Hillary Clinton Teasingly Talks Trump and Sexism With Zach Galifianakis on ‘Between Two Ferns’
One has to wonder how Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has time to sit down for an irreverent interview with actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis on his Web series, Between Two Ferns. But maybe it’s best not to overanalyze when such a gift is dropped in our laps.
“Where is he? Where’s Zach?” Clinton wonders aloud, just as the creaking of tiptoeing steps announces the arrival of Galifianakis, wearing a Grim Reaper mask … until two Secret Service men tackle him to the ground.
“I’m just trying to scare her!” he shouts. “Just trying to get into the … Halloween spirit of it all!”
“Not a good idea around the Secret Service,” Clinton advises.
And so begins five minutes of insanity, courtesy of Galifianakis’s strange questions and Clinton’s willingness to go along with the joke.
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According to Politico, it was Clinton’s people who pitched Funny or Die on the idea of her Between Two Ferns appearance, which was inspired by President Obama’s interview with Galifianakis back in 2014.
As the show’s director and executive producer, comedian Scott Aukerman, told Politico, “It was actually her idea, strangely enough … She told her team she wanted to do it and that she really liked the one with President Obama, so that kind of made the process really easy. We didn’t have to go through the hoops we sometimes have to go through in order to even get Hollywood people to do it.”
And Clinton must’ve wanted to do it really badly — the mostly improvisational interview was taped at the New York Historical Society on Sept. 9, the same day she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Clinton was so adept at hiding it that the production team didn’t know she’d been ill until later.
Aukerman also told Politico there aren’t currently any plans to have Donald Trump on the show, but not for the reason that you might think. “No, we have not invited Trump to do Between Two Ferns,” Aukerman said. “I don’t think he would do it … I don’t think he has thick enough skin.”
Throughout the course of the clip, Galifianakis asks Clinton a range of semiserious and not-at-all-serious questions, ranging from what it would feel like to be the first woman (or “girl,” as he puts it) president, to her postelection plans if Donald Trump takes the White House. But it’s the delightfully bizarre moments that make for the most magic. Take this exchange, for example:
“As secretary, how many words can you type per minute?” Galifianakis asks. “And how does President Obama like his coffee? Like himself? Weak?”
“You know, Zach, those are really out-of-date questions,” Clinton tells him. “You need to get out more.”
“What happens if you become pregnant?” he persists. “Are we going to be stuck with Tim Kaine for nine months? How does this work?”
“I could send you some pamphlets that might help you understand,” Clinton offers.
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And then there’s the moment where Galifianakis questions Clinton on Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, which she supported as secretary but changed her mind on later. As Galifianakis presses her to take a firm stance, he asks, “Are you down with TPP?”
Clinton shakes her head. “I’m not down with TPP.”
Galifianakis is disappointed. “No, you’re supposed to say, ‘Yeah, you know me.’ Like the hip-hop groove…”
“Don’t tell me what to say,” Clinton says, cutting him off.
“Fine, lose,” he snaps. “Country goes to s***.”
From asking Clinton if she ever thinks she should be more racist because of how it works for Trump, to addressing her lack of disappointment over losing the Scott Baio vote, to talking through what both candidates will wear for the upcoming presidential debate, Galifianakis and Clinton make the perfect odd interview couple. Even when Galifianakis cuts from the interview to run a campaign ad from Trump.
“I really regret doing this,” Clinton says as an aside at one point.
We don’t — it’s comedy gold.
