A salmon welcomed President Barack Obama to Alaska by spawning on his shoes as the president picked it up, leading him to joke, "He was happy to see me."
Obama was visiting Kanakanak Beach in Dillingham when he put on orange gloves and picked up one of the
salmon he had caught, CNN reported. When the fish squirted a substance all over his shoes, Obama asked, "Uh-oh, what's happening there?"
A woman nearby explained that the fish was spawning, to which CNN said Obama looked at reporters and said, "Did you see that? Something got on my shoes. He was spawning a little bit, which, generally you don't want fish spawning on your feet."
Then he laughed and added, "He was happy to see me."
The spawning salmon led, as would be expected, to a rash of online jokes.
Obama has been on a three-day trip to the northernmost state to promote climate change initiatives. During his trip, he also tried to learn a traditional dance from a group of schoolchildren.