Watch President Obama slow-jam his presidency with Jimmy Fallon
President Obama's appearance on Thursday's Tonight Show (taped Wednesday) wasn't just a sit-down with host Jimmy Fallon; it was also a chance for Obama to stand up with Fallon and slow-jam the news. The purported "news" in this case was Obama leaving office next year, and Obama dutifully touted his accomplishments so Fallon could turn them into deep-voiced double entendres and innuendo. "Oh, yeah. President Obama stimulated long-term growth, in both the public and the private sector," Fallon cooed, for example.
Sometimes Obama sounded like a president, and other times he got more into the spirit of the bit, liked when he turned his support for the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal into a riff on the Naughty by Nature song "O.P.P.," or when he distilled his environmental and social agenda like this: "In short, climate change is real, health care is affordable, and love is love." But the 2016 election crept in, too, like when Obama said he hasn't been watching recent TV coverage of Donald Trump, just his favorite new show, Orange Is Not the New Black. And Tariq slipped in this couplet: "He created tons of jobs for you and me, and he's got one more left for Hillary." Watch below. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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