How long obama has been in office

Sworn into office on January 3, , Obama partnered with Republican Senator Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then, with Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, he created a website to track all federal spending. Obama also spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina, pushed for alternative energy development and championed improved veterans' benefits.

The work discussed Obama's visions for the future of America, many of which became talking points for his eventual presidential campaign. Shortly after its release, the book hit No. In February , Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

He was locked in a tight battle with former first lady and then-U. On June 3, , Obama became the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after winning a sufficient number of pledged delegates during the primaries, and Clinton delivered her full support to Obama for the duration of his campaign. His running mate, Delaware Senator Joe Biden , became vice president. Obama's inauguration took place on January 20, When Obama took office, he inherited a global economic recession, two ongoing foreign wars and the lowest-ever international favorability rating for the United States.

He had campaigned on an ambitious agenda of financial reform, alternative energy and reinventing education and health care — all while bringing down the national debt. Because these issues were intertwined with the economic well-being of the nation, he believed all would have to be undertaken simultaneously. During his inauguration speech, Obama summarized the situation by saying, "Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.

But know this, America: They will be met. Between Inauguration Day and April 29, , the Obama administration took action on many fronts. In his first days in office, Obama coaxed Congress to expand health care insurance for children and provide legal protection for women seeking equal pay.

Housing and credit markets were put on life support, with a market-based plan to buy U. Loans were made to the auto industry, and new regulations were proposed for Wall Street. Obama cut taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time home buyers. Obama undertook a complete overhaul of America's foreign policy. He lobbied allies to support a global economic stimulus package. He committed an additional 21, troops to Afghanistan and set an August date for withdrawal of nearly all U.

In more dramatic incidents, Obama ordered an attack on pirates off the coast of Somalia and prepared the nation for a swine flu outbreak. He signed an executive order banning excessive interrogation techniques and ordered the closing of the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba within a year a deadline that ultimately would not be met.

As he did in , during his campaign for a second presidential term, Obama focused on grassroots initiatives. Celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker aided the president's campaign by hosting fundraising events. And we'll remind the world just why it is that the United States of America is the greatest nation on Earth. Representative Paul Ryan. On November 6, , Obama won a second four-year term as president by receiving nearly five million more votes than Romney and capturing more than 60 percent of the Electoral College.

Obama officially began his second term on January 21, , when U. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. In his inaugural address, Obama called the nation to action on such issues as climate change, health care and marriage equality to a crowd gathered in front of the U. Capitol building.

In November , Obama had to cope with new challenges on the home front. Republicans made an impressive showing on Election Day and gained a majority in the Senate, meaning that Obama would have to contend with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress for the final two years of his term. On May 2, , an elite team of U. There were no American casualties, and the team was able to collect invaluable intelligence about the workings of al-Qaeda.

Obama found himself grappling with an international crisis in late August and September when it was discovered that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against civilians.

While saying that thousands of people, including over children, had been killed in the chemical attacks, Obama called Syria's actions "a serious national security threat to the United States and to the region, and as a consequence, Assad and Syria needs to be held accountable.

The president worked to persuade Congress and the international community at large to take action against Syria but found a majority on Capitol Hill opposed to military involvement. Obama then announced an alternative solution on September 10, , by stating that if al-Assad agreed with the stipulations outlined in a proposal made by Russia to give up its chemical weapons, then a direct strike against the nation could be avoided.

Al-Assad acknowledged the possession of chemical weapons and ultimately accepted the Russian proposal. In September , Obama made diplomatic strides with Iran. He spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the phone, which marked the first direct contact between the leaders of the two countries in more than 30 years.

This groundbreaking move by Obama was seen by many as a sign of thawing in the relationship between the United States and Iran. In July , Obama announced that, after lengthy negotiations, the United States and five world powers had reached an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program.

The deal would allow inspectors entry into Iran to make sure the country kept its pledge to limit its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a much lower level than would be needed for a nuclear weapon. In return, the U. In , President Donald Trump, Obama's successor who was elected in November , withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal put in place by Obama. He argued, with some evidence, that the country was exploiting the terms of the deal to build up its military and militias in the region, and that it would emerge with greater resources to make a nuclear weapon once the deal expired.

Iran responded by gradually increasing its uranium enrichment. In mid, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran had surpassed the uranium enrichment levels agreed on in , bringing the nation closer to the development of an atomic bomb. European countries might in turn restore their own sanctions. Experts say the moves could push the U. Echoes of the Cold War also returned after civil unrest and protests in the capital city of Kiev led to the downfall of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's administration in February Russian troops crossed into Ukraine to support pro-Russian forces and the annexation of the province of Crimea.

In response, Obama ordered sanctions targeting individuals and businesses considered by the U. The president said the sanctions were taken in close coordination with European allies and gave the U.

The following month, the U. Several Arab countries joined the airstrikes against the extremist Islamic militant group. Obama flexed his presidential power in December by moving to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba for the first time in more than 50 years.

He and Cuban president Raul Castro announced the normalizing of diplomatic relations for the first time since The policy change came after the exchange of American citizen Alan Gross and another unnamed American intelligence agent for three Cuban spies. In a speech at the White House, Obama explained that the dramatic shift in Cuban policy would "create more opportunities for the American and Cuban people and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas.

In renewing diplomatic ties with Cuba, Obama announced plans "to increase travel, commerce and the flow of information to and from Cuba.

On March 20, , Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Cuba since as part of his larger program to establish greater cooperation between the two countries. Obama made the three-day visit with Michelle and their daughters Malia and Sasha.

At the top of the agenda during the milestone meeting between the two leaders were human rights, the U. Following their first conversation at the Palace of the Revolution, Castro and Obama held a joint press conference broadcast on state television during which they fielded questions from the press. While they acknowledged its complexities, both also professed a shared optimism about the road ahead.

Travel to Cuba from the United States began to surge, with the U. In June , President Trump banned ship and commercial airline travel into Cuba. The restrictions effectively banned all tourist travel to Cuba by prohibiting people-to-people educational travel. The Trump administration said the move was in an effort to pressure the Cuban government to stop supporting Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Experts said it could cripple the economy and might therefore be an attempt to overthrow the regime of President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the hand-picked successor of Fidel Castro who took office in According to several news reports, Obama and Modi had reached a "breakthrough understanding" regarding India's nuclear power efforts.

Obama told the Indian people in a speech given in New Delhi that "we can finally move toward fully implementing our civil nuclear agreement, which will mean more reliable electricity for Indians and cleaner, non-carbon energy that helps fight climate change. Notes: Data from Eisenhower through George H. Bush from Gallup. Because some earlier data did not include partisan leaning, Republicans and Democrats in this graphic do not include leaners. Source: Survey conducted Nov. Today, more issues cleave along partisan lines than at any point since surveys began to track public opinion.

Beginning around , however, they began to diverge. And the gap has only grown wider since then: Democrats today are more than twice as likely as Republicans to say that immigrants strengthen the country. Gun control has long been a partisan issue, with Democrats considerably more likely than Republicans to say it is more important to control gun ownership than protect gun rights.

But what was a percentage-point gap between supporters of Obama and John McCain on this question in surged to a historic point gap between Clinton and Trump supporters in Climate change marks another area where the parties are deeply divided. Wide partisan divides stretch from the causes and cures for climate change to trust in climate scientists and their research. This compares with more than half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Americans felt disillusioned with the way Washington responded to the financial meltdown of Against a backdrop of global terrorism — including several attacks on American soil — Americans also became less confident in the ability of their government to handle threats.

Americans also had serious concerns about privacy, though the government was not the sole focus of skepticism in this respect. During the Obama years, Americans were highly skeptical their personal information would remain private and secure, regardless of whether it was the government or the private sector that collected it. In a survey, fewer than one-in-ten Americans said they were very confident that each of 11 separate entities — ranging from credit card companies to email providers — would keep their records private and secure.

In Germany, favorability of the U. In the United Kingdom, confidence in the U. The Obama bump was most dramatic in Western Europe, but was also evident in virtually every country surveyed between and But the U. Russian views of the U.

Meanwhile, certain U. Americans, meanwhile, have become less certain of their place in the world. The share of Americans who say it would be better if the U. Roughly half of Americans say U. About half of Americans say the U. If demographic changes are slow, technological changes can be swift. In the new millennium, major technology revolutions have occurred in broadband connectivity, social media use and mobile adoption. With the rise of Facebook, Twitter and other apps, social media use climbed to about three-quarters of online adults by May 1, Osama Bin Laden killed.

August 2, September 8, October 21, February 5, April 4, Against insider trading. May 9, President Obama announces his support of same-sex marriage. September 6, Democratic National Convention. Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for president and speaks to the convention. November 6, December 14, January 2, Obama gives a speech outlining his proposal for comprehensive immigration reform. March 7, Violence against women.

June 25, July 19, August 9, September 10, Chemical weapons in Syria. October 1, November 1, Climate change and its effects. January 28, February 7, Agriculture Act of February 12, March 6, May 30, VA Secretary resigns. November 4, Republicans retake control of Congress during the midterm elections.

November 20, January 9, Free community college. Veteran suicide epidemic. June 26, Eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney. The U. Supreme Court rules that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. September 23, Obama welcomes Pope Francis for visit at the White House. November 30, Paris Climate Change conference.

January 17, February 13, Death of Antonin Scalia. Obama becomes the first sitting U. May 4, Supreme Court upholds health care law. Honoring some of the greatest moments in sports history has become a tradition at the White House. Presidents and their Native Americans hold a significant place in White House history. For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples, including the Nacotchtank and Every administration brings their own personality to the White House, particularly when it comes to the look and feel of Since the laying of the cornerstone in , Freemasons have played an important role in the construction and the history of Thousands of people traverse historic Lafayette Park every day to get a glimpse of the White House.

The park, right The collection of fine art at the White House has evolved and grown over time. The collection began with mostly Animals, whether pampered household pets, working livestock, birds, squirrels, or strays, have long been a major part of White House For more than two centuries, the White House has been the home of American presidents.

A powerful symbol of the