"They grow up too fast," he said.
President Obama got emotional during a White House dinner on Thursday night as he spoke about how fast his teenage daughters are growing up.
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The state dinner was held as Obama and First Lady Michelle welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie to the White House.
Obama's daughters, Sasha, 14, and Malia, 17, also attended the event - their first ever state dinner.
“When I was first elected to this office Malia was 10 and Sasha was just seven. They grow up too fast," he said. "This fall Malia heads off to college... I’m starting to choke up. So I’m going to wind this — it was in my remarks — and I didn’t — I can’t do it. It’s hard.”
He continued: “But there is a point to this, though, and that is that we’re not here for power. We’re not here for fame or fortune. We’re here for our kids. We’re here for everybody’s kids — to give our sons and our daughters a better world.
“To pass to them a world that’s a little safer, and a little more equal, and a little more just, a little more prosperous so that a young person growing up in Chicago or Montreal or on the other side of the world has every opportunity to make of their life what they will, no matter who they are or what they look like, or how they pray or who they love.”
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Trudeau spoke after the president and quipped: “May the special connection between our two countries continue to flourish in the years to come and may my grey hair come in at a much slower rate than yours has."
The star-studded guest list included many Canadian born celebrities like Michael J. Fox, Mike Myers, Ryan Reynolds, Lorne Michaels.
It is believed that the Obama girls wore $20,000 gowns by designer Naeem Khan to the event.
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