US President Obama Sets Precedence with a Line of Code

In a groundbreaking event, former US President Barack Obama claimed the coveted title as the first U.S leader to publicly write a line of code. This historic occurrence transpired during the kick-off of Code.org’s Hour of Code campaign, an initiative aimed at encouraging computer literacy and coding skills, timed most fittingly in alignment with Computer Science Education Week, as reported by CNBC.

In a moment filled with anticipation and excitement, the former president took to the keyboard and created his first line of computer instructions. The president’s debut line of code, shared by Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi, was:

moveForward(100);

According to Partovi, former President Obama was meticulous with his entry asking if the ‘F’ needed to be in uppercase, and successfully applying the correct syntax with parentheses and semicolons. Impressively, no typing errors were made during the ordeal.

In his speech at the event, Obama emphasized the importance of fostering an early interest in tech among the youth, particularly in areas such as game and app development. “We’re starting too late when it comes to making sure that our young people are familiar, not just with how to play a video game, but how to create a video game, not just how to work a smartphone, but how to create the apps for a smartphone,” Obama said. He further highlighted America’s thriving culture of innovation, saying, “One of the great things about America is we invent and make stuff, not just use it.”

More about Code.org:

A non-profit organization, Code.org, launched in 2013. Its primary mission is to increase the participation in computer science and coding, particularly among women and underrepresented students of color. By making these subjects available in more schools, the organization belives every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science and programming. Code.org advocates that these subjects should be a part of core education, alongside other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses, such as biology, physics, chemistry, and algebra.

Image source: CNBC

This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.