Malia and Sasha Obama may not be living in the White House anymore, but for hundreds
of millions of Americans who watched them grow up, they will always be the nation's
favorite kids.
However, even though the media spotlight that follows President Barack Obama and Michelle
Obama rarely wanes, there are still some things about the family that you may not know.
Here's a look at the truth about the Obama sisters.
The girls are dating now, but there's a catch
Once Malia and Sasha became old enough to start dating, their dad joked that he wasn't
concerned about their safety while in the company of any gentleman callers because of
one simple fact: they had their own Secret Service security details to supervise said
dates.
That has to be awkward!
But another reason he wasn't fazed by the idea of his daughters developing romantic
relationships is the example set for them by Michelle.
President Obama explained in an interview on Raleigh, North Carolina's WDCG radio station:
"Michelle, she's such a great example of how she carries herself, her self-esteem not depending
on boys to validate how you look or you know, not letting yourself be judged by anything
other than your character and intelligence.
And hopefully I've been a good example in terms of how I've shown respect to my wife."
Secret social media stars
Much like every other parent in the world, Barack and Michelle have faced the difficult
challenge of raising kids in the age of social media.
Speaking to Barbara Walters in 2013, Michelle revealed that Malia, then 15, had been limited
to Facebook only, while Sasha, then 12, wasn't allowed on social media at all.
"I still am not a big believer in Facebook for young people […] particularly for them,
because they're in the public eye.
Some of it's stuff they don't need to see and be a part of […] So we try to protect
them from too much of the public voice."
As they have gotten older, though, that seems to have changed.
In 2016, the president let it slip that Sasha now has access to Twitter, telling a crowd
at a Hillary Clinton rally,
"Everybody can tweet, but nobody actually knows what it takes to do the job until you've
sat behind the desk.
I mean, Sasha tweets, but she doesn't think that she thereby should be sitting behind
the desk."
Selfie madness
In January 2015, Fox News reported that White House officials were investigating how a photo
that appeared to show Malia wearing a t-shirt of the rap crew Pro Era made its way online.
The photo initially made headlines after Pro Era posted it from its Instagram account with
the caption, "Malia Obama rocking that classic Pro Era tee!"
In a separate interview with the now-defunct website Gawker, rapper Joey Badass claimed
the group received the photo from a "mutual friend."
Whether or not that selfie was authentic is unclear.
But according to Michelle Obama, Malia is inundated with requests from fans who want
to take a selfie with her, with as many as 20 to 30 people every day interrupting her
for a photo op.
Though Michelle has been pleading for people to respect her daughter's privacy, she's proud
of the fact that Malia is unfailingly polite, even when she has to turn down those requests.
Grace and courtesy?
Talk about a chip off the old block!
Malia burns David Letterman
During an interview with the former president on David Letterman's Netflix interview show,
the venerable late night host recounted a "never before told" story about a run-in he
had with Malia.
During a function at the White House, Letterman said he introduced himself to Malia:
"My name is Dave Letterman and I'm very happy to be here at the party, and thank you for
inviting me to the party."
According to Letterman, Malia was pretty quick with her response:
"and she says, Yeah, you look like a guy who really knows how to party."
Letterman said he absolutely loved the burn.
Obama explained that this wasn't particularly out of character for his daughter, adding:
"She's a riot.
… She is funny."
We wonder who she gets that from?
Beanie Babies busted
President Obama hadn't even been in office for a month before his family faced their
first giant scandal: Beanie Babies!
Okay, maybe it was less of a priority than, say, the crashing U.S. economy at the time,
but the first lady still took the time to call out the collectible plush toymaker over
its "Sweet Sasha" and "Marvelous Malia" dolls.
According to The New York Times, the company that made the dolls, Ty Inc., "insisted that
the dolls were not intended to depict the Obama girls"...but nobody was buying that.
A statement from the office of the first lady expressed displeasure with the use of, quote,
"young, private citizens for marketing purposes."
Ty Inc. apparently didn't want to get on the wrong side of the White House, so the company
retired the dolls just one month after it started making them, a move that a spokesperson
for Michelle Obama said was, quote, "appreciated."
Nowadays, the dolls can fetch huge prices on eBay.
Hey, that's one way to jump start the economy!
Dropping Malia off at college was brutal
Most parents can attest to the tremendous amount of emotion that springs up when it's
time to drop their children off at college, and the former president had just as tough
a time as anyone else.
After taking a year off from her studies following her high school graduation, Malia enrolled
at Harvard University in August 2017.
When her parents dutifully dropped her off at the prestigious university, her dad reportedly
had a tough time keeping his composure, telling the crowd at a sports event,
"For those of us who have daughters, it just happens fast.
I dropped off Malia at college, and I was saying to Joe and Jill [Biden] that it was
a little bit like open-heart surgery.
I was proud that I did not cry in front of her.
But on the way back, the Secret Service was off, looking straight ahead, pretending they
weren't hearing me as I sniffled and blew my nose.
It was rough."
"Everyone had seen me, you know, crying and misting up for the next three weeks."
For a man who managed to lead the free world through many tough trials, it sounds like
it's the home front that always mattered most to him.
D'aw.
Sasha's sweet 16 was a festive affair
Even though she still resides in Washington, D.C. with her family, it appears Sasha does
get some off-time from her studies at the prestigious Sidwell Friends School.
She celebrated her Sweet 16 with friends and family in a ravishing red satin gown.
Pictures from the event's photo booth circulated online, and it looks like she had no trouble
cutting loose while her parents were in the crowd.
Considering the world has watched her grow up — Sasha was only 8 years old when her
family took up residence at the White House — seeing her inch nearer to adulthood has
been a surprise for some.
Malia reunited two other first daughters
It may surprise some to know that, despite the fact that their parents were political
rivals, Chelsea Clinton and Ivanka Trump have enjoyed a long friendship with one another.
And they used that sisterhood to rally around Malia.
After Malia was photographed in a private moment of affection with her boyfriend, and
was also allegedly filmed blowing smoke rings, both Clinton and Trump lashed out at the unwanted
attention in quick succession.
Trump wrote,
"Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as her school-aged peers.
She is a young adult and private citizen, and should be OFF limits."
Then Clinton followed with a similar message, writing,
"Malia Obama's private life, as a young woman, a college student, a private citizen, should
not be your clickbait.
Be better."
Sasha is living it up
In her first interview since leaving the White House, Michelle shed some light on the family's
new digs, and it turns out Sasha was the big winner in the situation, saying,
"Sasha actually killed in this house — She's got this two-room suite, it's all decked out.
She's got like a living room area and a bedroom, and she designed it."
As for how Malia made out?
"[She] got a room up in the attic somewhere.
She's away at college.
You don't waste rooms on college kids."
And President Obama didn't do much better, allegedly getting stuck with "the smallest
room for his office" with very little closet space.
Sorry, dad, looks like the kids come first!
A farewell slumber party
Though they both have new homes now, Malia and Sasha closed out their eight years living
in the White House in style — by having an old-school sleepover with friends.
Speaking with Today, Michelle revealed the the girls simply wanted "pizza" and "nuggets"
for the eight girlfriends they invited over on the family's last night in the White House.
Asked whether leaving was difficult for the girls, Michelle said,
"So that moment of transition, right before the doors opened and we welcomed in the new
family, our kids were leaving out the back door in tears, saying goodbye to people."
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