching School, [according to ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/09/girl-disappointed-obama-not-beyonc/).

The girl backpedaled, saying, “But then I realized it was going to be you and that’s even better!”

Obama said, “I appreciate you saying that in front of the press. I know it’s not really true.” Then Michelle Obama piped in that she would rather see Beyoncé too. Because we all know who really “run the world”:

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