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Samantha Bee's Halloween Nightmare Is Donald Trump

by Cate Carrejo

Reaching the next milestone in her groundbreaking first season of Full Frontal, Samantha Bee interviewed President Obama for her Halloween show and together, they told a really spooky ghost story — one about a Donald Trump presidency.

While talking about the critical need for young people to get out to the polls this year, Bee asked the president to tell a spooky story about what might happen if voter turnout is low on Election Day. "Donald Trump could be president," Obama quipped, visibly frightening Bee.

The intrepid comedy show host was quick to recover though, and in her spookiest voice continued on with the scary story, warning of Supreme Court Justice Corey Lewandowski and Speaker of the House Louie Gohmert.

As is her speciality, Bee asked a hard-hitting question of the president, to compare the "otherization" that he received as president to what Hillary Clinton may receive should she be elected on Nov. 8. "If and when Hillary is president, what do you think will be the female equivalent of 'you weren't born in this country'?" Bee asked. "I think the equivalent will be 'She's tired', 'she's moody,' 'she's being emotional,' 'there's something about her'. When men are ambitious, it's just taken for granted: 'Well, of course they should be ambitious.' But when women are ambitious, [it's] 'Why?'"

Clearly, these two were pretty much made for each other as interview partners. Bee's poignancy and cutting insight with Obama's thoughtful and egalitarian commentary made for a compelling segment, only flawed by the fact that it was too short.

Bee's first year of Full Frontal, culminating in this presidential interview, has been a massive success, garnering national media attention for its fresh take on political issues and its feminist lean. Full Frontal's very existence is also a welcome feminist victory — before Bee, late night comedy, and particularly the sharp, politically oriented variety in which Bee excels, was a completely male-dominated field.

During the segment with President Obama, Bee joked that one of his most important historical designations would be "first president to be interviewed by Samantha Bee," but that's not even a joke really. Bee has drastically reshaped political comedy to be a safer space for women and legitimized women's leading roles in comedy, so her position really is groundbreaking.

Bee jokingly referred to the Halloween interview as an annual event, and one can only hope that will be true. Just imagining an interview between Bee and President Hillary Clinton is enough to make you laugh, so the real one would likely be even better. Of course, everyone needs to do two things before that dream can come true — continue watching Full Frontal and get out and vote on Nov. 8.

Images: Full Frontal With Samantha Bee/TBS (1)