When his presidency comes to an end, Barack Obama may have a bright future in show business. Let’s face it — politics aside, the man’s got jokes and some seriously killer charisma, which he put on full display once again on Thursday as a guest on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” In the president’s first-ever appearance on the late-night talk show, he spoke to a number of contentious, topical issues, including the current state of the Republican Party, the impact of Bernie Sanders’ campaign on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and more. But perhaps most importantly, the President of the United States helped Jimmy Fallon “Slow Jam the News.”
Speaking to the many accomplishments of “my man Bareezus” over the last eight years, Fallon set quite the stage for Obama, whose facial expressions alone were probably enough to steal the show. But don’t worry — Obama wasn’t just a supporting character in this skit — he was the star (even if he did stay in the background). Taking a slightly more serious tone when discussing the importance of November’s election and the gravity of working alongside other world leaders, Obama’s message was accentuated by the always trusty “The Tonight Show” band, The Roots.
But then, there’s the real clincher — Obama’s remarkably straight-faced rendition of Rihanna’s “Work.” Seriously, watch it and try not to laugh.
And of course, no Obama late-night appearance would be complete without a jab at Donald Trump, which came neatly when the president notes, “Orange is not the new Black.” Sorry, Donald.
To cap off his rather epic performance, the Commander in Chief dropped the mic, perhaps for the last time as the sitting president. But something still tells us that Mr. Obama won’t be fading from public life anytime soon (no matter what he says about his anticipated Hawai’i vacation).
