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Kid reporter who interviewed Obama at White House dies at 23

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, Damon Weaver, 10, walks in a park near his home in Pahokee, Fla. Weaver, who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009, has died of natural causes, his family says. Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, 2021 his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. (AP Photo/ Lynne Sladky, File )
FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, Damon Weaver, 10, walks in a park near his home in Pahokee, Fla. Weaver, who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009, has died of natural causes, his family says. Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, 2021 his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. (AP Photo/ Lynne Sladky, File ) FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2009 file photo, Damon Weaver, 10, walks in a park near his home in Pahokee, Fla. Weaver, who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009, has died of natural causes, his family says. Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, 2021 his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. (AP Photo/ Lynne Sladky, File )

By Associated Press 2 min read

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – The student reporter who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009 has died of natural causes, his family says.

Damon Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. Further details were not released. He had been studying communications at Albany State University in Georgia.

Weaver was 11 when he interviewed Obama for 10 minutes in the Diplomatic Room on Aug. 13, 2009, asking questions that focused primarily on education. He covered school lunches, bullying, conflict resolution and how to succeed.

Weaver then asked Obama to be his “homeboy,” saying then-Vice President Joe Biden had already accepted.

photo FILE – This May 23, 2016 file photo shows Royal Palm Beach High School student Damon Weaver during his high school graduation in West Palm Beach, Fla. Weaver, who gained national acclaim when he interviewed President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009, has died of natural causes, his family says. Weaver was 23 when he died May 1, 2021 his sister, Candace Hardy, told the Palm Beach Post. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

“Absolutely,” a smiling Obama said, shaking the boy’s hand.