Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Obama Mixes Up Star Wars with Star Trek; Twitter Geeks Explode

picard facepalm star trek meme

President Obama offended thousands of Star Trek AND Star Wars nerds by mixing up the franchise’s popular references.

The Hollywood Reporter explains his gaffe,

Addressing reporters about the so-called budget sequestration that would gut government spending at midnight, Obama said that he could not force congress to pass a bill to prevent the cuts’ implementation. He is a president, he said, not a dictator, and can’t use a “Jedi mind meld” to force Republicans’ hands.

His flub was combining a “Jedi mind trick” (from Star Wars) with a “Vulcan mind meld” (from Star Trek.) It’s almost a “malapropism” in which, one replaces “an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound.” (Thanks, wikipedia.) Mind trick, mind meld, preeeeettty close. Twitter freaked out, but I’m pretty sure 90% of it was in good fun. Man I hope it was in good fun.

Obama is a Star Trek fan, apparently. He invited old school Star Trek cast member Nichelle Nichols to the White House in 2012, and they posed in a photo doing the Vulcan salute.

Live long and may the force be with you, Obama.

6 CommentsLeave a comment