Barack Obama: “I don’t care about Pokémon”

Barack Obama does not care about Pokémon. He’s not alone among US presidents in that regard - I suspect the likes of Nixon, FDR, or Lincoln haven’t thought too much about Charmander - but he is unique in making his disinterest in Nintendo’s massive franchise publicly known. “I don’t care about Pokémon,” Obama says, “but that doesn’t mean it won’t keep coming back.” As you might have already surmised, this is in response to voters who say “I don’t care about politics” - that’s an excuse the former president doesn’t have much time for. “That’s actually what people in power are betting on. That you’ll check out. That you won’t vote. When you opt out, that’s what allows other people to essentially fill that void. It allows them to do nothing about the things that you’d like to see government do. So if you really want to throw a wrench in their plans, throw them out. Vote in somebody better.” The Pokémon reference makes a solid transition - it’s certainly a more natural political pop culture reference than the time Hillary Clinton said “I’m trying to figure out how we get them to have Pokémon Go to the polls.” Obama’s comment seems to have less meme potential, though.