{{Short description|Internet meme}}

'''Thanks, Obama''' is an [[Internet meme]] both seriously and [[political satire|satirically]] used in regard to former U.S. President [[Barack Obama]]'s [[Presidency of Barack Obama|policies]].

{{tweet

| left = yes

| text = Obamas failure is looking to be so complete he will [hand] the Republicans the white house for another 8 years. #thanksobama #tcot #hcr

| name = Riding Herd

| username = ridingherd|

| id = 3749411746

| date = Sep 4, 2009

}}

The saying first appeared in 2009 using the [[hashtag]] ''#thanksobama'' in a [[Twitter|tweet]] about President Obama's policies. Three months later, it was used in a [[demotivational poster]].<ref name=schwarz />

Shortly after the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] gained control of the [[United States House of Representatives|House]] in the [[2010 United States elections|U.S. midterm election of 2010]], the meme was repurposed by liberals, to satirically blame Obama for any kind of societal and economic ills.<ref name=schwarz /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/07/barack-obama-presidency-donald-trump-republicans|title=#ThanksObama: president's greatest legacy may be Trumping of the GOP|last=Roberts|first=Dan|date=May 7, 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref> One notable<ref>{{Cite web|title=My family's reaction to the last four years [OC]|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/reactiongifs/comments/12h3lg/my_familys_reaction_to_the_last_four_years_oc/|last=u/Martholomule|date=November 2012|website=[[Reddit]]|access-date=2022-02-01}}</ref> example came in 2012, when a picture of a man spilling food with the "Thanks Obama" caption was popular. In December 2012, the ''/r/thanksobama'' subreddit was started.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Thanks, Obama|url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/memes/thanks-obama/|access-date=2021-08-02|website=[[Dictionary.com]]}}</ref>

By 2015, it seemed the meme had run its course<ref name=schwarz>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/02/13/thanks-obama-the-evolution-of-a-meme-that-defined-a-presidency/|title='Thanks Obama.' The evolution of a meme that defined a presidency|last=Schwarz|first=Hunter|date=February 13, 2015|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref> after Obama used it in a [[BuzzFeed]] video.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/the-most-memorable-comedy-moments-of-the-obama-presidency/2016/09/02/0c655342-6880-11e6-99bf-f0cf3a6449a6_story.html|title=The most memorable comedy moments of the Obama presidency|last=Izade|first=Elahe|date=September 3, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref> Obama himself revived it in 2016, using it to poke fun at his critics<ref>{{cite news|url=http://abc7.com/news/president-cites-thanks-obama-to-poke-fun-at-critics/1242375/|title=President cites 'Thanks Obama' to poke fun at critics|date=March 11, 2016|publisher=[[KABC-TV]]|access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref> and to thank a supporter who, during a speech, yelled out at and thanked him for $2 gas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/obama-thanks-himself-for-lower-gas-prices-thanksobama/2016/09/14/e2cdfc24-7a6c-11e6-8064-c1ddc8a724bb_video.html|title=Obama thanks himself for lower gas prices #ThanksObama|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 14, 2016|access-date=September 16, 2016}}</ref>

On January 19, 2017, episode of ''[[The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]]'', Obama's last full day in office, [[Stephen Colbert]]'s [[Stephen Colbert (character)|original conservative character]] from ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' used the phrase to express gratitude to Obama for helping the Republican Party find a message of united opposition against him and succeed [[2016 United States presidential election|electorally]] again, only to later plead in fear for Obama to stay in office.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://ew.com/tv/2017/01/19/stephen-colbert-report-obama/|title=Stephen Colbert's ''Colbert Report'' alter ego returns for Obama's last day|last=Robinson|first=Will|date=January 20, 2017|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=September 4, 2017}}</ref>

* [[Let's Go Brandon]] – slogan which similarly gained popular use through viral memes to criticize or praise the presidency of [[Joe Biden]]

== References ==

[[Category:2009 neologisms]]

[[Category:Political Internet memes]]