Barack Obama hijacks The Colbert Report and presents The Word
The President told David Letterman's future replacement: 'You've been taking a lot of shots at my job, I decided I'm going to go ahead and take a shot at yours.'
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Your support makes all the difference.President Barack Obama has always been seen as as an aloof intellectual to many of his detractors yet there is no doubting number 44's ability to play a more comedic role and poke fun at himself.
Obama appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report on Monday, where comedian Stephen Colbert plays the role of a ludicrous yet perfectly believable conservative host.
Appearing on the show for an interview, Obama interrupted Colbert before he presented his famous segment "The Word" where the presenter chooses a word or phrase to launch into a rant on a topical subject.
As Obama took to the stage, Colbert said, "President Obama, I am thrilled that you are here but I did not expect you for another three minutes."
"Stephen, you've been taking a lot of shots at my job, I decided I'm going to go ahead and take a shot at yours," the President replied. "I want you to get out of the way.
"How hard can this be? I’m just going to say whatever you were about to say."
Obama then said the segment as called "The Decree" and launched into the skit with, "I, Stephen Colbert, have never cared for our president. The guy is so arrogant, I bet he talks about himself in the third person."
Cue a series of great gags about Obama's policies: the president said that 1 million more people had signed up to Obamacare in recent weeks, thus making the healthcare law "half as popular as grumpy cat".
He joked that if the Republicans repealed the law, they'd have to replace it with their own healthcare bill: Fracking the elderly.
Following the segment, which was filmed at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University in Washington, DC, the President sat down with Colbert for an interview that combined Colbert's wit with a few serious points from Obama, who said he would still try to work with Congress (the Republicans now run the House and Senate) in his final two years in office.
While Obama lauded the new jobs being added to the economy, Colbert quipped that he had employed a lot of people "mainly as Secretary of Defence".
When Colbert suggested using the Keystone pipeline to funnel immigrants to Canada, Obama said, "That sounds like a ridiculous idea.
"That's why you are where you are, and I’m where I am."
Colbert's final question was: "Barack Obama: Great president or the greatest president?"
"I'll leave that one alone, Stephen," Obama said.
This was Obama's third appearance on The Colbert Report, which will broadcast its last show on December 18. Colbert will move to CBS' The Late Show next year as he takes over from David Letterman.
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