Hillary Clinton Doing The Nae Nae Is A Study In Vulnerability

In the video, it is apparent that the stateswoman has never attempted the dance before, which is insane given the meticulous care her appearance is given in literally every other situation. Presidential candidates do not go on talk shows to get punked. Even Barack Obama, while visiting a middle school in Alaska knew that he would be tasked with performing a traditional dance and said he had been practicing. I repeat: Obama practiced a dance he would be performing in a local middle school, but Clinton couldn’t find ten minutes to learn the nae nae — a dance that has surpassed meme status in terms of its own popularity — which she undoubtedly knew she would be performing on national television?

Regardless, the clip is an important cultural object — on Clinton’s face, we see an unyielding smile; in her eyes, desperation, and the memory of every politician’s attempt at relevance. Ted Cruz eating machine gun bacon, whip. Ted Cruz playing every Simpson character, nae nae. And so we beat on.

Clinton’s full interview with Degeneres will air on Thursday.