Obama pokes fun at himself on The Colbert Report

AFP/Reuters

Washington 

US President Barack Obama took on the role of talk show host late on Monday, poking fun at himself during an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s satirical show.

“You’ve been taking a lot of shots at my job, I’ve decided I’m going to go ahead and take a shot at yours,” Obama said before sitting down alone behind Colbert’s desk.

“As you know I, Stephen Colbert, have never cared for our president,” Obama proceeded, pretending to be the comedian.

“The guy is so arrogant, I bet he talks about himself in the third person,” he said to laughter and applause.

The president has appeared regularly on daytime and nighttime talk shows to reach specific constituency groups, including young people, who are a key Colbert demographic.

In the surprise opening segment, Obama read the remarks that were supposedly prepared for Colbert while flippant commentary appeared on the screen next to him, drawing howls from the audience.

“Young people don’t watch real news shows like this one,” Obama quipped about The Colbert Report, which follows the format of a traditional news programme. “They watch comedy shows. And I just don’t see the president going on one of those. They’re beneath his dignity.”

The show reverted to its typical question-and-answer format once Colbert returned to the stage.

Colbert tried to get Obama to confirm one of the numbers from the nuclear launch codes to which the president always has access. Obama demurred.

He pushed Obama to rate himself as a great or “the greatest” president. Obama demurred again.

On policy matters, Obama repeated his stance that approval of TransCanada Corp’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline from Canada would be based on whether it would exacerbate climate change. He noted the project would not create many jobs.

When Colbert highlighted the president’s positive job creation record, he joked that Obama had provided a lot of employment for secretaries of defence.

“That’s boosted our numbers a little bit,” Obama replied, appearing unamused.

Under pressure, Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel recently announced he was stepping down and Obama has nominated former Pentagon official Ash Carter to take his place.

If confirmed, Carter would be the fourth person to serve in the role under Obama.

Prying into the realm of day-to-day stuff, Colbert asked Obama if he does things like leave his socks on the floor.

“I do,” the US chief executive said.

And does he like his job?

“I love the job. It’s an incredible privilege,” Obama said. “But when you’re in it, you’re not thinking about it in terms of titles. You’re thinking about, how do you deliver for the American people, and also when I go home, Michelle, Malia, Sasha give me a hard time and there are no trumpets and they tease me mercilessly.”

Colbert, who first became known as a commentator on The Daily Show hosted by Jon Stewart, another staple of US TV comedy, has hosted for nearly 10 years The Colbert Report, which is highly popular.