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.
Thanks to Evil Beet
