Obama Term - Barack Obamas Last Day as President

President Barack Obamas last day as president was January 20, 2017, and he spent it doing what most American presidents did on their last few hours in the White House. He greeted the incoming president, Republican Donald Trump, and Trumps family. He wrote a note to his successor that read, in part:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"We’ve both been blessed, in different ways, with great good fortune.† And then Obama attended Trumps swearing-in ceremony. Obama, like every other president serving his final term, became a lame duck president the day he was sworn into office for a second time following his Election Day rout  of Mitt Romney in 2012. Trump was chosen  in the 2016 election and sworn into office at noon on Jan. 20, 2017. Trumps first term ends on Jan. 20, 2021, when the next president is sworn into office. That day is called Inauguration Day. Obama Keeps a Low Profile After Term Ends Obama spoke very little in the first months after he left the White House. He held a conversation on community organizing and civic engagement in Chicago as he approached his 100th day out of office. Obamas first substantial criticism of his successor came in early September of 2017, nearly eight months after Trump took office; the former president, a Democrat, was critical of Trumps plan to kill the  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program allows children of immigrants living in the United States illegally to stay in the country without fear of immediate prosecution. Said Obama in response to Trumps plan: â€Å"To target these young people is wrong ― because they have done nothing wrong. It is self-defeating ― because they want to start new businesses, staff our labs, serve in our military, and otherwise contribute to the country we love. And it is cruel. This is about whether we are a people who kick hopeful young strivers out of America, or whether we treat them the way we’d want our own kids to be treated. It’s about who we are as a people ― and who we want to be.† When Obamas Term Ended The date of the presidential swearing-in and conclusion of a presidents term is set by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. Under the terms of the 20th Amendment, a presidents term  ends at noon on Jan. 20.   The 20th Amendment reads, in part: The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin. Awaiting Obamas Last Day Its become a sort of modern-day political tradition for a presidents staunchest critics to begin counting down his last days in office. Obama endured such treatment from conservative Republicans. There were even commercial endeavors to celebrate Obamas last day in office: bumper stickers, buttons, and T-shirts announcing Jan. 20, 2017, as the End of an error and Americans happiest day. Obamas predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush, was the target of similar campaigns, including an  Out of Office Countdown Wall Calendar that included some of the most well known Bushisms.   The Republican National Committee celebrated Obamas last day as president by posting the date on its website even before he was elected to a second term in 2012. The GOP designed the ad to raise money from conservatives worried about him being re-elected. The party said: The RNC is clearly not giving President Obama a free pass in 2012 - quite the opposite actually, we are aggressively showing voters what our country would look like after another four years of President Obama and his tax and spend policies that have done nothing to create jobs and leave us vulnerable to governments like China. When Obama Was Sworn In to His Final Term Alex Wong / Getty Images Obama was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 2013, after easily defeating Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. Why Presidents Can Serve Only Two Terms Obama, like all U.S. presidents, cannot serve a third term in the White House because of the Constitutions 22nd Amendment, even though many conspiracy theorists believe Obama would try to remain president beyond his eight years in office.