Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

President Obama ‘slow jams’ the legacy of his eight-year presidency on Jimmy Fallon show

Talk of 'lowering unemployment to less than 5%' sounded good - but it was even better set to live jazz music

 

Rachael Revesz
New York
Friday 10 June 2016 20:01 BST
Comments
Mr Obama is the 'Baracky with the good hair', joked Jimmy Fallon
Mr Obama is the 'Baracky with the good hair', joked Jimmy Fallon (Jimmy Fallon Tonight show / YouTube)

“When I first took office, the nation was facing one of the worst recessions in its history. Since then we’ve added more than 14 million new jobs and lowered the unemployment rate to under 5 per cent.”

They were strong words from president Barack Obama. But he was not speaking on the campaign trail - on behalf of Hillary Clinton - or in front of his colleagues at the White House.

His words, accompanied to the sounds of “slow jam” music, were delivered on the Jimmy Fallon Tonight show.

“Barack lit some candles and got some silky satin sheets,” added Mr Fallon, making quips about the president “stimulating growth in the private sector”.

Mr Obama pulled a good deadpan face over his shoulder, with just the occasional flicker of a smile.

Referring to Mr Obama’s endorsement of Ms Clinton, the show's background singer continued: “He created tons of jobs, for you and me, and he has got one more left for Hillary.”

“When the Republicans gave him lemons, he made so much lemonade that Beyonce started calling him ‘Baracky with the good hair’,” Mr Fallon said.

Mr Obama joked that he has an “Hawaiian vacation” booked for 223 days time and would not continue for a third term as president.

Giving off an impression of impeccable coolness, Mr Obama dropped his microphone from one hand to the other, shook Mr Fallon’s hand and walked off stage.

During the sit-down interview on the same episode, the comedian and the president wrote “thank you” notes to celebrate the end of Mr Obama’s second term.

Mr Fallon joked about the scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton’s email server.

“Thank you Hillary Clinton for possibly becoming the first f— president. I would have said “female” but someone deleted the email,” he said.

Mr Obama also took a jab at Republican nominee Donald Trump.

“Thank you Congress, for spending eight years wishing you could replace me with a Republican. Or, to put it another way, how do you like me now?”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in