Washington:: Has terrorism connotations forced presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to abandon his signature fist bump?

The 47-year-old Illinois senator, who aspires to be the first black-American US president, refused to bump fists with a boy as he was touring the Eastside Community Ministry in Zanesville, Ohio. As the boy outstretched his first, Obama said no and added, “If I start that... ” His voice then trailed off, CNN reported. Obama popularised the move last month when he and his wife Michelle bumped fists on the night he formally captured the party’s presidential nomination in his epic battle with Hillary Clinton.

Video of the duo fist bumping became widely popular on the internet, leading the Washington Post to declare it “the first bump heard round the world”. Fist bump, however, is commonly identified as a terrorist hand shake.