As part of his recent book tour, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld appeared on Friday’s “The Opie and Anthony Show” and discussed whether or not he is a flesh-eating space lizard.
While hosts Gregg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia attempted to steer the interview with Rumsfeld back to more serious topics, comedian Louis C.K. repeatedly tried to have the longtime Washington insider deny that he is actually a lizard in disguise.
At first, Rumsfeld dodged the question with an anecdote about how wherever he goes in New York, people want to shake his hand, get his autograph, and buy him dinner, but Louis refused to let up throughout the 15-minute interview. The left-leaning New York comedian and star of FX’s “Louie” also asked Rumsfeld, “what that day was like when you met Saddam Hussein and shook his hand,” referring to the infamous photo of the then-Reagan administration envoy and the former Iraqi dictator from the early days of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. Rumsfeld patiently gave Louis an education in the necessities of realpolitik before the comedian continued asking more questions about Rumsfeld’s refusal to deny that he is a space lizard. When Rumsfeld, looking for a way out, noted that his grandchildren were listening to the frequently profane satellite radio program, Louis joked, “They have a right to know.”
Rumsfeld handled the interview as gracefully as one could have given the situation, going along with the joke and remarking at one point that he “did not just arrive in town falling off a turnip cart.” As the interview ended, Rumsfeld told Opie and Anthony to “select your partners carefully” in the future. Opie and Anthony seemed to agree and said that Rumsfeld handled Louis “like a gentlemen and a professional.” Louis disagreed, saying, “He handled it like a lizard who knows how to never answer.”
LISTEN (WARNING — EXPLICIT LANGUAGE):