Hillary Clinton Makes A Huge Mistake With Zach Galifianakis On ‘Between Two Ferns,’ Discusses Trump’s Racism

Hillary Clinton took on Zach Galifianakis in an especially witty episode of Funny or Die’s Between Two Ferns.

Although Clinton is clearly rallying for the millenial vote by appearing on the web series, the Democratic presidential candidate delivered a perfect deadpan tone for Between Two Ferns. Galifianakis, who asks awkwardly direct questions better than any late night host, talked to Clinton about being the first “girl” president, and wondered how many words the former Secretary of State could type per minute.

Inevitably, Galifianakis brought up Clinton’s opponent, Donald Trump.

“When you see how well it works for Donald Trump, do you think to yourself, ‘Oh, maybe I should be more racist?'” Clinton simply shook her head and smiled in response, which was one of the few moments she broke her serious character.

The appearance on Between Two Ferns may not seem significant, but Clinton is taking an alternative approach to public appearances. By allowing herself to be jabbed by Galifianakis, she’s trying to capitalize on a different audience than Trump. The move is especially unique considering talk show hosts have given pandering interviews to Donald Trump instead of asking the candidate real questions about his outlandish statements. Esquire points out that Jimmy Fallon’s interviews of both Clinton and Trump didn’t touch on the issues of the campaign in any real way.

At least with Galifianakis and Between Two Ferns, the audience feels like they’re in on the joke with Clinton when she tells the host, “I really regret doing this.” Clinton’s chat with Galifianakis is part of a series of appearances designed to humanize the candidate and help her poll better with swing voters.

Despite the atmosphere of tension during the interview, the New York Times reports that Scott Aukerman, director and producer of Clinton’s episode, stated that the presidential candidate was more than happy to do the show.

“She really set us at ease early on by being so game to do it, and one of the first few jokes she laughed really loud at, so we had to reset,” Ackerman said.

Clinton isn’t the only one making lighthearted appearances to boost her image. Her campaign has enlisted a series of influential speakers, including President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden, to get Clinton’s message to the people during the crunch time before the election and her first debate against Trump.

The push to support Clinton has garnered some great media from the surrogate team, including Michelle Obama discovering boxed wine on The Ellen Degeneres Show and Barack Obama becoming a living meme when he said, “Thanks Obama” to a crowd he was speaking to in Philadelphia.

During Clinton’s appearance on Between Two Ferns, the presidential nominee reacted to Galifianakis’ questions with a dry sense of humor, but matched the comedian blow-for-blow on quips and digs. When Galifianakis asked Clinton what would happen if she became pregnant, “Would we be stuck with Tim Kaine for nine months?” the democratic candidate said she could give the host some literature to explain things.

Even when Galifianakis joked about what Clinton would wear for the first debate, Hillary addressed the double standard that exists in the media’s coverage of the 2016 presidential election. When asked if she wondered what Trump would wear to the debate, Clinton did mention that Trump would probably wear his typical “red power tie,” to which Galifianakis responded, “…or maybe like a white power tie,” addressing Trump’s racist and neo-nazi supporters.

Despite Clinton’s PR efforts, it’s difficult to tell if the appearances will actually help her in the polls. However, the first presidential debate is scheduled for September 26 at Hofstra University in New York, so the election may take a surprising turn from there.

[Feature image by Matt Rourke/AP Images]