Obama Says He "Fantasized" About Women Running Every Government — And the Internet Brought Receipts

Barack Obama is back in the viral spotlight after a Monday interview with historian Doris Kearns Goodwin at Salem State University. The former president said he“sometimes fantasized”about putting women in charge of every government for two years just to see how things would go. He added that things would not be perfect, but they’d be better, and that he’s confident about it. The audience laughed. Social media did not.

The backlash centered on one detail critics could not get past: Obama defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary, a race many saw as the country’s best shot at electing its first female president. The clip racked up shares within hours, with commenters on both sides arguing over whether the remark was a meaningful point about representation or an ironic soundbite that aged instantly.

The rest of the interview got far less attention. Obama said the country is more united than politics and media suggest, and that progress on women’s, LGBTQ, and civil rights has not been reversed. One sentence, though, is doing all the work online today. So we want to know: was his“fantasy”a fair point worth discussing, or did he just hand the internet a new favorite meme? Drop your take in the comments.