And Then I Said Obama Meme Template
This Obama photograph is a variant of the older “And Then I Said” image-macro convention. Know Your Meme documents that convention as group-laughter photos captioned “And then I said” or “And then we said,” followed by an empty promise or implausible proposition; the earliest documented version used a different photo of Ronald Reagan and staff. The particular Obama template is documented in a 2012 Know Your Meme gallery. The supplied Context attributes this specific photo to Pete Souza and a July 2009 Oval Office meeting, but the cited meme/archive sources do not independently establish those specific details, so treat them as unverified.
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How to use this meme template
What the And Then I Said Obama meme means
This Obama photograph is a variant of the older “And Then I Said” image-macro convention. Know Your Meme documents that convention as group-laughter photos captioned “And then I said” or “And then we said,” followed by an empty promise or implausible proposition; the earliest documented version used a different photo of Ronald Reagan and staff. The particular Obama template is documented in a 2012 Know Your Meme gallery. The supplied Context attributes this specific photo to Pete Souza and a July 2009 Oval Office meeting, but the cited meme/archive sources do not independently establish those specific details, so treat them as unverified.
A two-caption image macro with Barack Obama and several people laughing together. The text areas are above and below the photograph; the laughter acts as the reaction to the quoted claim.
How the joke works
Slot 1 is a short narrative lead-in, usually “And then I said…” or a close variation. Slot 2 is the implausible boast, empty promise, or absurd claim that supposedly made the group laugh. The contrast between the speaker’s grandiose line and the laughter sells the joke. Keep the two captions in that order; do not use slot 1 for the punchline or make slot 2 a disconnected reaction.
- Top caption: brief story lead-in such as “And then I said…” that introduces the speaker’s quoted claim.
- Bottom caption: the implausible promise, boast, or absurd statement that supposedly triggered the laughter.
Caption examples
- And then I said…
- “THERE'S NOTHING HIDDEN IN AREA 51”
The first caption sets up a quotation and the second is an obviously implausible delivery promise, matching the laughing image’s empty-promise joke grammar. Illustrative, unreviewed example.
- “We launched the update yesterday.”
- And then I said…
The captions reverse the template’s lead-in and punchline order, and the claim itself is ordinary rather than absurd. Illustrative, unreviewed example.
Situations it fits
- an obviously unrealistic product or delivery promise
- a mock boast about an implausible business result
- a knowingly exaggerated claim in a meeting
- a playful anecdote where the quoted line is absurd enough to explain the laughter
When this format does not fit
- Do not reverse the lead-in and the quoted punchline.
- Do not use a mundane, plausible statement that does not explain the group’s laughter.
- Do not present the standard original “And Then I Said” meme as originating with the Obama photograph; the format predates this variant.
- Do not claim the July 24, 2009 date, precise location, photographer, or identities of every person as verified by the meme archive.
- Do not use a real-world harmful or demeaning claim as the joke’s punchline.
