Kid Reporter Damon Weaver Who Interviewed Obama Is Dead At 23

The student reporter who managed to score a sit-down interview at the age of 11 with then-President Barack Obama in 2009 has died at 23, his family announced.

Damon Weaver won America’s heart when the young journalist fired off several questions for Obama during his 10-minute interview in the White House Diplomatic Room. Weaver asked Obama if he got “bullied a lot.” Obama said he just tries to good job and that “keeps me going.”

Weaver also asked if Obama would be willing to play Miami Heat hoops star Dwayne Wade one-on-one. Obama said he’d be willing, even though Wade is a “little bit better at basketball than I am.”

He thanked the president for “making my dream come true.” Weaver asked Obama to become his “homeboy.”

Weaver, a native of Pahokee, Florida, became the youngest person to interview a sitting president.

Weaver died May 1 of natural causes, his sister Candace Hardy told The Palm Beach Post. He was studying communications at Georgia’s Albany State University to fulfill his dream of becoming a sports journalist, and was looking forward to returning to school in the fall, according to Hardy.

She called her brother’s interview with Obama “life-changing for him,” adding that it was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

She said her brother was an inspiration for other children.

“A lot of people looked up to him,” she told the Post. “With him being so young, he made a way for more students to engage in journalism.”

She described her brother as “just a nice person, genuine, very intelligent.” He was a “ball of light with so much energy. He was always a joy to be around. He left an impact on a lot of people,” Hardy said.

On an earlier trip to Washington, D.C., Weaver also interviewed Oprah Winfrey, Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Tucker and LL Cool J.

“I got to interview a lot of famous people, and also I got to be on the red carpet,” he said. “I thought that was cool.”