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#MemeOfTheWeek: Must Be FLOTUS On The Mic

NPR | By Susan Davis
Published December 10, 2015 at 5:01 PM EST
YouTube

Earlier this month, this picture of Pope Francis holding a mic in a classic rap pose during his visit to Africa went viral on Twitter with the inspired hashtag #PopeBars.

Here at NPR, we loved it. Sample favorites:

But the meme didn't fit neatly into our #memeoftheweek because it wasn't really tied to politics.

Today that problem is solved, thanks to #FLOTUSBars!

First Lady Michelle Obama collaborated with College Humor and Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Pharoah on a rap video encouraging high school seniors to go to college. It's part of Obama's "Better Make Room" initiative.

To be clear, the first lady actually spits rhymes in the video. Real lyrics:

If you wanna fly jets / You should go to college / Reach high and cash checks / Fill your head with knowledge

The video is cute — kids, college is great! — but what quickly emerged on Twitter as the real hit is #FLOTUSbars inspired by the picture of the first lady at the mic.

Sample favorites:

The first lady has been a savvy user of viral media to promote her initiatives.

Her "Evolution of Mom Dancing" video with Jimmy Fallon has clocked over 23 million views on YouTube. The video was a promotion for her "Let's Move" campaign.

Just hours after the video release Thursday, #FLOTUSBars had already been tweeted over 32,000 times.

We can only hope that the #bars meme finds its way into the 2016 presidential race.

#CruzBars anyone?

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Susan Davis
Susan Davis is a congressional correspondent for NPR and a co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. She has covered Congress, elections, and national politics since 2002 for publications including USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal, National Journal and Roll Call. She appears regularly on television and radio outlets to discuss congressional and national politics, and she is a contributor on PBS's Washington Week with Robert Costa. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., and a Philadelphia native.
See stories by Susan Davis

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Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

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