Barack Obama reveals his secret to dad dancing on David Letterman's new show

He mentions 'karate kicks'

Barack Obama, the former president with a global reputation for being rather cool, has admitted he too has "dad moves" on the dance floor.

In an interview for David Letterman's upcoming talk show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, Mr Obama said the key to dancing as a dad is to "stay in the pocket".

The series premieres on Netflix 12 January.

"Because I think everybody in here knows dads who get out of the pocket. And they’re trying stuff that they can’t really pull off … And you know, they start doing like karate kicks and all kinds of stuff," Mr Obama joked.

Mr Letterman, laughing throughout the whole exchange, asked: "Really? Karate kicks?"

"Is that one of the things you do?," Mr Obama said, gently ribbing the erstwhile talk show host.

He had been describing when he and daughter Sasha were watching the late Prince perform "probably three or four months before he died, and Prince asked Sasha to come up and dance."

Mr Obama said he was surprised when Sasha pulled him up on stage to join since "she always mocks my dancing."

This was the first talk show appearance for Mr Obama since he left office in January 2017.

He also had the distinction of being Mr Letterman's first guest for the six-episode series. A new hour-length episode will appear monthly on the streaming service in Mr Letterman's return to hosting after ending his 33-year run on late night television between his shows on NBC and ending with the Late Show on CBS in May 2015.

Other upcoming guests include George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, and Tina Fey.