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Zach Galifianakis Reveals What Hillary Was Like
Hillary Clinton's appearance on the satirical talk show Between Two Ferns has made headlines and broken records, and now, host Zach Galifianakis has finally revealed what Clinton was like on the show. The comedian spoke with Josh Rottenberg of the LA Times about the presidential candidate's comedic talents, recent bout of pneumonia, and Republican opponent, Donald Trump, and it turns out that Galifianakis saw a side of Clinton many people aren't as familiar with.
"I will say she’s very personable in real life. She really is," he said of the candidate. "There was a laugh or two from her – a really big laugh – that we had to edit out because it wasn’t icy enough for us in a weird way for what we were doing." Galifianakis even came up with a theory on why people are so wrong about Clinton not having a sense of humor, saying,
I don’t think you can get as far as she has in American politics without a sense of humor – especially since she’s been so forced to play the boys’ [game], since that’s where the power structure is, though it’s changing. But yeah, she definitely has a sense of humor. For sure.
Whether or not Clinton has a sense of humor has been brought up many times in this election, often unfairly. Galifianakis' testimony echoes the assertion from those that know the candidate well, that she can be playful and fun, not the robot than many of her critics believe her to be. And clearly, letting Clinton show off that side of herself worked well. Past guests on Between Two Ferns may have included Justin Bieber, Barack Obama, and Natalie Portman, but Clinton's appearance managed to break a record for Funny or Die, the website the show appears on, for most views in the first 24 hours.
While an interview with Clinton's fellow candidate Trump would surely garner similarly high ratings, Galifianakis said that he wouldn't want Trump on his show, explaining,
Doing it the other way doesn’t interest me. He’s the kind of guy who likes attention – bad attention or good attention. So you’re dealing with a psychosis there that’s a little weird. I wouldn’t have somebody on that’s so mentally challenged. I feel like I’d be taking advantage of him. And you can print that.
How Trump would fare on the show remains to be seen, but reviews of Clinton's Between Two Ferns appearance have been mixed, despite the high numbers the appearance garnered. Vox described it as "the best she's ever done," but Clare Foran at The Atlantic thought Galifianakis went too easy on her for the interview to be considered an achievement. Still, Clinton shouldn't be too worried — having Galifianakis say that you're funny is a pretty good sign that you've found success on his show.
Image: Funny or Die