Comedian Zach Galifianakis of the Hangover trilogy boldly went where few comics are able to go — the White House — for what turned out to be a well-criticized exchange with President Obama.
The two traded barbs on Between Two Ferns, Galifianakis’ Funny or Die online series. Perhaps one of the funniest quips was Galifianakis asking the president, “Does it stink that you can’t run for a third term?” Obama replied, “If I ran for a third time it would be kind of like doing a third ‘Hangover’ movie, and that didn’t really work out too well, did it?”
Galifianakis’ Between Two Ferns episode displayed a comedic side of the president that left many unamused, namely members of the Republican Party.
Congressman Adrian Smith of Nebraska took to Twitter to show his distaste:
“The President jokes w/ Zach Galifianakis about #Obamacare, but still won’t meet w/ Republicans to discuss commonsense healthcare solutions”
Before the world chimed in Obama and Galifianakis hurled cheap shots at one another, during the nearly seven-minute satirical interview, with the semitransparent agenda of selling Obamacare to a younger audience.
A White House adviser told the New York Times the interview was aimed at encouraging millennials to sign up for health insurance to reach the intended goal of 6 million before the March 31 deadline.
Enrollment is currently at 4.2 million.
A spokeswoman for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said many people weigh insurance options until the last moment. She hopes the goal will be reached in time.
“We do believe millions more Americans will come in and enroll in coverage before…March 31, she said.
A history of issues with the Obamacare website could be to blame for a lack of enrollment as well.
Galifianakis took a dig at Obamacare site on the web show asking, “Why would you get the guy who created the zune to make your website?”
Obama replied, “Healthcare.gov works great now,” as he continued to urge those who had not signed up to do so.
