Zach Galifianakis ripped into MAGA podcasters for fawning over Donald Trump instead of using their comedy to “challenge” him.
The Hangover star appeared on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, where host Conan O’Brien asked him about his past interviews with politicians and what the role of a comedian is in conducting such conversations. Galifianakis, 56, responded by unloading on the long list of podcasters who spotlighted Trump in the run-up to the 2024 election.
“All the podcasters that have had the president on, they don’t do their court jester. They don’t do it. They just suck up to him,” he tells O’Brien, 63.
“So, the comedians that have had Trump on, they’re not doing their job. That’s not the job of a comedian. You are to challenge,” he continued. “You are to make uncomfortable. You’re not to sit there and fake laugh. That is not the job of the court jester. Period.”
The current president, 79, went on a major podcast tour ahead of the last election. Trump spoke with several controversial podcasters and members of the so-called manosphere, including Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Lex Fridman, Adin Ross, and Andrew Schulz.
Many of these podcast bros have since denounced the president, or at the very least, criticized his policies, causing a gradual but tangible rift in the MAGA media world.
The Emmy-nominated Galifianakis had former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on his satirical Funny or Die talk show, Between Two Ferns, in 2014 and 2016, respectively. The segments quickly went viral and continue to circulate as memes. But the broader purpose of these conversations, as Galifianakis explains, was intentional.
Speaking to O’Brien, Galifianakis recalled insisting that he be allowed to make a joke about Clinton’s email controversy during his interview with her.
“I remember when I interviewed Hillary Clinton, and I could tell she didn’t want to be there, and I totally get that,” he tells O’Brien. “But before we had set that whole thing up, they wrote back, ‘Well, you can’t bring up those emails.’ And I go, ‘Well, we don’t have to do the interview. That’s fine. We won’t do it.’ When you tell powerful people, no, it’s crazy. They were like, ‘OK, we’ll do it.’”
“It’s not that important to me to do it the way they want to do it. If you’re going to come do a comedy, you’ve got to the way we want to do it,” he said.
Coming back to the podcast bros, Galifianakis explained his mantra as a comedian, saying, “Whatever their motive is, fine. But the comedy has to come first.”
O’Brien responded with his own thoughts, suggesting that such interviews give politicians a chance to display their humanity.
“People see they have a sense of humor. They see that they can take a joke. I mean, no one walked away from your interview with Obama and thought, ‘Wow, you really showed him.’ He got to be hilarious,” said the TV veteran.
“Our current president,” O’Brien continued, “could do well to understand that, to understand that if he let himself be the butt of the joke, it’s humanizing.”
Galifianakis shot down the idea instantly, “It’s impossible. You wouldn’t do it with him. It wouldn’t work.”
