Courtesy of the New York Times:
President Obama has submitted himself for a grilling on the set of “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart three times. But on at least two occasions, Mr. Obama also secretly met with the comedian on his own imposing turf.
In 2011 and again in 2014, Mr. Stewart came to Washington for coffee with the president, entering the White House grounds at the entrance where the public tours begin. He shook hands with several tourists and was escorted to the Oval Office for his one-on-one sit down with the commander in chief.
He joked in 2011 to his escort that he felt like he was being called to the principal’s office.
The two meetings — recorded in the official White House visitor log — were first noted this week by Politico. Current and former White House officials confirmed the visits, describing them as efforts by the president and his communications team to tap into Mr. Stewart’s influence with younger voters.
“Jon Stewart was a key influencer for millennials,” said Dag Vega, who worked for several years at the White House developing relationships with media figures. “They relied on him for an honest take on the news, and the president and senior staff know that.”
According to source the President was the one to ask for the meetings, which in my opinion was smart on his part.
Of course talking to Jon Stewart and picking his brain about how to reach groups that are traditionally hard to engage, is an intelligent thing for the President to do. Just like he talks to military experts before deciding on actions in potential war zones, economists when he works on getting people back to work, and experts on Iran before helping to broker that nuclear deal.
Personally knowing that these two engaged in private conversations together at the White House, kind of makes me appreciate both of them just a little bit more.
Actually I now hope that Obama was also secretly meeting with Rachel Maddow to talk media strategies, Neil deGrassse Tyson to discuss science, and Warren Buffet to talk about job growth as well.
P.S. Just for fun here is a rare look at Stewart's Q and A before the show.
So guess who has been having secret meetings with the President.
5:09 AM
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