Barack Obama’s Improvised “Crowd Size” Gesture Caught Even His Speechwriters Off Guard
Barack Obama’s now-famous “crowd size” joke at the DNC the other night? The words themselves might have been expected by his speechwriters, but the leave-nothing-to-the-imagination hand gesture was a surprise. And all Obama.
Jon Favreau, Obama’s former White House director of speechwriting who assisted in the crafting of the DNC speech, reiterated on CNN today what he says during the latest episode of his podcast Pod Save America: Obama’s hand gesture, sizing up Donald Trump, wasn’t scripted.
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Obama’s full DNC quote about Trump: “Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago. It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually getting worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala. There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.”
And with that, Obama moved his hands apart and then closer together, executing a perfect double-take at their suggestive positioning.
Favreau, appearing with longtime colleague David Axelrod on CNN’s Inside Politics With Dana Bash, was asked about the viral moment. “I mean, the delivery on that?,” Bash said. “You obviously practiced that over and over again.”
“I’m telling you,” Favreau responded, “I swear, every draft of that speech, ‘crowd size’ – the line – kinda came in towards the end. He [wanted] that line in but we had no idea he was going to do that.”
On his podcast, Favreau further explains that the line – he calls it “the dick joke” – was actually written by Dan Pfeiffer, Obama’s former communications director, but in rehearsals Obama delivered the double entendre with no visual assistance. “He just put his hands on the podium,” Favreau says on the podcast.
RELATED: Watch Obama Roast Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton & CNN At His Final White House Correspondents’ Dinner In 2016
The line belittling Trump got big laughs at the DNC and nods of approval from late-night TV hosts. “I’ve said it for years, and I’ll say it again: the best Obama is standup Obama,” said Seth Meyers on NBC’s Late Night. Jordan Klepper on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show said, “That’s the second time this summer the Secret Service has failed to protect Trump from a lethal attack.”
Trump apparently wasn’t laughing. At a rally in North Carolina yesterday, he told his crowd, “He was taking shots at your president, and so was Michelle. You know they always say, ‘Sir, please stick to policy. Don’t get personal.’ And yet they’re getting personal all night long.”
Axelrod, appearing with Favreau on CNN today, couldn’t let well enough alone though. When his old friend explained about Obama’s improvising, Axelrod said, to groans and laughter, “Maybe he was inching toward something.”
We're just a few hours away from the grand finale of the Democratic National Convention. How should Vice President Kamala Harris frame her big speech? Two of the brilliant minds behind President Obama's political success @davidaxelrod and @jonfavs weigh in on @InsidePolitics pic.twitter.com/fA1DTDht54
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) August 22, 2024
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