Need to know

Barack Obama appears on Between Two Ferns

Zach Galifianakis lands himself a high-profile guest. But booking the spot was difficult.

Comedian Zach Galifianakis landed himself a high-profile guest on the latest edition of his Funny or Die web series Between Two Ferns. That guest was President Barack Obama.

Of course, working out the scheduling was difficult.

“Sorry I had to cancel a few times,” Galifianakis tells the President in his opening line. “My mouse pad broke last week, and I had to get my great aunt some diabetes shoes and uhhh…”

Their very important topics of conversation include pardoning a turkey in 2013 and plans for turkey pardoning in 2014, “Ambassador Rodman” going to North Korea, and who Obama was cheering for in the Olympics.

The President also gets in his own dig at Galifianakis: “If ran a third time, it would be kind of like doing a third Hangover movie. It didn’t really work out very well, did it?”

About half way into the interview, Obama makes it clear why he is on the show.

“I wouldn’t be here today if I didn’t have something to plug,” the President says. “Have you heard of the Affordable Health Care Act?”

He goes on to plug the value of healthcare.gov for younger Americans, presumably the ones watching Between Two Ferns, many who have not signed up for the new American health-care program ahead of the March 31 deadline.

This is the 18th episode of Between Two Ferns, which features usually awkward interviews with Galifianakis and other celebrities, well, between two ferns. Past guests have included Canada’s own Justin Bieber, Natalie Portman and Richard Branson.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.