Thanks, Obama is an

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

both genuinely and

satirically Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or ...

used in regard to

policies Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

pursued by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

from 2009 to 2017.

History

The saying first appeared in 2009 using the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

''#thanksobama'' in a tweet about President Obama's policies. Three months later, it was used in a demotivational poster. Shortly after the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

gained control of the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

in the U.S. midterm election of 2010, liberals and Democrats repurposed the meme to blame Obama satirically for disparate societal or economic ills. One notable example came in 2012, when a picture of a man spilling food with the "Thanks Obama" caption was popular. In December 2012, the ''/r/thanksobama''

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was created. By 2015, it seemed the meme had run its course after Obama used it in a

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video. Obama himself revived it in 2016, using it to poke fun at his critics and to thank a supporter who, during a speech, yelled out at and thanked him for $2 gas. On the January 19, 2017 episode of ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

'', Obama's last full day in office,

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

's original conservative character from ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...

'' used the phrase to express gratitude to Obama for helping the Republican Party find a message of united opposition against him and succeed electorally again, only to later plead in fear for Obama to stay in office. In 2022, the Twitter account for President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

(who had served as

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

in the Obama administration) posted the phrase in response to a tweet by Obama acknowledging the passage of the

Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a United States federal law which aims to reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was ...

References

{{Reflist 2009 quotations Barack Obama controversies Internet memes introduced in 2009 Political Internet memes introduced from the United States

History

See also

References