Even Gawker can't help but facepalm at Macklemore's inclusion in president's weekly address

Brett T. | 9:41 PM on May 14, 2016

Presidential candidate John Kerry told an MTV audience in 2004 that he is “fascinated by rap and by hip-hop,” further advising the young crowd, “You’d better listen to it pretty carefully, ’cause it’s important.”

Kerry must be kicking himself, then, to have learned he’s missed yet another opportunity to hang with a famous rapper. As Twitchy reported, President Obama in April quietly summoned an A-list of rappers to the White House to enlist as advisors in his criminal justice reform effort. And now, having added tackling the opioid and heroin epidemic to his to-do list, Obama has tapped Macklemore in a joint educational effort with MTV.

Even Gawker couldn’t help but react with snark to Macklemore’s appearance in the president’s weekly address.

President Obama: Don't do drugs or you'll end up like Macklemore https://t.co/20mfJkiNmF pic.twitter.com/XXLbk7h0Nj

— Gawker (@Gawker) May 14, 2016

Gawker notes that the pair’s video message “comes after President Obama was forced to spend an extended period of time with Macklemore, a recovering addict himself.” It’s a message that America’s youth need to hear, though: “Don’t do drugs. Don’t be like Macklemore.”

The president introduces Macklemore with an insider reference to “Same Love,” his 2012 song about marriage equality. Obama begins, “For those of you who don’t share the same love for hip-hop, he’s a Grammy-winning artist.” President Obama is a Grammy-winning artist himself, and he deserved that award every bit as much as he earned that Nobel Peace Prize.