Forget all the unanswered questions about ObamaCare or the President's sinking poll numbers or the Democratic Party's vulnerability in the midterm elections, on Wednesday's NBC Today, all that was wiped away by President Obama taking a selfie with Red Sox player David Ortiz. [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]
As fill-in news anchor Tamron Hall put it, "In a town where they don't agree on a lot, I think everyone agrees that this was a pretty cool moment....The Red Sox meeting with the President.... Big Papi [David Ortiz] with the President preparing to take his official photo. Then, he went rogue....The Big Papi selfie....Look at those smiles there. A good day in Washington."
The morning show cast spent several moments of the nearly two-minute segment playing a guessing game about which White House staffer donned a Red Sox cap and fake beard during the team visit. Hall finally broke the suspense: "This is White House Press Secretary and Red Sox superfan Jay Carney. He wore the beard in honor of the team. You know, they grew out their beards for the series."
Co-host Savannah Guthrie started off the exchange by declaring "a big day at the White House." After running footage of Obama and Ortiz taking their selfie, Hall gushed: "And you can bet it was trending. Over 33,000 re-tweets."
Meanwhile, Today spent a total twenty seconds on the President claiming victory over ObamaCare enrollment numbers.
Here is a full transcript of the April 2 segment on Obama meeting with the Red Sox:
7:21 AM TEASE ET
TAMRON HALL: We will discuss this selfie that just has Twitter all abuzz this morning. Boston Strong in D.C. We're going to show you more images of when the Sox went to the White House.
7:50 AM SEGMENT ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Tamron's over in the Orange Room for Carson. Big day at the White House yesterday, the Red Sox came.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Red Sox at the White House; Big Papi Snaps Selfie With President]
TAMRON HALL: Yes. Yes, guys, in a town where they don't agree on a lot, I think everyone agrees that this was a pretty cool moment. Yes, the world champions came to town. The Red Sox meeting with the President. Look at all the smiles there. I've got a quiz for you, can you tell me who this is?
[PICTURE OF WHITE HOUSE STAFFER WEARING RED SOX CAP AND FAKE BEARD]
MATT LAUER: That is – you gotta put it back up for one second.
HALL: You got it?
LAUER: Can you put it up one more second?
HALL: Come on.
GUTHRIE: I can't see.
LAUER: That's Chuck Todd.
HALL: That would be funny if it were Chuck Todd. No, this is White House Press Secretary and Red Sox superfan Jay Carney.
HOSTS: Oh.
HALL: He wore the beard in honor of the team. You know, they grew out their beards for the series. The President joked he didn't recognize the Red Sox because they'd all shaven.
But I've delayed long enough, because this is the moment everyone was talking about. Big Papi [David Ortiz] with the President preparing to take his official photo. Then, he went rogue. Take a look.
BARACK OBAMA: It looks like it might fit him better than me, though. Alright, come on, let's get a good picture here. Come on.
DAVID ORTIZ: Actually, do you mind if I take my own?
OBAMA: Oh, he wants to do a selfie.
ORTIZ: Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
OBAMA: It's the Big Papi selfie.
HALL: The Big Papi selfie. And you can bet it was trending. Over 33,000 re-tweets. And this was the end result. Look at those smiles there. A good day in Washington.
The other moment everyone's talking about, Jonny Gomes. We heard he might do this. But guys, it's true, he wore, I think, the cleanest jacket in town that day. The flag there.
[PICTURE OF GOMES WEARING RED AND WHITE STRIPED JACKET]
So we asked people to tweet us their patriotic outfits. Look at these cuties there from Dawn Elizabeth and the pups there. So there you have it, an exciting day in D.C. Red, white, and blue all the way.
LAUER: Very, very nice. I think some Olympic athletes head to the White House today and tomorrow, or something like that. So a big sports week in Washington.
GUTHRIE: They probably may have set a precedent for the selfie.
NATALIE MORALES: Yeah. Absolutely.
