News

All The People Lucky Enough To Fist Bump Obama

by Alicia Lu

July 14, 2014

Last Thursday, President Obama made one man's day when he visited Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, and gave the cashier his famous Obama fist bump. What the cashier said made the president's day. When Obama approached the register, part-time employee and comedian Daniel Rugg Webb threw his hands down on the counter and exclaimed, "Equal rights for gay people!" So Obama asked, "Are you gay?" Webb then quipped, "Only when I have sex." The president got a kick out of the witty reply, hence fist bump.

"That's when he laughed and said, 'Bump me,'" Webb told The Austin Chronicle. "If Rick Perry would've walked in, I would have lost my job," he added.

Obama was in Austin to address the current border crisis and recent criticism from Republicans, some of whom have gone so far as to claim that he should be impeached. His heated speech at the Paramount Theatre surely worked up his appetite, so Obama decided to stop by the acclaimed Franklin Barbecue, known for its brisket.

When the president and his team saw that the line wrapped around the restaurant, he made the executive decision to cut in line, but not without treating the waiting people to enough barbecue to "feed a small village," owner Aaron Franklin told the Statesman.

Webb joins a long list of lucky citizens who have had the privilege of sharing a fist bump with the president. Besides healthcare reform and breaking new ground as the first African-American U.S. president, Obama's legacy will also be defined by his fist bump, a signature move that gives him the reputation as one of the most down-to-earth presidents in history. From custodians to children to his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, take a look at Obama's greatest fist bumps.