President Barrack Obama was traveling in Orlando when he made an unscheduled stop at a sports bar to have a drink, catch some college football, and schmooze it up with Florida voters. While such stops are somewhat routine on campaign trails, this one will be memorable for one young boy, nearly 7-year old Andre Wupperman.
ABC News reports that, while working the room and catching glimpses of the Florida State vs. Savannah State game on TV, Obama came to Wupperman’s table. He was informed that the young boy, like the president, is from Hawaii.
“You were born in Hawaii,” Obama asked playfully, according to Yahoo News . “You have a birth certificate?”
The joke got a good laugh.
Obama’s zinger hails back to the mostly defunct “birther” controversies, conspiracy theories that alleged Barrack Obama was not a natural born citizen of the United States. If that were true, he would be ineligible for the presidency under Article 2 of the US Constitution. The president has since released his official short- and long-form birth certificates stating he was born in Hawaii, and all but a handful of extremists, often called “birthers,” have acknowledged that the president is a natural-born citizen.
At another table, the president met Sorina Terrell, who was celebrating her birthday. He then led the a group in the restaurant in a rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
The president entered Gators Dockside bar and grill doing the “Gator Chomp” hand gesture, symbolizing the Florida Gators football team. Upon entering, he ordered a pint of beer before working the room. The various reports failed to mention the president’s choice of beer.