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President Obama Gets Personal With Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report

3 minute read

President Barack Obama took his first and final turn on the satircal Colbert Report Monday night, fending off verbal assaults from the faux-conservative comedian.

Obama appeared on stage ostensibly minutes before his scheduled interview time, and replaced Colbert at the presenter’s desk while engaging in some self-mockery and a plug of his signature healthcare law. “Stephen, you’ve been taking a lot of shots at my job, so I’m taking a shot at yours,” Obama deadpanned. “How hard can this be? I’m just going to say whatever you say.”

Pretending to be Colbert’s conservative alter-ego, Obama blasted himself as “arrogant” and made the show’s signature segment, “The Word,” more presidential by renaming it “The Decree.”

The appearance was partly meant to highlight the ongoing open enrollment for health insurance in 2015, with the president directing his pitch at the younger Americans watching the show.

Colbert, once safely back in his chair, peppered Obama with questions about the midterm elections and his agenda for his last two years, to which Obama responded with familiar answers about finding a way to work with Congress.

After Obama plugged Friday’s jobs report, Colbert quipped “I’ll give it to you. You’ve employed a lot of people, mostly as Secretary of Defense” (a reference to last month’s resignation of Chuck Hagel and nomination of Ash Carter). “That’s boosted our numbers a little bit,” Obama responded sheepishly.

Colbert noted that in 2008 Obama criticized the accumulation of executive power under President George W. Bush, challenging him that now “you seem to have a whole lot of power.”

Photos: What Obama's Hugs Meant

President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel embrace during a press conference to announce Hagel's departure at the White House on Nov. 24, 2014 in Washington, DC.
You can see it by Obama’s bowed head and Hagel’s sorrowful face – this is an “I’m sorry” hug, plain and simple.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images
President Barack Obama gives White House press secretary Jay Carney a hug after announcing that Carney will step down later next month, during a surprise visit to the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2014. The president announced Carney's departure in a surprise appearance at in the White House press briefing room Friday. He said principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest will take over the job. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
This hug between Obama and former Press Secretary Jay Carney may have been commemorating Carney’s departure, but all people will remember is its awkwardness.Susan Walsh—AP
US-VOTE-2012-DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN
Here’s where Obama’s hug game is the strongest: with Michelle. The peaceful smile on his face, the warm, full-body embrace – this is clearly an “I love you” hug. Consider it the antidote to the Carney debacle. Jim Watson—AFP/Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 24: U.S. President Barack Obama gives a hug to Dallas nurse Nina Pham in the Oval Office of the White House October 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. Pham, a nurse who was infected with Ebola from treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas and was first diagnosed on October 12, was declared free of the virus on Friday. (Photo by Pool/Getty Images)
Obama’s hug with nurse Nina Pham after her battle with Ebola was a way to signal to the public that the disease is not as scary as some had thought. This is the hug as public health awareness.Olivier Douliery-—Getty Images
US-WEATHER-STORM-SANDY-OBAMA
Critics charged that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "hugged" the president, but the Republican claimed it was just a handshake.Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images
FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama, left, embraces Donna Vanzant, right, during a tour of a neighborhood effected by Superstorm Sandy in Brigantine, N.J. Vanzant is a owner of North Point Marina, which was damaged by the storm. In the end, President Obama won re-election exactly the way his campaign had predicted: running up big margins with women and minorities, mobilizing a sophisticated registration and get-out-the-vote operation and focusing narrowly on the battleground states that would determine the election. Still, there were detours along the way. Superstorm Sandy upended the campaign in its closing days, though the political impact appears to have been positive for Obama, giving him a high-profile opportunity to show voters presidential leadership(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The photo of Obama hugging a victim of Hurricane Sandy went viral- his solemn face and her tear-stained one, his arms protectively around her shoulders – this is a presidential hug in its purest form.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP
U.S. President Barack Obama kisses Aung San Suu Kyi following joint remarks at her residence in Yangon, November 19, 2012. President Obama became the first serving U.S. president to visit Myanmar on Monday, trying during a whirlwind six-hour trip to strike a balance between praising the government's progress in shaking off military rule and pressing for more reform. REUTERS/Jason Reed (MYANMAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3ALMW
Though Obama’s peck on Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi’s cheek was a pro-democracy smooch, her visible recoil from the kiss indicates that he may have been better off with a handshake.Jason Reed—Reuters
President Barack Obama, right, is picked-up and lifted off the ground by Scott Van Duzer, left, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant during an unannounced stop, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012, in Ft. Pierce, Fla. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Obama was literally swept off his feet by pizzeria owner Scott Van Duzer. The now-famous bear hug was a “celebrities are just like us” moment, when Obama showed he could still joke around in a regular ol’ pizza joint. Sept. 9, 2012.Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP

Colbert asked: “Does that happen to every president, where you get into the office and you think ‘oh you know what I might be the only one I trust with this much power so I’ll hold onto it’?”

“For the first time, you’re asking a sensible question,” Obama replied with a laugh. “My preference would be to get a whole lot more done through Congress,” he added, saying he acts within the law.

Branding Obama “Baracus Maximus I,” Colbert lampooned the president’s unilateral executive actions on immigration reform, asking in true caricature form why the president decided to “burn the Constitution.” Obama defended the actions, saying he’s confident they were legal and appropriate and reiterating his call on Congress to act.

Obama opened up about his home life to Colbert, saying his wife and daughters “give me a hard time” and keep him humble.

“There are no trumpets,” the leader of the free world added. “They tease me mercilessly for my big ears, or my stodgy suits.” He said he does normal things like leaving his socks on the floor, which, he noted, does not go over well with his family.

At one point Colbert, who was in Washington D.C. on a final swing of his eponymous Report before he takes the helm of the CBS Late Show next year, tried to have Obama reveal his nuclear launch codes, asking whether they include 5 as one of the numbers.

“You’re not going to get close to even one number in the nuclear launch codes,” Obama quipped.

Read next: Watch Stephen Colbert Question Jon Stewart’s Patriotism

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