It was September 2016. The election was screaming toward a fever pitch. While Donald Trump was getting his hair ruffled by Jimmy Fallon, Hillary Clinton took a different route. She sat down with Zach Galifianakis. Between two literal ferns. It was awkward. It was weird. Honestly, it was one of the most effective pieces of media her campaign ever produced, even if she looked like she wanted to be literally anywhere else.
Most people think these things are 100% scripted. They assume a team of thirty lawyers vetted every syllable. They didn't.
The Mystery of the Script
The truth about the Hillary Clinton Between Two Ferns episode is that it was largely improvised. Director Scott Aukerman later revealed that they shot about an hour of footage. Only about six minutes made the final cut. Most of the questions Zach threw at her? She hadn't seen them. Her team hadn't cleared them.
Think about that for a second. A presidential candidate in the middle of a historically tight race walked into a room and let a guy in a grim reaper mask try to scare her. (Side note: He was immediately tackled by the Secret Service. That part was real.)
Aukerman mentioned that the campaign was surprisingly "cool" about the lack of vetting. There were a few scripted beats, sure. But the deadpan stares? The "I really regret doing this" line? That was Clinton reacting in the moment. She leaned into the "bemused librarian" vibe that the internet already loved or hated. It worked because it didn't feel like a polished press release.
That "White Power" Joke
One of the tensest moments involved a joke about Trump’s wardrobe. Galifianakis asked what Trump might wear to the debates. Clinton guessed a "red power tie."
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Zach countered: "Or maybe a white power tie?"
Clinton’s response was immediate: "That's even more appropriate."
Galifianakis later admitted he tried to get her to say the "white power" punchline himself. She refused. She told him, "It would be better if you did it." That’s the politician brain at work—knowing exactly where the line is even when you're playing along with a bit.
The Secret Pneumonia
Here is a detail a lot of people forget or never knew: Hillary Clinton had pneumonia during the filming.
It was shot on September 9, 2016. If you remember the timeline, this was just two days before she famously fainted at the 9/11 memorial service. On the screen, Funny or Die put a graphic under her name that simply read: "Had pneumonia."
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It’s kind of wild to look back at. She’s sitting there, physically ill, being asked by a comedian if she’s excited to be the "first girl president." Or if she’ll be "stuck with Tim Kaine for nine months" if she gets pregnant. She didn't flinch.
Why the Interview Still Matters
Comedy as a campaign tool isn't new. But Hillary Clinton Between Two Ferns was different than a Saturday Night Live cameo. SNL is a protected environment. Between Two Ferns is designed to make the guest look like a loser.
- Millennial Outreach: The video racked up 30 million views in 24 hours.
- The Obama Precedent: Barack Obama used the show in 2014 to drive traffic to Healthcare.gov. It worked for him, so Clinton’s team thought they’d catch the same lightning in a bottle.
- The Deadpan Strategy: Clinton isn't known for "warmth" in the traditional TV sense. This format turned her perceived "coldness" into a comedic asset. She played the "straight man" to Zach’s chaos.
Critics at the time called it cringeworthy. Others called it brilliant. Basically, it was a microcosm of the entire 2016 election cycle. It was a moment where the high-stakes world of DC met the low-brow world of internet sketches.
What Really Happened Behind the Scenes
The interview happened at the New York Historical Society. It wasn't some Hollywood studio. It was a cramped room with two plants and a guy who kept asking her if she watched Trump and thought, "I should be more racist."
Galifianakis has since said that the "happiest he's been performing in a long time" was a scrapped bit from this session. He had a fax machine that kept making noise while he tried to make small talk. It didn't make the edit, but it captures the vibe. Total absurdity.
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The writers' room for this was a comedy powerhouse. You had Sarah Silverman, Jon Lovett (who used to write for Obama), and Alan Yang. They wanted to see if she could handle the heat.
Actionable Takeaways from the "Ferns" Strategy
If you're looking at this from a media or branding perspective, there are a few real lessons here.
- Leaning into Weakness: If the world thinks you're "stiff," go somewhere that requires you to be stiff for the joke. It makes the trait look intentional.
- Risk vs. Reward: Letting a comedian improvise with a presidential candidate is a massive risk. But in a digital age, "safe" content often gets zero engagement. The "Email" joke at the end—where Zach plays the AOL "You've Got Mail" sound—was a direct hit on her biggest vulnerability. By sitting through it, she "neutralized" it for that audience.
- Timing is Everything: This dropped right before the first debate. It was meant to humanize her before the massive TV audience saw the "policy wonk" version of her.
The Hillary Clinton Between Two Ferns episode remains a bizarre artifact of political history. It’s a reminder of a time when we thought a viral video could change the course of an election. Whether it helped or hurt is still debated by pundits, but as a piece of comedy? It’s surprisingly enduring.
To really understand the impact, go back and watch her face when he asks about her "space librarian" suits. That's not acting. That's the face of a woman who has seen everything and is now being asked to explain her wardrobe to a guy who looks like he lives in a van.
To apply this to your own brand or project, consider where you can be "uncomfortably honest." High-production value is often less trustworthy than a raw, awkward interaction. The next time you're planning a "safe" PR move, ask yourself if a "fern moment" might actually serve you better.