See main article: Presidency of Barack Obama. This is a list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama during 2009, the first year of his presidency as the 44th president of the United States. Following his inauguration on January 20, 2009, Obama traveled to 22 different states internationally, in addition to many more trips made domestically within the United States.
This list excludes trips made within Washington, D.C., the U.S. federal capital in which the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president, is located. Additionally excluded are trips to Camp David, the country residence of the president, and to the private home of the Obama family in Kenwood, Chicago.
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| Virginia | Williamsburg | February 5 | First presidential trip using Air Force One.[1] | ||||||
| Indiana | Elkhart | February 9 | President Obama was promoting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[2] | ||||||
| Florida | Fort Myers | February 10 | President Obama was promoting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[3] | ||||||
| Virginia | Springfield | February 11 | President Obama promoted the economic stimulus plan at a construction site with then-DNC Chairman and former Virginia governor Tim Kaine.[4] | ||||||
| Illinois | Springfield | February 12 | President Obama participated in the celebrations for the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.[5] | ||||||
| Colorado | Denver | February 17 | President Obama, accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden, traveled to Denver, Colorado, to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law.[6] | ||||||
| Arizona | Mesa | February 18 | President Obama makes remarks on the mortgage crisis at Dobson High School, in Mesa, Arizona[7] | ||||||
| Canada | Ottawa | February 19 | First trip outside the United States as president. President Obama met with Governor General Michaëlle Jean, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Leader of the Opposition Michael Ignatieff.[8] [9] [10] | ||||||
| North Carolina | Jacksonville | February 27 | President Obama announced withdrawal plans for US troops in Iraq.[11] |
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| Ohio | Columbus | March 6 | President Obama visited Columbus, Ohio, and made a speech at the graduation of Columbus Police Division's 114th class.[12] | ||||||
| California | Long Beach, San Diego, Pomona, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa | March 18–20 | President Obama took part in two town hall sessions and visited the Edison International Vehicle Electrics plant during his visit to California.[13] | ||||||
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| United Kingdom | London | March 31 – April 2 | President Obama was attending the G-20 summit meeting. Obama met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street, where he took part in a joint press conference with Brown,[14] and met with Leader of the Opposition David Cameron at the U.S. Embassy in Grosvenor Square.[15] Obama also met with Queen Elizabeth II.[16] [17] [18] | ||||||
| France | Strasbourg | April 3–4 | President Obama was attending the NATO summit meeting.[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] | ||||||
| Germany | Kehl, Baden-Baden | April 3–4 | President Obama was attending the NATO summit meeting[28] [29] | ||||||
| Czech Republic | Prague | April 5 | President Obama visited the Czech Republic, then holding the rotating presidency of the European Council. President Obama met with President Václav Klaus. He also made a speech in Hradčany Square, Prague, in which he spoke about the threat of nuclear weapons in the post–Cold War era.[30] [31] [32] | ||||||
| Turkey | Ankara, Istanbul | April 6–7 | President Obama participated in a wreath laying ceremony at Anitkabir Mausoleum,[33] met with President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and delivered a speech to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Obama also met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Istanbul,[34] attended the Alliance of Civilizations forum,[35] a forum sponsored by Turkey and Spain to promote understanding between the Western and Islamic worlds, visited the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque and hold a town hall with students at the Tophane Cultural Center.[36] [37] [38] [39] [40] | ||||||
| Iraq | Baghdad | April 7 | President Obama met with President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He also visited U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq War.[41] [42] | ||||||
| Mexico | Mexico City | April 16–17 | President Obama met with President Felipe Calderón.[43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] | ||||||
| Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain | April 17–19 | President Obama was attending the 5th Summit of the Americas.[49] [50] [51] [52] | ||||||
| Iowa | Newton, Iowa | April 22 | President Obama delivered remarks at the Trinity Structural Towers Manufacturing Plant.[53] |
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| Arizona | Phoenix | May 13 | President Obama visited Arizona State University to give a commencement address.[54] | ||||||
| New Mexico | Albuquerque | May 14 | President Obama visited Rio Rancho High School to discuss credit card reform.[55] | ||||||
| Indiana | South Bend | May 17 | President Obama visited the University of Notre Dame to give a commencement address.[56] | ||||||
| Maryland | Annapolis | May 22 | President Obama visited the United States Naval Academy to give a commencement address.[57] | ||||||
| Virginia | Arlington | May 25 | President Obama participated in Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery.[58] | ||||||
| Nevada | Las Vegas Valley | May 26 | President Obama made a speech at a fundraiser for the re-election campaign of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.[59] | ||||||
| California | Los Angeles | May 27 | President Obama delivered remarks at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.[60] | ||||||
| New York | New York City | May 30 | No official business. President and First Lady dined at Blue Hill and attended the Broadway revival of Joe Turner's Come and Gone.[61] |
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| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh Province | June 3–4 | President Obama met with King Abdullah and discussed various issues, including the Arab–Israeli conflict and Iran's nuclear programme.[62] [63] [64] | ||||||
| Egypt | Cairo, Giza | June 4 | President Obama issued an important speech to the Muslim world at Cairo University entitled "A New Beginning". Obama also held talks with President Hosni Mubarak on regional issues, which were described by Mubarak as "candid and frank". Obama also visited the Sultan Hassan Mosque.[65] [66] | ||||||
| Germany | Dresden, Buchenwald, Landstuhl | June 5 | President Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp, ahead of the D-Day commemorations, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. He also spoke of the Arab–Israeli conflict, and met with Chancellor Angela Merkel[67] in Dresden Castle,[68] visited Dresden Frauenkirche[69] and gave an interview at Zwinger Palace in Dresden.[70] [71] [72] [73] [74] | ||||||
| France | Paris, Caen | June 5–7 | President Obama visited France to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. Obama met dignitaries including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales.[75] [76] In Paris, President Obama and his family took part in sightseeing, including visiting the Centre Georges Pompidou[77] and Notre Dame de Paris.[78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] | ||||||
| Wisconsin | Green Bay | June 11 | President Obama held a town-hall-style meeting, his first as president to promote health reform.[84] | ||||||
| Illinois | Chicago | June 15 | President Obama made a speech to the American Medical Association, and pushed for reform in the American medical industry.[85] |
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| Virginia | Annandale | July 1 | President Obama hosted a town hall meeting on health care reform in Annandale, Virginia.[86] | ||||||
| Russia | Moscow | July 6–8 | President Obama met with President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss global issues, including the War in Afghanistan. Obama delivered a speech to the New Economic School in Moscow.[87] | ||||||
| Italy | L'Aquila, Rome | July 8–10 | President Obama was attending the 35th G8 summit. President Obama also met with President Giorgio Napolitano.[88] | ||||||
| Vatican City | Vatican City | July 10 | President Obama met with Pope Benedict XVI, and discussed issues such as poverty, stem-cell research, peace in the Middle East, and the need to reach out to the Muslim world. Obama and the Pope also exchanged gifts.[89] | ||||||
| Ghana | Accra, Cape Coast | July 11 | President Obama met with President John Atta Mills and made a speech to the Parliament of Ghana. He also toured a former departing point of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Cape Coast Castle. | ||||||
| Missouri | St. Louis | July 14 | President Obama threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. | ||||||
| New Jersey | Holmdel | July 16 | President Obama spoke at the PNC Bank Arts Center in support of Governor Jon Corzine's re-election campaign.[90] | ||||||
| New York | New York City | July 16 | President Obama spoke to the NAACP in honor of the group's 100th anniversary.[91] | ||||||
| Ohio | Cleveland | July 23 | President Obama traveled to Cleveland to participate in a town hall on health care.[92] | ||||||
| North Carolina | Raleigh | July 29 | President Obama traveled to Raleigh to participate in a town hall on health care.[93] |
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| Indiana | Wakarusa | August 5 | President Obama gave remarks at the Monaco RV manufacturing facility in Wakarusa.[94] | ||||||
| Virginia | Tysons Corner | August 6 | President Obama spoke at a campaign rally for gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds.[95] | ||||||
| Mexico | Guadalajara | August 9–10 | President Obama attended the annual North American Leaders' Summit.[96] | ||||||
| New Hampshire | Portsmouth | August 11 | President Obama led a town hall meeting on health care reform. | ||||||
| Montana | Belgrade | August 14 | President Obama led a town hall meeting on health care reform. | ||||||
| Colorado | Grand Junction | August 15 | President Obama led a town hall meeting on health care reform. | ||||||
| Arizona | Phoenix | August 17 | President Obama addressed the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.[97] | ||||||
| Massachusetts | Martha's Vineyard | August 24-30 | President Obama vacationed in Martha's Vineyard.[98] |
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| New York | New York City | September 9 | President Obama attended to memorial services of journalist Walter Cronkite held at the Lincoln Center. | ||||||
| Virginia | Arlington County | September 11 | President Obama attended a memorial ceremony at the Pentagon Memorial in Arlington County, Virginia, where he spoke on the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. | ||||||
| Minnesota | Minneapolis – Saint Paul | September 12 | President Obama addressed a rally for health care reform. | ||||||
| Ohio | Warren | September 15 | President Obama visited the General Motors Lordstown Assembly Plant.[99] | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | September 15 | President Obama addressed a fundraiser for Senator Arlen Specter.[100] | ||||||
| Maryland | College Park | September 17 | President Obama gave remarks on health insurance reform to the University of Maryland.[101] | ||||||
| New York | New York City, Troy | September 21-23 | President Obama visited the Hudson Valley Community College, about a technology program and addressed the United Nations General Assembly. | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh | September 24–25 | President Obama hosted members of the G20 for the G-20 summit meeting. | ||||||
| Maryland | Bethesda | September 30 | President Obama visited an oncology laboratory at the National Institutes of Health. |
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| Denmark | Copenhagen | October 2 | President Obama was attending the 13th Olympic Congress, supporting the unsuccessful Chicago bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. While in Denmark, President Obama met with Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen. He also met with Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark.[102] | ||||||
| Virginia | Springfield | October 14 | President Obama visited highway construction project sites and discussed job creation programs.[103] | ||||||
| Louisiana | New Orleans | October 15 | President Obama traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana to survey reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and held a town hall meeting at the University of New Orleans.[104] | ||||||
| California | San Francisco | October 15 | President Obama traveled to San Francisco, California. The President did not make any public appearances, although was present at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.[105] | ||||||
| Texas | College Station | October 16 | President Obama gave a speech on public service at the Texas A&M University, alongside former President George H. W. Bush.[106] | ||||||
| Maryland | Silver Spring | October 19 | President Obama traveled to Silver Spring, Maryland to visit the Viers Mills Elementary School, praising the school for mitigating the achievement gap between minorities and non-minority students.[107] | ||||||
| New York | New York City | October 20 | President Obama traveled to the headquarters of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York City.[108] | ||||||
| New Jersey | Hackensack | October 21 | President Obama traveled to Hackensack, New Jersey to support the unsuccessful re-election campaign of Governor Jon Corzine at Farleigh Dickinson University.[109] | ||||||
| Massachusetts | Boston, Cambridge | October 23 | President Obama visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, before attending a fundraiser for the re-election campaign of Governor Deval Patrick.[110] | ||||||
| Florida | Miami, Jacksonville, Arcadia | October 26–27 | President Obama spoke at a Democratic Party fundraiser in Miami at the Fontainebleau Hotel.[111] He also spoke at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville,[112] and toured the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center in Arcadia, describing the necessity of developing a national 'smart' power grid.[113] | ||||||
| Delaware | Dover | October 29 | President Obama traveled to Dover Air Force Base to oversee the return of eighteen American soldiers killed in Afghanistan.[114] [115] |
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| New Jersey | Camden, Newark | November 1 | President Obama was supporting the unsuccessful re-election campaign of Governor Jon Corzine.[116] In Newark, he drew a crowd of approximately 11,000.[117] | ||||||
| Wisconsin | Madison | November 4 | President Obama traveled to Wright Middle School in Madison, Wisconsin to discuss America's public education strategies with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.[118] | ||||||
| Texas | Killeen | November 10 | President Obama traveled to Fort Hood outside Killeen, Texas, to speak at a memorial for the victims of the Fort Hood shooting.[119] [120] | ||||||
| Virginia | Arlington County | November 11 | President Obama traveled to the Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns.[121] [122] | ||||||
| Alaska | Anchorage | November 12 | President Obama made a brief trip to Elmendorf Air Force Base, speaking to military personnel there while en route to Tokyo.[123] [124] | ||||||
| Japan | Tokyo | November 13–14 | The trip was the first stop on a four-nation tour of Asia. While in Japan, President Obama met with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.[125] Obama also visited the Tokyo Imperial Palace, meeting with Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and made a speech at the Suntory Hall[126] in Tokyo. | ||||||
| Singapore | Singapore | November 14–15 | The trip was the second stop on a four-nation tour of Asia. Obama was attending the APEC summit meeting.[127] [128] While in Singapore, Obama took part in bilateral meetings with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. | ||||||
| China | Shanghai, Beijing | November 15–18 | The third stop on a four-nation tour of Asia. In Shanghai, President Obama met with Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng and Mayor Han Zheng. He also took part in a town-hall style meeting with Chinese students, addressing a range of issues such as internet censorship and U.S. arms deals with Taiwan.[129] [130] In Beijing, Obama took part in a bilateral meeting with President Hu Jintao, and met with Premier Wen Jiabao. Obama also met briefly with his half brother Mark Ndesandjo,[131] and visited various cultural sights; these included the Forbidden City[132] [133] and part of the Great Wall of China.[134] [135] [136] | ||||||
| South Korea | Seoul, Osan | November 18–19 | The trip was the final stop on a four-nation tour of Asia. President Obama met with President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House, discussing such issues as the inactive South Korea – United States Free Trade Agreement.[137] [138] [139] Obama also met with American soldiers stationed at Osan Air Base.[140] |
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| New York | West Point | December 1 | President Obama traveled to the United States Military Academy (West Point), where he presented his new battle strategy for the War in Afghanistan.[141] | ||||||
| Pennsylvania | Allentown | December 4 | President Obama traveled to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he held a town-hall gathering discussing the proposed health care reform.[142] | ||||||
| Norway | Oslo | December 10 | President Obama was accepting the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.[143] | ||||||
| Denmark | Copenhagen | December 18 | President Obama made a speech at the Bella Center to attendants of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. He also took part in a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao,[144] and met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to discuss completing a nuclear disarmament treaty to replace START I, a 15-year treaty that entered into force on December 5, 1994.[145] |
