--- title: What Obama's Hugs Meant description: Here’s a look at eight notable Obama hugs and what they meant. canonical: https://time.com/3602882/obama-hagel-hug/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-24T20:27:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:56.523Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Obama's Hugs Meant og:description: Here’s a look at eight notable Obama hugs and what they meant. og:url: https://time.com/3602882/obama-hagel-hug/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9cbc259d491e482b/69876a8c524fc07914deaefa/chuck-hagel-resign.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel embrace during a press conference to announce Hagel's departure at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Obama's Hugs Meant twitter:description: Here’s a look at eight notable Obama hugs and what they meant. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9cbc259d491e482b/69876a8c524fc07914deaefa/chuck-hagel-resign.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Obama's Hugs Meant  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 24, 2014 8:27 PM UTC  You can see it by Obama’s bowed head and Hagel’s sorrowful face – this is an “I’m sorry” hug, plain and simple. You can see it by Obama’s bowed head and Hagel’s sorrowful face – this is an “I’m sorry” hug, plain and simple.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Nov 24, 2014 8:27 PM UTC A picture of President Obama hugging Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel appeared everywhere Monday morning after it was announced that Hagel would be stepping down. But this isn’t the first time a presidential embrace has made news – here’s a roundup of eight notable Obama hugs, and what they meant.  You can see it by Obama’s bowed head and Hagel’s sorrowful face – this is an “I’m sorry” hug, plain and simple. Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images  This hug between Obama and former Press Secretary Jay Carney may have been commemorating Carney’s departure, but all people will remember is its awkwardness. Susan Walsh—AP  Here’s where Obama’s hug game is the strongest: with Michelle. The peaceful smile on his face, the warm, full-body embrace – this is clearly an “I love you” hug. Consider it the antidote to the Carney debacle. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images  Obama’s hug with nurse Nina Pham after her battle with Ebola was a way to signal to the public that the disease is not as scary as some had thought. This is the hug as public health awareness. Olivier Douliery-—Getty Images  Critics charged that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "hugged" the president, but the Republican claimed it was just a handshake. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images  The photo of Obama hugging a victim of Hurricane Sandy went viral- his solemn face and her tear-stained one, his arms protectively around her shoulders – this is a presidential hug in its purest form. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP  Though Obama’s peck on Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s cheek was a pro-democracy smooch, her visible recoil from the kiss indicates that he may have been better off with a handshake. Jason Reed—Reuters  Obama was literally swept off his feet by pizzeria owner Scott Van Duzer. The now-famous bear hug was a “celebrities are just like us” moment, when Obama showed he could still joke around in a regular ol’ pizza joint. Sept. 9, 2012. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3602882/obama-hagel-hug/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3602882/obama-hagel-hug/"},"headline":"What Obama's Hugs Meant","datePublished":"2014-11-24T20:27:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:56.523Z","description":"Decoding the president's body language","url":"https://time.com/3602882/obama-hagel-hug/","keywords":["Barack Obama","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9cbc259d491e482b/69876a8c524fc07914deaefa/chuck-hagel-resign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9cbc259d491e482b/69876a8c524fc07914deaefa/chuck-hagel-resign.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel embrace during a press conference to announce Hagel's departure at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014 in Washington, DC.","caption":"President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel embrace during a press conference to announce Hagel's departure at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014 in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Mandel Ngan—AFP/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":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3602882/obama-hagel-hug/","name":"What Obama's Hugs Meant"}}]}] ```