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Barack Obama

politician · in 88 videos (2007–2025)

US president the brothers backed early: John proposed endorsing him in 2007, and Hank declared a 'man crush' in 2008. John joined a 2013 Google+ Hangout with him, and Hank interviewed him at the White House on 22 January 2015, an interview Hank still recalled in 2024.

Speaks in 5 videos; this page lists what is said about them.

Videos by year: 2007: 11 · 2008: 13 · 2009: 5 · 2010: 2 · 2011: 3 · 2012: 8 · 2013: 15 · 2014: 2 · 2015: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2025: 1

Also known as: Obama, President Obama

Threads

Also named in the threads: John asks Hank whether Brotherhood 2.0 should endorse a presidential candidate in the primary (2007) · Hank's Anagramming Guide to the presidential elections (2007) · The brothers' feud, to be judged by Nerdfighters (2007) · Hank's album So Jokes: release (2008) · P4A 2010 edition · SciShow: launch of Hank's science channel (2011) · Hank asks viewers to help keep the internet free from anti-piracy bills (2011)

Often together

What comes up in the same parts of the videos; the number is how many parts.

Republican Party (13) · United States presidential election (12) · Donald Trump (14) · United States Congress (11) · United States (15) · YouTube (12) · Brotherhood 2.0 (7) · Tumblr (4) · othering (2) · Montana (4)

What the videos say

The most important statements of each year; all statements.

2007

2008

  • 2008-02-04 · Obama Says Subscribe — Hank declares a 'man crush' on Obama and says he and John are both pretty much Obama supporters now. (playful, hedged) — 00:02:02
  • 2008-04-10 · Barack John Obama Green — Hank: Watching John's video from the day before, Hank noticed it sounded familiar, and he intercuts John's 'us problem' lines with Obama's speech. (playful) — 00:00:55
  • 2008-04-16 (said on 2008-04-17, implied) · ITCHY MUSIC! — Hank has a rash over his entire body; his doctor says it is a side effect of a viral infection he probably got at the Barack Obama rally. (hedged) — 00:00:00
  • 2008-04-24 · Pills Pills Pills — Hank says the illness he blamed on Barack Obama last week (week of 14 April 2008) was actually an allergy to sulfasalazine; his blood pressure fell to 80 over 40 and he needed IV rehydration. — 00:00:00
  • 2008-04-28 · Ranting and Giving Stuff Away — John says Hank had to go to the hospital and pay for it himself because, to save money, his doctor had given him a drug John calls known to be unsafe. — 00:02:45
  • 2008-06-04 · VEEPSTAKES! — John introduces ten of the most likely running mates for Barack Obama in 2008, giving an upside and a downside for each. — 00:00:46
  • 2008-06-16 · Maine Inspires Deep Thoughts — announcement: Hank announces that he and John are starting a temporary project, Obama's Idiots, about the 2008 presidential race, at youtube.com/obamasidiots. — 00:00:00
  • 2008-09-25 (said on 2008-09-24, implied) · Obama llama Duck — Hank explains that his old idea of the brothers punishing themselves for donations to Obama's campaign was dropped: good, but not achievable alongside Nerdfighters, EcoGeek and Paper Towns. — 00:00:00
  • 2008-09-26 · Obama Llama Song — Hank: The song urges listeners to vote for Barack Obama, wishes him luck and says he will be the next president. (playful) — 00:00:02
  • 2008-10-07 (said on 2008-10-08, implied) · Hank on the Debate — Hank reports Obama's answer: he would ask Americans to use less energy, grow Peace Corps enrolment and let young people serve, unlike being told to shop after 9/11. — 00:00:58
  • 2008-10-07 (said on 2008-10-08, implied) · John Green on the Debate — John says Barack Obama was the debate's second winner, sounding smart, ready and fired up, while John McCain wandered the stage as if lost. (playful) — 00:00:49
  • 2008-11-24 · DFTBA Records — announcement: Hank says the label's first release is his own album (joking about a 'promising young artist' with songs about Harry Potter, Barack Obama and Helen Hunt); the digital version is on sale now. — 00:00:53
  • …and 31 statements more in 2008 — all statements of 2008

2009

  • 2009-01-18 · PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA Inaugurated: Some Historical Background — John says that on Tuesday Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. — 00:00:00
    • John says he received an email claiming Obama would take the oath of office on the Quran. — 00:00:00
    • John says Obama will take the oath with his hand on the Bible, the same Bible Abraham Lincoln used. — 00:00:54
    • John says inaugural addresses matter but are usually boring, and suspects Obama's will be boring too despite his skill as a speechwriter. (hedged) — 00:02:12
    • John advises Obama to keep his inaugural address short and wear a coat, and congratulates him. (playful) — 00:02:41
  • 2009-01-20 · Hank's Journal!!! — recommendation: Hank cheers the new president and recommends watching Barack Obama's inauguration speech, calling it pretty amazing. — 00:03:32
  • 2009-02-15 · Stimulus Plan Explained — John argues that to avoid the spiral, now is the time to cut taxes and raise spending, which is exactly what the stimulus bill the president signs tomorrow is designed to do. — 00:02:22
  • 2009-12-30 · The STUPIDEST NEWS STORIES of 2009 (a song) — Hank: The song's refrain: many important things happened in 2009 (Iran's election, the recession, Obama's inauguration), yet what cable news covered seemed dumb. (playful) — 00:01:09
  • …and 1 statement more in 2009 — all statements of 2009

2010

  • 2010-08-22 · Is Obama a Muslim? Examine the Evidence! — John reports an opinion poll last week (week of 9 August 2010) found more than 20% of Americans believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim. — 00:00:01
    • John notes Obama repeatedly says he is a Christian but also repeatedly said he'd allow importing prescription drugs from Canada, which hasn't happened, so they won't take his word. (playful) — 00:00:08
    • John says no one can prove Obama has, or hasn't, ever said the Shahada. — 00:00:36
    • From Obama's public schedule: during evening prayers on April 8, 2010 he dined with Dmitry Medvedev, and during noon prayers on April 5, 2010 he hosted the White House Easter Egg Hunt; no one saw him pray. (playful) — 00:00:48
    • Per Obama's public tax returns, he and Michelle gave on average less than 1% of their income to charity in 2000-2005, so he was not performing zakat. (playful) — 00:01:27
    • John says Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to dusk in Ramadan, which began August 11 this year (2010); on August 17 Obama was photographed ordering and eating lunch, and he eats in daytime nearly every day. — 00:01:40
    • John says able Muslims must make the hajj to Mecca once; Obama hasn't and likely never will, since the Saudi government bars non-Muslims from Mecca. (hedged) — 00:02:03
    • Since Obama fails four of the five pillars (never mind beer and pork hot dogs), John concludes he is either not a Muslim or a really bad one. (playful) — 00:02:22
    • John stresses there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim; President Obama just isn't one. — 00:02:39
  • 2010-11-26 · p4a, Space Pasta, and Giant Squids of Anger — announcement: Hank says they just spoke with YouTube, which is giving them treatment like Conan O'Brien and the President get: a four-hour live stream on YouTube. — 00:00:54

2011

  • 2011-05-02 · Osama Bin Laden is Dead — Hank says Sunday, the first of May, was a fantastic day: breakfast downtown with Katherine, a part in friends' movie, Win Win, and A Clash of Kings on his porch. — 00:00:01
    • While Katherine was in the bathroom during a Mario Kart Wii game, Hank checked Twitter and ended up watching Obama's address with the Mario Kart music playing. — 00:00:31
    • Barack Obama (quoted): In his address Obama announces that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. — 00:00:41
    • Calling it a surreal moment, Hank admits he and Katherine high-fived, then raced the 100cc Banana Cup, which Katherine won. — 00:00:45
    • Obama ordered the assault just before flying to Alabama to survey tornado damage, and during the attack phoned Pakistan's president to tell him, without asking permission. — 00:02:27
    • Hank cannot imagine Donald Trump making that phone call and is glad Barack Obama was in charge just then. — 00:02:46
  • 2011-05-23 · Eating the Unicorn — John says he long said he doesn't believe in spoilers but, borrowing President Obama's phrase, his position is evolving: he now believes in them. — 00:01:50
  • 2011-07-11 · Hank Talks to NASA About the Space Shuttle — Hank says NASA has clearly embraced the spirit of Nerdfighteria, which means a great deal to him; he thanks NASA for understanding the community and Nerdfighteria for being awesome, noting that Charlie Bolden's boss is Barack Obama. — video description

2012

  • 2012-01-20 · Thoughts on SOPA From New Orleans — Hank thanks the internet, President Obama, Nerdfighters and John. — 00:02:01
  • 2012-04-03 · Idiotic Governance: How Our Political Discourse Hurts Our Economy — John: To be fair, John adds, some congressional Democrats want to reform Medicare, a few congressional Republicans thought the FAA funding fight an embarrassment, and President Barack Obama has consistently supported smart Medicare reform despite huge blowback from his own party. — video description
  • 2012-10-16 · Burning Peeps, My OTP, and Velociraptors: It's Question Tuesday — John: Asked whether Barack Obama's Tumblr really posted Hank's voting video, John first says no, then, surprised, tells Hank he is on the President's Tumblr. — 00:02:37
  • 2012-10-23 · Understanding the National Debt and Budget Deficit — John says Obama and Romney both favour unspecified spending cuts; Romney also favours a 20% across-the-board tax cut, Obama rolling back the Bush-era tax cut on income over $250,000. — 00:05:25
    • John says neither plan is likely to eliminate the deficit, which need not be eliminated, and neither is terribly radical. — 00:05:36
    • John says Obama wants a 39% top marginal income tax rate, which was over 50% every year from 1945 to 1986; Romney wants 28.5%, its level in 1989. (doubtful: over 50%; doubtful: 28.5%; doubtful: 28.5%) — 00:05:48
  • 2012-11-04 · Policy and Politics: Brotherhood 2.0 Week Begins — John: Obama's deficit-reduction plan would cut most families' taxes but tax income over $388,000 at 39%; Romney's would cut that top marginal rate to about 28%. — 00:00:00
    • For a married couple with one kid making $500,000, John says Obama's plan means about $5,000 more tax and Romney's about $36,000 less; most people are unaffected. — 00:00:29
    • Obama would raise the capital gains rate back to 20%, its level in 1997-2002; Romney would keep 15% but eliminate all tax on capital gains under $250,000. (doubtful: $250,000) — 00:02:26
    • John thinks Romney's idea is bad, since even people with a billion dollars in capital gains would get their first $250,000 untaxed, and Obama's plan better, but he might be wrong. (hedged) — 00:02:26
    • John concludes the two tax plans are somewhat different but neither is radical. — 00:02:55
  • 2012-11-07 · The 51st State — Hank: The UN, President Obama, Governor Romney and both the Democratic and Republican platforms all agree Puerto Rico should decide for itself whether to become a state. — 00:01:35
  • …and 3 statements more in 2012 — all statements of 2012

Also named in: Tumblr: The Musical

2013

  • 2013-02-12 · Talking to the President — John says that on Thursday he will be in a Google+ Hangout with President Barack Obama, and will probably have a cold sore, which he has begun to develop. (hedged) — 00:00:37
  • 2013-02-15 · Baby, Harlem, Obama, Dance Crazes, Big Week — Hank says John announced Sarah's pregnancy on the live stream with President Obama, which he calls the coolest way any baby has ever been announced; he is excited, proud and speechless. — video description
    • Hank reports that John got to interview the President a bit this week (14 February 2013), and shows a highlight. — 00:01:47
    • John: In the clip John tells the President almost all economists agree the US should stop minting pennies - obvious and not partisan - and asks why it hasn't been done. — 00:01:53
    • Barack Obama (quoted): Obama tells John that the main thing is to tell the child, whichever name they choose, not to forget to be awesome. — 00:02:49
  • 2013-03-12 · Understand the Sequester (Spoiler: It's Bananas.) — John says sequestration, originally proposed by President Obama, meant automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion over ten years if no deal: half defense, half other spending, very little to mandatory programs. — 00:03:17
  • 2013-04-02 · TFiOS Movie Casting, New Books, and Groundhog Wars: An Old School Vlogbrothers Video — John says he is about to have a child, due around May or June (Sarah points out he will not be the one having it, but he will be its father). — 00:02:26
  • 2013-05-07 · The Clif Bars Go in the Jar Because Mice: An Office Tour — John says Sarah (the Yeti) is due to have their baby on June 1, though it might come earlier. (hedged) — 00:03:04
  • 2013-05-17 · GIFs, JIFs, Whip Pans, Trivia, and BATMAN! — Hank: On GIF pronunciation, Hank says they say 'jif' though neither is incorrect; his question-asking double considers switching because the president said 'gif', but Hank won't. (playful) — 00:00:24
  • 2013-06-04 · A New Nerdfighter Baby — John announces in a pre-recorded video that his baby has been born; he jokes about his 'epic loins' before conceding Sarah did the birthing and he only reinforced the doctor's 'push'. (playful) — 00:00:01
    • In a short insert recorded after the birth, John reports that everything is good: baby and mother are healthy, and the parents are exhausted. — 00:01:45
  • 2013-07-12 · Oh, JK Rowling - A Harry Potter Song — John: Asked about Alice, John says she is great and beautiful and they love her; he thanks Nerdfighteria for its good wishes and says they enjoy being a family of four. — 00:02:59
  • …and 19 statements more in 2013 — all statements of 2013

Also named in: 53 Terrible Jokes!, Best Moments of the Project for Awesome

2014

2015

  • 2015-01-16 · Is School Broken? (Also...ANNOUNCEMENTS OF IMPORT) — announcement: Hank announces President Obama will have a conversation with him, hopefully about issues that matter to Americans, livestreamed on the White House's YouTube channel on January 22. (hedged) — 00:02:48
    • Hank says President Obama just announced he will try to make two years of community college free for all students. — 00:02:48
  • 2015-01-20 · REUNION MINIGOLF — Hank: Asked by John whether he is nervous about interviewing the President of the United States, Hank says yes; he is trying to golf. (playful) — 00:00:13 · also in: John and Hank Hanging Out but they Keep Getting Younger and More Pixelated
  • 2015-01-23 · Interviewing the President — Hank says that yesterday (22 January 2015) he interviewed the President of the United States at the White House in Washington, D.C., and shows how his day went. — 00:00:01
    • Hank officially has an outfit for the interview and GloZell pulls its tag off for him; a man who has played Obama in their rehearsals is introduced. — 00:00:32
  • 2015-01-30 · Thoughts from the Edge — recommendation: Hank: Under 'some other thoughts' Hank points to his essay 'Holy Shit, I Interviewed the President', an exploration of the news media's self-destruction, a PBS NewsHour Twitter chat on the news media, PBS Idea Channel on objectivity, and the BBC's 'News vs. Noise'. — video description
    • Hank says interviewing President Obama is something he could never regret, but being thrown into the public eye brought some people saying nasty things about him, which he is not used to. — 00:00:11
  • 2015-02-06 · You Will Be Forgotten ...And That's OK — Hank lists his successes: touring in a rock band, being written about in the New Yorker, helping raise over 2 million dollars for charity, Crash Course in thousands of schools, interviewing the President. — 00:01:16
  • 2015-10-23 · Benghazi: Explained — Hank says that, depending on who you ask, the Obama administration was either too optimistic about Libya's path to stability or criminally negligent in pretending all was well for political reasons. — 00:01:26
    • Hank calls it an awful terrorist attack and a tragedy, and says what people think about it depends largely on how they feel about President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. — 00:02:55
    • Hank says that right after the attack the CIA indicated, and the administration repeated, that it grew out of protests over an anti-Islam film, when it was a planned, organized terrorist attack. — 00:03:44
    • Hank says downplaying a crisis after it has happened is, at least to him, very far from criminal negligence. (hedged) — 00:04:08
  • …and 10 statements more in 2015 — all statements of 2015

Also named in: Mother Pheasant Plucker - A Song

2016

  • 2016-04-19 · Literally Hitler — John says that in August 2009 someone started a Tumblr called 'Obama is literally Hitler', satirizing comparisons between Obama and Hitler. — 00:00:00
  • 2016-04-22 · Clinton vs. Sanders: POLICY IS EXCITING! — Hank says both candidates share President Obama's plan to limit tax deductions taken by higher-income households. — 00:04:53
  • 2016-07-19 · Pretty Bad Ways to Start a Conversation — John says the grammatical ambiguity of the 'Power' lyric 'they say I was the abomination of Obama's nation, that's a pretty bad way to start a conversation' is important. (hedged) — 00:00:10
    • John says calling someone the abomination of Obama's nation is a bad conversation starter: it is name-calling and uses cleverness to seem correct. — 00:00:31
    • John says nicknames from 'Canadian Cruz' and 'Crooked Hillary' to 'Lying Donald' and 'Barry Obama' undermine and demean people too vaguely to defend against. — 00:01:14
  • 2016-12-30 · The Most Interesting Thing I've Ever Done — Hank lists the dream-like things of his ten years: friends, touring in a rock band, Carnegie Hall, a first home, creating VidCon, SciShow and Crash Course, a bobblehead, 2D glasses, interviewing the president. — 00:00:09
    • Hank says people elsewhere have figured these things out too and also lead the community, from Mark Twain to Vi Hart, Michelle Obama to Ze Frank, Reinhold Niebuhr to Nathan Zed. — 00:03:46

Also named in: You're Not Good Enough, P4A 2016 Hilarity Reprise - OVER $2M RAISED!!, 41 Dad Jokes in 4 Minutes! (with special guest star...)

2017

  • 2017-01-31 · Understanding Trump's Executive Order on Immigration — recommendation: John lists his sources: two Cato Institute analyses (on terrorism and immigration risk, and on the order's little national security benefit), the 2015 visa waiver law HR 158 and the 2016 addition of three countries, Reince Priebus on Meet the Press, NOAA's odds of death by lightning, the McCain and Graham statement, a Washington Post fact check that Obama slowed but did not stop Iraqi refugee applications in 2011, NPR on the 18-to-24-month approval process, the State Department on resettlement, and Pew on where 2016's refugees came from. — video description
    • The seven nations seem to have been chosen because 2015 and 2016 laws signed by President Obama required their residents to get a visa to visit the US. (hedged) — 00:00:29
    • In 2011 the Obama administration dramatically slowed refugee applications from Iraq for six months, an oft-cited precedent that John says is very different. — 00:03:13
  • 2017-07-18 · Accio Decade Hallows — John: Of John's five memories of shocked joy, the first two are his children's births: expected, yet both times the feeling, an overwhelmedness of joy and awe, was a complete surprise. (hedged) — 00:00:59
  • 2017-08-04 · Why Bullets are Good for the Environment — Hank says President Obama did a great job of keeping gas and energy prices low by having a lot of fracking happen in America. — 00:00:23
    • Hank says that, driven by this limited-time fear, Pittman-Robertson revenue rose during Obama's eight years from $310 million to a peak of over $800 million, giving states three times more conservation money. — 00:01:55

2019

  • 2019-02-05 · Deepfake: A Brief History of Unreliable Images — John says deepfake technology has been used to make Donald Trump, Barack Obama and many others say things they haven't actually said. — 00:00:29
  • 2019-03-19 · Writing and Marriage Advice from Michelle Obama — John says he is often asked for marriage and writing advice but feels unqualified; he loved how Michelle Obama wrote about marriage and memoir in Becoming, so he asked her. — 00:00:00
    • John tells Michelle Obama her writing on marriage resonated because his life changed very suddenly when The Fault in Our Stars was published, though not on a presidential level. — 00:00:29
    • Michelle Obama says she shared so much about her marriage because young couples know little about marriage when they marry; nobody gives a guidebook for building a life with another person. — 00:00:58
    • Michelle Obama says marriage is inherently unequal, and not just by gender: there is never a 50-50 split of 'you do half and I do half'; life isn't that clean. — 00:00:58
    • Michelle Obama says it was valuable that she and Barack were older when they married. — 00:00:58
    • Michelle Obama says people see her and Barack as relationship goals and only see the good stuff; not telling how hard it was would be dishonest about what it takes to build what they have. — 00:01:30
    • Michelle Obama says there is a reason second grade stuck with her; she still remembers not getting a star the first time because she didn't know the word "white": a mundane story that tells a truth about her consistent since age four or five. — 00:01:59
    • Michelle Obama says she doesn't worry about what she doesn't remember: we all remember maybe ten good childhood stories, each with meaning, and should value them enough to understand why they stuck. — 00:02:28
    • John says Mrs. Obama was lovely, generous with her time and good at making anxious people comfortable, which he appreciated because he was extremely anxious. — 00:03:04
  • 2019-12-17 · The Best Days of My Decade — John says the two best days of his decade and his life were the days his kids were born. — 00:00:09

2020

2021

2022

2024

  • 2024-05-10 · Three Whole Onions with Secretary Pete Buttigieg — In a channel comment Hank jokes that nine years ago (2015) he was interviewing Obama, so interviewing the Secretary could be a step down. (playful) — creator comment
  • 2024-07-05 · Should I Run for President?? — Hank says one of Trump's best-known accomplishments, appointing more Supreme Court justices in four years than Obama did in eight, was something he could not have avoided. — 00:02:59
  • 2024-08-07 · Dear Hank and John Livestream! — Hank: Their dad chose where to move from Florida with a spreadsheet scoring places, including Obama vote share; he picked Asheville, North Carolina, but now lives in Indianapolis. — 00:33:12
  • 2024-09-13 · My Governor is Weirder than Yours — Ryan Busse: Busse says that although Trump may win Montana by 10 to 20 points, Obama lost the state by only about three and a half to four points. — 00:25:15

2025

  • 2025-11-14 · The End of The Penny (and of Congress??) — Hank recalls that when John interviewed Obama on a Google+ Hangout about the penny, Obama said many small things that should be done are blocked by entrenched structures or the interests of a few. — 00:00:56
    • Barack Obama (quoted): In the replayed answer Obama says the penny needs legislation and that, given the big issues they face daily, they cannot get to it. — 00:00:56
    • Hank notes that Obama said he would need Congress to abolish the penny, and reminds viewers that presidents don't make laws. — 00:01:25
    • Hank says that historically, and in Obama's reading, 'necessary' meant however many pennies commercial demand requires, and every Treasury secretary read it that way. (hedged) — 00:01:55
    • Hank doesn't think Obama cared much about the penny and agrees there were more important things, but says that reasoning only holds if getting rid of the penny is difficult. — 00:02:24
    • Hank says Obama's view of the penny as a legislative question made sense in 2013, when Congress was still at least theoretically a law-making body, and asks whether it still is. — 00:03:22
    • Hank says this had a beginning: after Obama's election Mitch McConnell decided to filibuster everything so Obama could never do anything, and asks why, once that was done, everyone wouldn't do it. — 00:03:51
    • Hank thinks it would have been a huge controversy if Obama had declared the necessary number zero, called the end of democracy, while now it is eighth-page news. — 00:06:00