Why was Barack Obama titled 'Former Chicago Resident' in Michael Jordan's documentary?

NBA legend Michael Jordan's much-awaited documentary finally aired on Sunday. The first two episodes of The Last Dance explored some of the key moments for Jordan's career and even included interviews from two former Presidents of the United States - Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. However, instead of referring to them by their 'highest held position', the documentary referred to Barack Obama as 'Former Chicago Resident' and Bill Clinton as 'Former Arkansas Governor'. Unsurprisingly, fans were quick to flock to social media posting several memes about Barack Obama's 'Former Chicago Resident' reference.

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Barack Obama referred to as 'Former Chicago Resident' in Michael Jordan's documentary

Jason Hehir, the director of The Last Dance, explained the decision while speaking to The Athletic. Hehir told the publication that the documentary was a "Michael thing". While the 10-part series will unsurprisingly revolve around Michael Jordan and the various events of his Bulls career, Hehir noted, being a filmmaker, he wanted to tell Jordan's story as the characters in the story were ordinary people and not "super famous".

As quoted by The Athletic, Hehir added, "Barack Obama is not the kind of guy that I can find his number and text him. Michael had a connection. But I was pretty adamant that we don't have people in here who don't have an organic connection to the story. I think the temptation is because Michael was super famous, let's get as many super famous people in here as possible."

Hehir further explained himself that Barack Obama and Bill Clinton sharing their experiences in regards to Michael Jordan and basketball would be the same and should not be considered any different because they held the highest position in the country. 

"Bill Clinton was president in the 1990s. He has to talk about Michael because he was the President when Michael was playing and he saw Michael play live. My question was, okay, what is Bill Clinton going to say that is different than any other fan would say about watching Michael play?"

According to Hehir, using 'Former Governor of Arkansas' for Bill Clinton was more suitable to the plot as it contributed in pacing the story ahead by connecting it to Scottie Pippen, who grew up playing basketball in Arkansas.

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When did Barack Obama move to Chicago? Michael Jordan and Barack Obama

Referencing Obama as 'Former Chicago Resident' made sense with respect to the plot of the documentary as Obama was indeed a resident of Chicago when Michael Jordan was busy with his exploits with the Chicago Bulls. A graduate from Harvard Universite, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985 before heading to Massachusetts to study at Harvard. However, after completion of his degree, the former US President moved back to Chicago, Illinois, in 1991. During Jordan' time will the Bulls, Obama served as the State Senator before assuming office as US Senator in 2004. Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States in 2009 and served as President for two terms till 2017. Barack Obama continues to reside in Washington D.C with his family.

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Michael Jordan and Barack Obama

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