Obama's 'Jedi Mind Meld' Shatters His Nerd Credibility

It's a good thing Obama isn't running for office again: the president, who has been known to be Spock-like and nerd-courting, just lost the support of both Star Wars and Star Trek fans. Well, except maybe J.J. Abrams.

In his sequester press conference today, the president made a joke about using a "Jedi mind meld." He said: "Even though most people agree that I'm being reasonable; that most people agree I'm presenting a fair deal; the fact they don't take it means I should somehow do a Jedi mind meld with these folks and convince them to do what's right." 

But a "Jedi mind meld" is not a thing that exists. There are Jedi mind tricks from Star Wars, and Vulcan mind melds from Star Trek. People from both the entertainment and political worlds were quick to correct—and make jokes about—the president.

Updated at 3:29 p.m. EST: 

Behold the power of this fully operational rapid response team! The White House, seeking to restore balance to Obama's damaged nerd cred, published the following statement via Twitter (along with this awesome picture). It's good to see the White House taking the sequester so seriously...

We must bring balance to the Force. #Sequester #JediMindMeld twitter.com/whitehouse/sta…

— The White House (@whitehouse) March 1, 2013