
Former U.S. President Barack Obama recently revisited the well-known “tan suit” controversy—and handled it with his signature wit.
If you’re unfamiliar, the moment dates back to August 28, 2014, when Obama—who served two terms from 2009 to 2017—held a press conference addressing whether the U.S. military would intensify its response to ISIS in Syria.
During the briefing, he wore a tan-colored suit. It didn’t take long for critics to react, claiming the outfit looked “too casual” and “unprofessional” for a sitting president.
Surprisingly, the suit choice dominated headlines for days and sparked widespread debate far beyond the policy discussion itself.

More than a decade later, the moment still circulates online. One social media user recently commented, “Remember when this was considered a scandal? I’d gladly take that as the biggest issue again.” Others echoed similar thoughts, with one noting, “Was this really the biggest concern in politics?” and another joking, “They just couldn’t handle his style.”
Obama himself seems to share that perspective. During a recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert brought up the infamous suit while discussing Obama’s upcoming presidential library.
As Colbert showed various “souvenirs” from Obama’s career, he asked whether the displays highlighted his greatest accomplishments.
“I think that’s fair,” Obama replied.
Colbert then joked about whether there was a section dedicated to mistakes, specifically asking if the tan suit made the cut.

Obama smiled and responded confidently, “I stand by that tan suit. I think I looked pretty good.”
Colbert playfully added that the country had a dramatic reaction at the time, before asking what Obama thinks now when he remembers it.
Without hesitation, Obama answered with one word: “Fly.”
Fans online quickly praised the response, with one writing, “He looked fantastic in that suit,” while another admitted they were glad they hadn’t paid attention to the news back then because of how overblown the reaction was.
Others summed it up simply: they never quite understood why the tan suit caused such outrage in the first place—especially since, in their view, Obama pulled it off effortlessly.