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If Republicans were mad that Michelle Obama didn’t go to Donald Trump’s inauguration, what do they think about Barack Obama and George W. Bush sharing a pleasant moment? Nevermind, I don’t really care what they think… but I do want to talk about what Obama told Bush.
Everyone was super curious about this brief conversation, especially since Bush laughed. Thankfully, lip reader Jackie Gonzalez, whose TikTok account is @tismejackieg, figured it out and solved this mystery. She posted that Obama said, “Good to see you. Thank you. How can we stop what’s happening?” As she wrote in the caption, “obama ‘just barely’ behaving.” This was likely a reference to someone asking Bush “Are you going to behave?” at the inauguration and Obama saying “Nope.” Later, when Emily Davies, a journalist at The Washington Post, inquired if Bush did behave, Obama said, “Just barely.”
One user commented on Jackie’s TikTok, “I didn’t think I could love Obama more.” Another wrote, “This wins the internet today. Obama, help, we need you to figure that out.” Another said, “That giggle from Bush.” Perfection. Others said they miss Obama and there were several comments along the lines of “pls come back Obama.”
I love this moment so much because not only did it made everyone smile, however briefly, on a truly terrible day, but it’s a reminder of Obama’s heart and charm. With a big grin on his face, he tried to make the best of the situation, and he said what everyone was thinking. Is there a way to prevent Trump from being President once again? What’s that old saying, “Stop the world, I want to get off?” Please and thank you?
Gonzalez told My San Antonio that when she began posting lip reading TikToks, she saw that this helped her non-lip reading videos since so many people were looking at her content, and she kept going. She has read the lips of stars like Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Swift, and many people love visiting her social media accounts. She gets millions of views and for good reason. She said “Lip reading has always been about survival for me” and said, “Lip reading isn’t an art. It’s close to being a science.” She continued, “It’s about knowing the person’s vernacular and knowing their background and where they’re from.”
As noted by The San Antonio and also according to the National Deaf Children’s Society, reading lips doesn’t give the full picture and it’s necessary to rely on other tools. Someone can lip read 30-40% of words that are spoken. As the NDCS explained, kids can also learn Cued Speech and The Language of the Home, which also includes cochlear implants and hearing aids.
It’s definitely tough to watch Jackie’s video and not miss Obama dearly. According to a YouGov August 2024 survey of 1,102 Americans, 53% were “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to cast a 2024 vote for Obama. His “favorability rating” was 57%. It’s tempting to view the past with rose-colored glasses and of course there were problems in the world from Obama’s time in office, which was 2009 to 2017. But life feels particularly rough right now for so many people, and seeing Obama smiling might not solve everything… or even a few things. But it does help even a tiny bit, and that counts, right?