--- title: Barack Obama's Appearance on 'Bear Grylls' Finally Aired description: He didn't want to get too wild canonical: https://time.com/4154702/barack-obama-bear-grylls-episode/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-18T15:08:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:43.733Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The 1 Thing President Obama Refused to Do on 'Running Wild With Bear Grylls' og:description: He didn't want to get too wild og:url: https://time.com/4154702/barack-obama-bear-grylls-episode/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The 1 Thing President Obama Refused to Do on 'Running Wild With Bear Grylls' twitter:description: He didn't want to get too wild twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Is the One Thing President Obama Refused to Do on _Running Wild With Bear Grylls_  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 18, 2015 3:08 PM CUT  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Dec 18, 2015 3:08 PM CUT President Obama’s appearance on _Running Wild With Bear Grylls_ aired Thursday night and no, the Commander in Chief did not drink his own pee. He did, however, eat some salmon that was previously nibbled on by a bear (the animal, not Grylls). “I’ve seen some of the stuff Bear eats, and it’s gotta be something that doesn’t still have its legs and eyes on it. I want it not to be too recognizable,” Obama said. “Bear’s a mediocre cook, but the fact that we ate something recognizable was encouraging. Now, the fact that he told me this was a leftover fish from a bear, I don’t know if that was necessary. He could have just left that out.” But Obama drew the line at drinking his own urine: “I suppose, in extremis, it’s something that I would do—if the alternative was death,” he said. “It’s not something I’d make a habit of. And I probably wouldn’t do it just for a TV show.” ### Photos: What Obama's Hugs Meant  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  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  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  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  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  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  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  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 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4154702/barack-obama-bear-grylls-episode/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4154702/barack-obama-bear-grylls-episode/"},"headline":"This Is the One Thing President Obama Refused to Do on Running Wild With Bear Grylls","datePublished":"2015-12-18T15:08:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:43.733Z","description":"He didn't want to get too wild","url":"https://time.com/4154702/barack-obama-bear-grylls-episode/","keywords":["Barack Obama","Television","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4154702/barack-obama-bear-grylls-episode/","name":"This Is the One Thing President Obama Refused to Do on Running Wild With Bear Grylls"}}]}] ```