Shirtless Obama hits the waves in Hawaii… but takes a spill off his paddleboard

SHIRTLESS Barack Obama hit the waves in Hawaii before wobbling off his paddleboard.

The former US president appeared to be enjoying his vacation when he was snapped in the Pacific Ocean.

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The 58-year-old was seen on Thursday wearing black trunks and a 'shark deterrent band' around his ankle.

Footage taken of the Hawaiian native shows him stumbling and struggling to maintain his balance as he falls down a few times.

The former president wobbled while holding onto the paddle as he splashed into the warm water.

In the background of one of the images, a Secret Service agent is spotted kayaking behind him wearing a bulletproof vest.

While Obama was soaking up the sun and salty sea, current President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that assassinated General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds Force.

Soleimani, 62, was blown up in a guided missile strike near Baghdad Airport in Iraq as he plotted attacks against American citizens, according to the Pentagon.

He headed the overseas arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and was regarded as the country's second most powerful figure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Mr Trump defended the order as a defensive act to "stop a war" rather than start one.

Speaking on camera on Friday for the first time since the airstrike, President Trump tried to restore calm by saying: "We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.

"Soleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him.

"Under my leadership America's policy is unambiguous to terrorists who harm or intend to harm any American.

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"We will find you. We will eliminate you.

"We will always protect our diplomats, service members, all Americans and our allies."

President Trump yesterday deployed 3,500 US troops to the Middle East in retaliation to threats from Iran - amid serious concerns the execution could cause the outbreak of World War Three.

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