Summary
- Jerry Seinfeld created Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and interviewed a long list of celebrities, including Barack Obama.
- Seinfeld was thrilled with the interview with Obama, but does not think any other president, including Donald Trump, could have pulled it off.
- Seinfeld is not interested in interviewing Trump because he believes the guest must be funny themselves, and Trump does not meet that criteria.
Jerry Seinfeld has always been quite the character, literally and figuratively. He grew to fame on the eponymous Seinfeld, from which he continues to earn millions of dollars to this day. It hasn't always been smooth sailing, but Jerry has built up a television empire for himself, which has led to countless opportunities.
One such opportunity was the chance to create his show Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, which ran for seven years and hosted a long list of celebrities. Everyone from Ricky Gervais to Jimmy Fallon to former President Barack Obama has appeared in cars with Jerry. But there's one celebrity Jerry is adamant he will never interview because he is unfunny and "weird."
Jerry Seinfeld Has Had Epic Interviews With Stars Before
Throughout Jerry's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee series, he interviewed countless famous faces. Outside of the show, he's also had plenty of brushes with big-name stars (though technically he is one of those himself these days).
One such interview was with then-President Barack Obama. Jerry showed up at the White House in a 1963 Corvette Stingray, which he then drove around the property. Due to security concerns, Jerry couldn't take off with the President.
The two wound up having coffee in what appeared to be a break room in the White House, where they had coffee from a very simple Mr. Coffee machine and let the jokes roll.
That interview was a memorable moment for Jerry, he later explained, because Obama was already interested in joining the show long before Jerry's team called up the President's people.
Casting President Obama was easy, especially, as Jerry joked in the episode, because he already had a penchant for making jokes while at the podium.
Later, Jerry reflected that it might not work so well with other potential presidential candidates, and named one specifically.
Jerry Seinfeld Isn't Interested In Interviewing Donald Trump
When discussing his White House interview with then-President Obama, Jerry was thrilled about how it all turned out, especially as Obama wasn't a true "comedian," making the episode all the more unique.
To Obama's credit, he did make plenty of jokes that were right in line with Seinfeld's ideas. And it all started when the former President cracked a few jokes of his own while working as the President.
But Jerry doesn't think that any president could have pulled that off. Namely, when asked whether he would cast then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump if he did become the President, Jerry shut it down.
In an interview, when reminded that he's said he doesn't like to 'get political' in his humor, Jerry replied, "I’m not good at it. And I don’t like 'we agree' applause. As a comedian, I don’t think that’s fun to get. I like it when people just laugh."
Then, he was asked about Trump; the interviewer also reminded Jerry about the time he called Donald Trump "God's gift to comedy," which Jerry maintained he stands by (even though Trump has had some more or less serious cameos).
He pointed out there was "so much material," suggesting that SNL would be terrible without Trump. As much as Seinfeld thinks Trump is great fodder for jokes, he doesn't seem to have made any himself.
Jerry Seinfeld Is Clearly Not A Donald Trump Fan
When the interviewer specifically asked whether Jerry would invite Donald on his show, the comedian pointed out, "You have to be a comedian (to be on my show). You can't be someone who’s made fun of — you actually have to be funny yourself."
He explained that to earn a chance at appearing on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, a candidate would have to do something like "show up at the White House Correspondents' dinner and do a funny monologue," which was what Barack Obama did to earn a spot.
In contrast, Donald Trump has been made fun of often, but that doesn't mean he's funny.
In another interview, Jerry said he wasn't interested in ever working with Donald Trump. He quipped, "I think it's funny that [Trump] likes to end sentences with, 'Believe me,' which is really asking a lot when you say something crazy."
The subtle digs might not qualify as jokes, but Jerry has made his position clear. He then clarified, "But I only would have a guest on if they can make me feel funny, too, and I'm not sure if he makes me feel funny or just... weird."
To be fair, Jerry has also razzed other former presidents; in his chat with then-President Obama, Jerry asked whether he had ever had an embarrassing moment, such as the time George W. Bush couldn't find the doorknob to exit a room or the time his father George H.W. Bush threw up at a political banquet in Japan.
Of course, there's no way to know whether Donald Trump would say yes to Jerry anyway, even if Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee was still on the air, because the salary for the show would have been a pittance compared to the former President's alleged net worth.
