President Obama says “invincible”; Zach Galifianakis says “invisible.”
“The point is that a lot of young people, they think they’re invincible,” Obama said to the stand-up comedian and actor on Funny or Die web-series Between Two Ferns.
“Did you say invisible?” Galifianakis responded.
“Meaning they don’t think they can get hurt,” the president said.
Host Galifianakis welcomed Obama on the latest edition of Between Two Ferns, an Internet comedy show where he speaks with celebrities — and now, political figures. Obama’s agreement to appear in the series was his most recent attempt to appeal to the young generation and spread awareness about his health care law. They recorded the interview two weeks ago and released it online Tuesday morning.
“I think it’s fair to say that I wouldn’t be here with you today if I didn’t have something to plug,” Obama said when asked about HealthCare.gov, the Obamacare website. He continued to tell Galifianakis the website “works great now” and millions of Americans have been able to sign up for insurance since its infamous rocky roll-out last October.
“What we want is for people to know that you can get affordable health care. Most young Americans, right now, they’re not covered, and the truth is they can get coverage all for what it costs to pay your cell phone bill,” Obama said.
The percentage of Americans without health insurance dropped more than 1% in the last few months, falling from 17.1% to 15.9% since the fourth quarter of 2013. But Republicans refuse to neglect their campaign to repeal the law. House Republicans are scheduled to take their 51st vote this week to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
Galifianakis began the conversation by asking Obama about his plans for 2014 after he pardoned a turkey ahead of Thanksgiving last year.
“I have to know: What is it like to be the last black president?” Galifianakis also asked.
“Seriously? What’s it like for this to be the last time you ever talk to a president?” Obama fired back, adding that running for a third presidential term would be similar to making a third Hangover movie, in which Galifianakis stars, which, the president said, “didn’t really work out very well.”
Galifianakis questioned Obama about his birth certificate, the location for his eventual presidential library, and the National Security Agency. He also suggested Obama make “same-sex divorce” illegal.
“I think that’s why you’re not president,” Obama said. “And that’s a good thing.”
Obama has agreed to similar appearances in the past, including debuting on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to “slow-jam” the news, hosting Google Hangouts, and answering questions from retired professional basketball player Charles Barkley.
“So which country were you rooting for in the Winter Olympics?” Galifianakis asks to conclude the interview.
Michele Richinick