January 14 – President Obama commits US$100,000,000 to help Haiti recover from the 2010 earthquake, while calling on former American PresidentsGeorge W. Bush and Bill Clinton to assist.[5][6]
January 16 – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Director Rajiv Shah travel to Haiti.[7]
January 30 – Former President George H. W. Bush makes a social call on President Obama at the White House.[17]
February
February 1 – President Obama announces his proposal for the fiscal year 2011 federal budget.[18][19] President Obama answers questions submitted by the public in a live session moderated by Steve Grove of YouTube; the session is broadcast from the White House and on YouTube's CitizenTube channel.[20]
February 2 – President Obama travels to Nashua, New Hampshire, touring small businesses before giving a speech at Nashua North High School.[21]
February 3 – President Obama hosts a meeting of Governors in the State Dining Room. Afterwards, the President holds a Cabinet-level exercise in crisis-management in preparation for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.[22]
February 6 – President Obama speaks at a gathering of the Democratic National Committee's Winter Meeting at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, D.C. The President's motorcade encounters trouble due to the blizzard that affected the region when a snow-laden tree branch fell on a vehicle carrying journalists as it returned to the White House; no one was injured.[23]
February 9 – The Obamas host a concert of music from the era of the Civil Rights Movement at the White House to celebrate Black History Month. The concert marks the beginning of the 2010 White House music series.[24]
March 1 – Speaking at the United States Chamber of Commerce, President Obama announces that $900 million in grants would be given to under-performing schools in America upon acceptance of a reform model.[34][35]
March 2 – Promoting his energy-related jobs proposals, President Obama addresses the faculty and students at the Savannah Technical College in Savannah, Georgia.[36]
March 5 – President Obama travels to Arlington, Virginia, discussing his Administration's policy and the economic situation at the headquarters of OPOWER, a corporation producing efficient energy use technology.[37]
March 23 – The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is signed into law by the President. It is the first major health care reform law enacted in the history of the United States.[42]
March 25 – President Obama speaks at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, where he defends the newly signed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[43]
March 28 – President Obama makes an unannounced visit to Afghanistan where he meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.[44]
April 10 – President Obama calls Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to express his condolences following the death of Polish President Lech Kaczyński and others in a plane crash.[54]
April 11 – President Obama holds talks at Blair House with heads of state from India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and South Africa on the eve of the Nuclear Security Summit that the President is hosting in Washington, D.C.[55]
April 12 – President Obama holds bilateral meetings with a number of heads of state—including a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao—and hosts a working dinner with foreign government delegations as part of the Nuclear Security Summit that he is hosting.[56]
April 13 – President Obama participates in the second and final day of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., proclaiming at the conclusion of the gathering that "real progress" was made toward the goal of securing nuclear material worldwide.[57]
April 23 – President Obama speaks at a naturalization ceremony for active-duty members of the U.S. military forces in the Rose Garden, strongly criticizing the newly passed Arizona SB1070 measure against illegal immigration, and calling for federal immigration reform.[63]
April 27 – President Obama travels to Iowa and tours the Siemens Wind Turbine Blade Manufacturing Plant in Fort Madison, Iowa. There the President delivers remarks on how to grow the economy and put Americans back to work.[69] The President also visits a local business in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and holds a town hall meeting in Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa, Iowa, spending the night in Des Moines[70]
April 28 – President Obama tours a POET Biorefining plant in Macon, Missouri and delivers remarks on rebuilding the economy. The President then tours a local farm and visits with the family that operates the farm in Palmyra, Missouri. Later that afternoon the President delivers remarks on the urgent need to pass Wall Street reform at the Oakley-Lindsay Civic Center in Quincy, Illinois.[71]
April 29 – President Obama, Vice President Biden, and the First Lady attend Dorothy Height's funeral at the National Cathedral. President Obama honors the 2010 National Teacher of the Year and the state teachers of the year from across the country at an event in the Rose Garden. Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan join him for the event. The President also attends a private DNC fundraising diner in Washington, D.C.[72]
April 30 – From the Rose Garden President Obama makes a statement on the first quarter 2010 GDP numbers. The President is joined by representatives and workers from two U.S. manufacturers, Itron, a Washington state based manufacturer of smart energy meters, and A123 Systems, a Massachusetts-based advanced battery manufacturer, that are expanding production and hiring as a result of the Recovery Act. The President also travels to the James J. Rowley Training Center in Beltsville, Maryland and observes the Secret Service's training procedures and demonstration activities.[73]
May 4 – President Obama addresses the annual meeting of the Business Council at the Park Hyatt. The President remarks about the administration's ongoing efforts to spur job creation and the important role the business community plays in efforts to rebuild the economy. The President discusses the urgent need to pass Wall Street reform and address core principles of reform that will protect consumers and put in place clear rules of the road to help prevent another crisis. The President also meets with Elie Wiesel in the private dining room at the White House.[78][79]
June 10 – The President meets with family members of casualties due to the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion.[97]
June 14 – President Obama travels to the Gulf Coast to evaluate efforts to cap the BP oil spill.[98]
June 15 – Speaking from the Oval Office, the President addresses the nation about the BP oil spill.[99]
June 25 – The President travels to Muskoka, Canada[100] for the G8 Summit and participates in various sessions and meetings.[101]
June 26 – The president participates in the G8 Working session in Muskoka and then travels to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the G20 Summit. The President holds separate bilateral meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea, President Hu Jintao of China and attends the G20 Working Dinner.[102]
June 27 – The president has a morning meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and then attends the G20 Leaders Working Sessions and various plenary sessions. In the late afternoon he meets with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India. In the evening Obama meets with Prime Minister Naoto Kan of Japan.[102]
July
July 2 – President Obama and Vice President Biden speak at a memorial service for Senator Robert C. Byrd.[103]
July 4 – The First Family holds an Independence Day celebration on the South Lawn of the White House. In attendance are military heroes and their families along with administrative staff and their families.[104]
July 6 – In the fifth meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both agree to encourage direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.[105]
July 8 – President Obama travels to Kansas City, Missouri and visits Smith Electric Vehicles plant which received a $32 million Recovery Act Grant to build all-electric trucks.[106]
July 13 - President Obama released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the nation's first comprehensive plan to address the HIV epidemic in the United States and coordinate efforts across the federal government.[108]
July 15 – The President travels to Holland, Michigan and delivers remarks at a groundbreaking ceremony for Compact Power battery plant.[109]
July 21 – President Obama signs the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, considered to be the largest financial system overhaul since the New Deal. The law recognizes complex financial derivatives and protects consumers from unfair practices in loans and credit cards by establishing a new consumer protection agency.[110]
July 28 – President Obama travels to Edison, New Jersey and delivers remarks about the Small Business Jobs Initiative.[111]
July 30 – President Obama travels to the Detroit, Michigan area to promote the government bailout of the auto industry. The President speaks to workers at the Detroit Chrysler plant[112] and workers at the General Motors'Hamtramck auto assembly plant in Hamtramck, Michigan[113]
August 10 – The President receives the credentials of Foreign Ambassadors and marks the beginning of their service in Washington, D.C.[118]
August 11 – After a morning meeting with his national security team on the subject of Iraq, the President delivers remarks and signs the Manufacturing Enhancement Act.[119]
August 13 – President Obama supports an Islamic center near New York's ground zero in a speech at a White House Iftar dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.[120]
August 31 – New design of the Oval Office is presented to the press.[121] The President announces an end to the combat mission in Iraq with a speech given from the Oval Office.[122]
September
September 14 – The President delivers his second annual Back-to-School speech.[123]
September 18 – President Obama delivers remarks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation annual Phoenix Award Dinner.[124]
October 5 – Along with Jill Biden, the President conducts the first ever White House Summit of Community Colleges.[128] President Obama signs "Rosa's Law" (S.2781) which changes references in many Federal Statutes that refer to mental retardation to refer, instead to, "intellectual disability".[129]
October 6 – The President awards Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in Afghanistan.[130]
October 8 – President Obama signs the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010.[131]
October 15 – President Obama meets with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.[132]
October 22 – President Obama traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he hosted a rally which was organized by Rakitha Hettiarachchi [The Political Campaign Director of Nevada State Democratic Party] to support the reelection of SenateMajority LeaderHarry Reid.[134][135] The rally was considered as one of the most successful political rallies in the history of Nevada State politics.
October 25 – The President tours the American Cord and Webbing factory in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and speaks with workers there.[136]
November 2 – President Obama appears on the Ryan Seacrest (and other) radio shows to appeal to young voters to vote on Election Day.[138]
November 3 – President Obama holds a news conference in the White House to acknowledge that he and the Democratic party took a "shellacking" in the mid-term elections.[139]
November 6 – The President and First Lady begin a ten-day trip to Asia to improve export opportunities.[140]
November 14 – President Obama and Mrs. Obama return from their four-nation tour having met with various world leaders, spoke at multiple venues, held news conferences, and attended the G-20 and APEC plenary sessions and ceremonies.[141]
November 16 – President Obama awards U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in the Afghan War.[142]
November 20 – While at the Lisbon summit, President Obama attends various meetings pertaining to Afghanistan and various Russian Council sessions and holds a bilateral meeting with President Karzai of Afghanistan.[146][147]
November 23 – President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agree in a telephone call to hold joint military and training exercises "in the coming days", in response to the Shelling of Yeonpyeong incident.[148]
December 3 – The President makes an unannounced trip to Afghanistan to speak with that country's president, Hamid Karzai, and to visit with American troops.[154] President Obama grants the first presidential pardons of his administration to nine people.[155]
December 6 – President Obama speaks to Chinese President Hu Jintao, by phone, and urges him to unite with other regional powers and send a clear message to North Korea that its "provocations were unacceptable".[156] The President announces a compromise agreement with Congressional Republicans regarding a tax package that revolves around the question of extending the Bush tax cuts, then begins an effort to convince unhappy Congressional Democrats to accept it.[157]
December 7 – President Obama holds a news conference regarding the tax cut and unemployment benefits compromise.[158]
December 16 – In an Administrative Assessment of the eight-year Afghanistan war, President Obama hails significant progress but says it remains "a very difficult endeavor".[160]