SNL's 'Obama' makes out with Justin Bieber to promote ObamaCare
With the end-of-month deadline to enroll in health insurance or face a fine rapidly approaching, President Obama has been on a pop culture PR blitz to sell the public on ObamaCare. The president appeared on Zach Galifianakis' absurdist Between Two Ferns; the White House released a March Madness-style health care bracket; and the administration joined BuzzFeed to post a fitting list of reasons, complete with Biden gifs, why everyone should sign up for insurance. Given that the effort has included no small amount of humor and whimsy, some on the right have complained that the president has tarnished the gravity of his office.
So how far is Obama willing to go to sell his eponymous health care law? According to Saturday Night Live, he'll do just about anything from posing with Kim Kardashian and Batkid, to dancing with the pope. He'll even, with a little urging, kiss Canadian menace Justin Bieber on the lips.
In its cold open Saturday, SNL had a social media maven convince a skeptical "Obama" to embrace each of those ideas to create viral promotional content.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Yeah, but isn't it a little silly?" the fictional Obama asks.
"Mr. President, I'll tell you what's silly," an aide, played by Taran Killam, responds. "Right now there's a pregnant woman in Denver who has no health insurance. That is silly." --Jon Terbush
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
Bird flu one mutuation from human threat, study finds
Speed Read A Scripps Research Institute study found one genetic tweak of the virus could enable its spread among people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dark chocolate tied to lower diabetes risk
Speed Read The findings were based on the diets of about 192,000 US adults over 34 years
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published