Obama Burns Trump, Spreads Pro-Choice Message on 'The Tonight Show'
By: Michael ArbeiterEarlier this month, President Barack Obama proved that he and Jon Stewart are the perfect comic duo when they fostered a back-and-forth banter on The Daily Show with a velocity that'd impress even the cast of Happy Endings. But Obama's wit isn't any less on point in the absence of Stewart, as the head of state made evident on his Wednesday night visit to The Tonight Show. Obama returned to the NBC set just in time to discuss the presidential debates, the forthcoming election, and (most importantly, of course), the great Donald Trump.
As the public is well-aware, Trump — an outspoken opponent of the president — promised on Tuesday to reveal a "huge" Obama-related secret, which turned out to be the entrepreneur's pledge to donate $5 million to charity of the Commander-in-Chief's choice in the event that he publicize his college records and application and passport records and application. When asked by Leno to identify the root of this enmity that has existed between Trump and himself, Obama offered the crowd-pleasing joke, "This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya."
The pres also took a few jabs at his own debate performance (noting his subpar turn in the first round), his home life (admitting, "With Michelle, I just concede every point," and that he struggles with daughter Malia's high school math assignments), and one at his opponent in the race for the White House, former Gov. Mitt Romney. During a segment in which Leno asked the president questions written by audience members, one such (particularly facetious) message queried Obama about how to cure the "disease" of "Romnesia." Obama laughingly replied, "Obamacare covers preexisting conditions," earning another big cheer from the crowd.
But the applause received by any of the POTUS' gags was nothing compared to the response he got following his statement regarding the issue of abortion. The president discussed a good deal of political issues with sincerity, ranging from the economy to various elements of foreign policy, but none elicited quite the cheers that his remarks on a woman's right to choose did. Leno read Obama a quotation from senatorial candidate Richard Murdock, which read, "Life is a gift from God. Even if life begins in the horrible situation of rape, it is something God intended to happen." To this, Obama declared definitively, "This is exactly why we don't want a bunch of politicians — mostly male — making decisions about women's health care decisions," insisting that "women are capable" of maintaining responsibility for their own bodies and lives. Obama added, "For politicians to want to intrude in this stuff, often without any information, is a huge problem."
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