Barack Obama Visits ‘The Daily Show’ After Wild Political Week To Talk Midterms, Young Voters, Democracy & Stand-Up: Watch Full Interview
President Barack Obama was a guest on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah tonight, following a busy post-midterms week in politics that saw the Democrats retain control of the Senate, the Republicans seize a majority in the House, Donald Trump announce a third White House run and Speaker Nancy Pelosi announcing that she won’t seek a leadership role in the next Congress.
The ex-POTUS touched on those topics, and one of the quotes was a broad stroke but a teachable one: “Democracy requires, by definition, getting along with people who don’t agree with you,” he said.
More from Deadline
You can watch the full 33-minute interview above.
Obama also gave a shout-out to the young voters who made 2022 a midterm anomaly, after a much lower turnout in 2014. “[Donald] Trump comes in, and suddenly 2018, 2020 and now this one, you see young people come in, and they’re typically voting at a rate of 70-to-30, 60-to-40 Democrat to Republican — and that makes a huge difference. So their enthusiasm is what really drove this election.”
Watch the full interview below.
RELATED: As Trevor Noah Heads For The Stage Door, ‘The Daily Show’ Team Shocked At Timing Of Exit
Noah’s opening salvo was a good lob that bounced back on him. “Do you miss your name, by the way?” he asked. “Because everyone calls you ‘Mr. President,’ but I feel like if people called me ‘Mr. Daily,’ I would miss just being called Trevor.”
POTUS 44 replied, with a smile: “You know, my best friends call me Barack — you should call me ‘Mr. President.'”
The interview ended with Obama telling Noah, who is leaving The Daily Show next month: “You’re already following one piece of advice that I’ve had — you’re leaving while your poll numbers are high.” The host then suggested that Obama join his upcoming stand-up tour. “I mean, I’ve said this to you before: Whether it’s the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, in Georgia when you were doing the speech: You’re a very funny guy.”
POTUS interrupted: “So you want me to open for you?”
“Not even open,” Noah replied. “I wouldn’t even dare.” Suggesting that they could “co-headline,” he added: “We’ll call it Half & Half.”
It marked Obama third visit to the Noah-hosted show, following a virtual appearance in 2020 and a 2016 appearance taped at the White House that was among the final TV interviews of his presidency.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.