Even though President Barack Obama’s White House budgeted nearly $700 million to market Obamacare, Obama falsely claimed on Tuesday that his administration never tried to sell the law feverishly.
“We didn’t make a hard sell,” Obama farcically claimed on Tuesday as he was touting the 7.1 million Americans who have enrolled in Obamacare. “We didn’t have billions of dollars of commercials like some critics did.”
Perhaps he made his remarks in an attempt to make it seem like there was a lot of demand for Obamacare and Americans signed up for it without being compelled to do so.
But the Obama administration budgeted at least $684 million to promote the law, according to an Associated Press report. And the Obama administration’s full-court press to blanket the airwaves with advertisements and public service announcements was evident last month. Obama and his team convinced popular athletes like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to sell Obamacare as commercials for the law ran on outlets like ESPN. Administration officials went on various radio shows. Obama even appeared on Between Two Ferns. And Vice President Joe Biden, as Breitbart News reported, went on Rachel Ray’s show on the deadline to sign up for Obamacare to sell the plan as host Rachel Ray was moved to tears.
In addition to sports stars, entertainers like Alyssa Milano, Sarah Silverman, Taye Diggs, Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Wilde, and Gabrielle Union, among others, have been selling the law for the last six months, and their endorsements are often worth more and cut through the clutter faster than the infamous “Pajama Boy” ads.
Here are just a handful of the celebrities, most of whom were prodded by the White House, that gave the law plenty of advertisement:
Today’s the last day…do it! #getcovered http://t.co/2VPFhaXpog pic.twitter.com/vzsPcaw64a
— Connie Britton (@conniebritton) April 1, 2014
It’s time to #GetCovered at http://t.co/SgKBFOZB7j. pic.twitter.com/K0vvb70yRG
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) October 2, 2013
F the shutdown. The Health Insurance Marketplace is now open in every state. Don’t wait another day to #GetCovered! http://t.co/LTfvyg1FIR
— John Legend (@johnlegend) October 1, 2013
Questions about the new Health Insurance Marketplace?http://t.co/030gHrsh3M#GetCovered pic.twitter.com/JvX0D7w8Nq
— Kate Bosworth (@katebosworth) October 3, 2013
Questions about the new Health insurance marketplace? Head to http://t.co/a82tnOWbaA to get #GetCovered pic.twitter.com/NRqhcAlEAf
— AmyPoehlerSmartGirls (@smrtgrls) October 2, 2013
No health insurance? #GetCovered at http://t.co/UXOCXTcNYT pic.twitter.com/A7XPcdHJK7
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) October 2, 2013
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