President Barack Obama gave Stephen Colbert a run for his money on Monday, Dec. 8, when he dropped in on his TV show and took over presenting duties for the classic “The Word” segment.
Supposedly turning up three minutes early for his interview, Obama stormed the studio and told Colbert he was taking over.
“You’ve been taking a lot of shots at my job,” Obama said. “I decided I’m going to go ahead and take a shot at yours.”
The president told outgoing show host Colbert to move aside, and let him take over in the hot seat. “How hard can this be?” he asked. “I’m just going to say whatever you were about to say.”
Re-naming the segment “The Decree” to make it sound “more presidential” Obama then went on to read a monologue prepped for Colbert to read, essentially a tirade against Obamacare.
“Nation, as you know, I, Stephen Colbert have never cared for our president,” Obama said, reading Colbert’s lines. “The guy is so arrogant, I bet he talks about himself in the third person.”
Obama’s speech continued, complete with Colbert’s classic risque and amusing captions (including the phrase “poitus interruptus”) flashing up on screen.
Colbert will soon be ending his Colbert Report run, to take over from David Letterman on CBS’s The Late Show next year. But after last night’s experience, it seems he’s not the only one with a penchant for hosting TV shows.
“I will say, I felt more powerful behind that desk,” Obama joked about his television appearance.
“With great power comes medium cable ratings,” replied Colbert, smiling.
Watch the whole bizarre and extraordinary segment above.
