Obama Thanks 5-Year-Old 'Batkid' for Saving San Francisco From 'Crimes'
Thousands of people in San Francisco, Calif., helped a five-year-old leukemia survivor fulfill his wish of being Batman for a day. President Obama did his part by appearing in a Vine, congratulating Miles Scott, the Batkid, whose heroic efforts saved the "Gotham City" from staged crimes.
"Way to go, Miles! Way to save Gotham!" Obama said in a short Vine message released by the White House to congratulate the five-year-old.
Politico reports it's the first Vine the White House has published featuring Obama, according to the White House Director of Online Engagement. Obama is among dozens of politicians who have publicly encouraged Batkid.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, Miles became Batman for a day on Friday. He traveled around in a Lamborghini Batmobile, driven by a man dressed as Batman, fighting staged crimes in San Francisco, which was turned into Batman's hometown of Gotham.
Miles's mission for the day started with a fraught message from San Francisco police chief Greg Suhr seeking Batkid's help in dealing with criminal activities in the city.
Dressed up in the cape and cowl, Batkid saved a woman who was taken hostage and tied to cable car tracks with what appeared to be an improvised explosive device strapped to her back. Thousands of people stormed the streets to watch the staged incident at the Grand Hyatt in Union Square.
Miles, whose cancer is in remission after a treatment of chemotherapy that ended this summer, was then back in his Batmobile for another rescue operation, this time to deal with a criminal called the Riddler who was trying to rob a bank vault. Downed by Batkid, the Riddler was taken away in a San Francisco police department truck.
In yet another staged scene, Batkid then saved the city from a miscreant known as Penguin in the downtown area.
The city's mayor and police were among the thousands who helped Miles fulfill his wish to become a superhero for a day.
In its front-page story, The San Francisco Chronicle thanked Batkid for saving the city. "Batkid Saves City," read the headline.
"I've been planning the wish and working with the family since March," People Magazine quotes Patricia Wilson, executive director of the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area chapter, as saying. "[Miles] worked with our volunteers up in Northern California. He wanted to be Batman. When I knew the wish, I made my crazy declaration that I was going to turn San Francisco into Gotham City."
