Obama’s “Jackass” Comment about Kanye was Off the Record

By Amanda Pendolino on September 16th, 2009

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Man, this whole Kanye/Taylor Swift thing will just not die! I’m starting to believe that maybe the whole thing really was a planned stunt, since it has kept both artists in the headlines for days. The latest slice of gossip in this never-ending pie is that President Obama even weighed in, calling Kanye a “jackass” before an interview with CNBC. (The audio of the comment has surfaced on TMZ.)

His full remark was: “I thought that was really inappropriate. He’s a jackass.” Afterward, Obama changed the topic, saying “Where’s the pool?” He instantly knew it would be a bad thing if the joke was leaked to the press; he commented the last time that happened, he was criticized for killing a fly. Obama said, “Cut the President some slack.”

Should we cut him some slack? The thing is, Obama may actually owe a lot to all of the young celebrities who supported him while he ran for president, including Kanye. But the remark was off the record (an ABC News staffer Tweeted it, making it public), and I’m sure there have been countless remarks  – and probably much worse ones – made by past presidents in a pre-Twitter world. Remember pre-Internet? Pre-TV? George Washington had it so easy.

Plus, maybe we should let Obama focus on, you know, running the country. Getting people health care and stuff.