The White House had a hunch that a certain, ultra-serious pundit wouldn’t much care for President Obama’s instantly-viral “interview” with Zach Galifianakis. And David Gergen didn’t disappoint.
The CNN talking head made it known via Twitter that he didn’t think Obama’s appearance on “Between Two Ferns” was very presidential.
If Gergen had his druthers, no president would ever appear on such a show. And the septuagenarian is certain there’s a better way for Obama to reach the kids.
Am no fan of presidents appearing on shows like Between Two Ferns. Obama has better ways to reach young about ACA. http://t.co/TpwaFyxrqj
— David Gergen (@David_Gergen) March 12, 2014
Big fan of @galifianakisz. He’s hilarious & his dad played HS football w my brother Ken. Still–best venue for Obama? http://t.co/TpwaFyxrqj
— David Gergen (@David_Gergen) March 12, 2014
Unimaginable that Truman, Ike, JFK, Reagan would appear on Between Two Ferns. They carefully protected majesty of their office.
— David Gergen (@David_Gergen) March 12, 2014
It was a pretty predictable reaction from Gergen, who served as an adviser to four presidents and has been rhapsodizing about the majesty of the Oval Office ever since. The White House certainly saw it coming.
Shortly before the “Ferns” interview surfaced online, Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer joked that the bit might “give David Gergen a heart attack.”
Equally unsurprising was the reaction from Bill O’Reilly. Like Gergen, the Fox News pundit doesn’t think a truly great president would appear on a website called “Funny or Die.”
“All I can tell you is Abe Lincoln wouldn’t have done it,” O’Reilly said last night. “There comes a point when serious times come for serious action.”
