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GWEN IFILL: That brings us to the “NewsHour” Shares this evening, something that caught our eye that we thought you would like too.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of the blockbuster musical “Hamilton,” scored a White House first yesterday, performing a freestyle rap with the president.
Miranda joined the rest of the “Hamilton” cast in meeting with and performing for high school students yesterday at the White House. But it was the three-man performance in the Rose Garden, steps from the Oval Office, that went viral.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Drop the beat.
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA, Actor/Writer: He’s throwing up some words. I’m getting to say some freestyling that you never heard.
Constitution. The POTUS. I’m freestyling. You know this. Obamacare. OK, I’m looking up because it was hopeless before you enacted that system. The Federalist Papers, Hamilton wrote the other 51 and greater. And Sunny and Both is canine, is insane, asinine. Oh, my gosh, I’m freestyling down the line.
NASA, I want to see if we can get over to Mars and rap more bars. I spit bars, and leave a carbon footprint up on it, and lower my emissions. And this is Lin-Man freestyling. And Congress is the transmission. I hope that Congress works to our agenda. Innovation’s important. You really got to center yourself and create something.
We need a new justice for the Supreme Court. In short, oh, my gosh, this is my book report. And, immigrants, we get the job done. This so fun. POTUS is holding up the signs. I’m not done. It’s the Oval Office.
Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe I’m there. It’s so much more intimidating than if it was square. Opportunity knocks, and I can’t stop. I’m here with the president and my pops.
And, yo, the mic drops.
GWEN IFILL: Yo, the mic drops.
(LAUGHTER)
GWEN IFILL: I’m a crazy “Hamilton” fan, so that is fun for me.
JUDY WOODRUFF: I can’t wait to see it.
GWEN IFILL: Oh, got to.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And that’s the “NewsHour” for tonight.
On Wednesday: how the presidential campaign shapes up after today’s voting.
I’m Judy Woodruff.
GWEN IFILL: And I’m Gwen Ifill.
Yo, the mic drops.
Join us online and again here tomorrow evening. For all of us here at the “PBS NewsHour,” thank you, and good night.
The post Acclaimed musical ‘Hamilton’ visits the White House — and Obama joins in appeared first on PBS NewsHour.