European foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration signal to the Muslim world and firmly anchor the country in Europe. The trip marked Obama's first visit to a Muslim majority country. Obama has asserted that a close relationship with a stable, democratic, Western-oriented Republic of Turkey is an important U.S. national interest. His administration declared that the U.S. will support the promotion of democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression in Turkey and support its efforts to join the European Union, which the president confirmed on his April visit. While Obama has gone on the record in the past as referring to the massacre of Armenians under the
President Barack Obama (painting) to the president's late Kenyan father)." Reacting to the unveiling of his portrait Obama said: "How about that? That's pretty sharp", "The Washington Post" described the painting as "not what you'd expect and that's why it's great". Together with Amy Sherald's portrait of Michelle Obama, the paintings were first exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery on February 12, 2018. Both portraits mark the first time two African-American artists were commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery. The unveiling of the portrait led to thousands of visitors lined up at the entrance, along with a 311 percent increase in visitors compared with