In the 2016 presidential election , Obama was ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to the restrictions of the Twenty-second Amendment . In June 2016 , Obama endorsed his former Secretary of State , Hillary Clinton , to succeed him as president . He addressed the 2016 Democratic National Convention on July 27 in support of Clinton as the Democratic Party 's nominee , and continued to campaign for her throughout the 2016 general election campaign season . However , Hillary Clinton would unexpectedly lose the general election to Republican nominee Donald Trump on November 8 , after failing to receive enough votes in the Electoral College , despite receiving a plurality of the national popular vote . The Democratic Party would no longer control the presidency once Trump was inaugurated on January 20 , 2017 , and they did not have a majority of seats in either chamber of the United States Congress , and in the state legislatures and governorships . President Obama 's approval ratings were nearly at 60 percent at the time of his farewell speech
2016 Democratic National Convention
2016 Democratic National Convention
Barack Obama's farewell address