During former President Barack Obama’s busy return to his home state of Hawaii, he found time to stop and greet a newborn baby and her excited family in a moment that has since gone viral.
Obama visited his birth state Saturday for a workshop held by his namesake foundation at the University of Hawaii, according to the Star-Advertiser. The session's participants included 21 young people from 16 countries discussing leadership initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region.
Ahead of a speech to the youth leaders, Obama came upon some well-wishers and fans, including a father and mother who were holding their 7-month-old baby girl Paisleigh.
That’s when the former POTUS walked up to the stunned family and asked to hold the child. “Oh, look at this one, we have a new one,” Obama said.
Paisleigh's family captured video of the world leader being charmed by the baby, as well as everyone's delight when the former president kissed Paisleigh on her forehead.
“You are just so pretty,” the two-time father said in the video. Obama even told the baby’s father, Joseph Edwards, "You can’t beat having daughters!”
Chelcie Edwards, Paisleigh’s mother, shared her reaction to the surprise encounter with Blavity.
"To have the First Black President ever to initiate holding our daughter, let alone kissing her on the forehead has to be one of the most pivotal moments of any parent's life," Edwards said in a statement to Blavity. "For our little girl to be in the hands of a man that is so influential yet still so humble and allowing her to experience something many will never get to experience is a blessing from God with in itself. It’s just one of those things that’s just indescribable."
"As parents, we plan to share this monumental moment with our daughter through pictures, stories, and instilling in her who exactly he is and was before her time. These are memories for her all while being able to live in a place Barack Obama calls home, Hawaii," Edwards continued. "Furthermore, I pray one day my daughter appreciates and understands the magnitude of what she was able to experience!"
The next generation was also on Obama's mind when he addressed those gathered to participate in his workshop.
Hawaii News Now reports the 44th president told the young leaders their countries need their "amazing energy and passion and imagination, in order to bring a whole new set of eyes and ideas and possibilities to the world" because politics has "a deficit of leadership and we need new blood.”
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