Barack Obama quizzed on rap, weed, good looks

US President Barack Obama greets people in the audience after speaking to Vietnamese youth during the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative townhall meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. (Photo: AP)

Barack Obama fielded questions Wednesday on everything from rap and weed smoking to his good looks at a lively meeting with young Vietnamese, who see the US leader as a far cry from their staid Communist rulers.

The US President, on the final leg of a three-day trip to Vietnam before flying to Japan, held one of his trademark town hall gatherings with hundreds of youngsters in the country’s buzzing commercial and creative capital Ho Chi Minh City.

The US President received a huge cheer as he took to the stage. Suboi, one of the country’s best known female rap artists, serenaded Mr Obama with Vietnamese lyrics about whether people are really happy if they have lots of money.

Seemingly delighted, Mr Obama praised the journey of hip-hop “which started out as an expression of poor African-Americans” and became a “global phenomenon”.

He then appeared to take a thinly veiled swipe at Vietnam’s authoritarian leaders, who regularly suppress critical artists.

“Imagine if at the time when rap was starting off our government had said ‘No’ because some of the things you say are offensive, or some of the lyrics are rude, or you’re cursing too much ” he said.

“If you try to suppress the arts then you are suppressing the deepest dreams and aspirations of a people,” he added.

Earlier another young man began his question with: “Mr President, you’re so handsome”. To which Mr Obama quickly quipped, “Oh. You can just stop there if you want.”

Another asked whether Internet posts about Mr Obama’s alleged marijuana smoking as a youth were true.

“I don’t know if that’s true,” Mr Obama quickly remarked, further dousing the issue with a warning: “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.”

The environment was a subject that repeatedly came up.

Mr Obama said he recognised the freedom western industrialised countries have had to pollute the earth for far longer than developing ones, but urged all countries to work together to prevent disaster.

“The problem is, if a country like China or Vietnam or India took the same development path the West did, we’re all going to be under water.”

Mr Obama was met with throngs of enthusiastic well-wishers on his visit to Vietnam.