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Kal Penn Gets 'The Daily Show' Into The White House to Interview Joe Biden

By Andrew Sanford | TV | March 14, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | March 14, 2023 |

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Kal Penn has had an impressive career. Not only does he have an extensive film and TV resume, but he also worked for the Obama Administration. Seriously! Penn was Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, acted as co-chair of Obama’s reelection campaign, and served on the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities. My favorite part is that he briefly left the Associate Director position to film A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.

This week, Penn is the guest host of The Daily Show. He’s using it as an opportunity to return to the White House. In addition to interviewing current President Joe Biden, Kal Penn was given a tour of the Oval office. It is a very calm segment. Penn isn’t going in, intending to be silly (that is added in the voice-over). Penn walks around the White House with the reverence and respect of someone who worked there (during more respectful times).

Penn feels uniquely qualified to host The Daily Show in this regard. He has political and performance experience. The Daily Show tries to walk the line between being a comedy show and a political program (sometimes more intentionally than others). Kal Penn could be a decent candidate to strike that balance. That said, he could make the straightforward comedy bits fall a little flat. We’ll see.

A person who doesn’t have a problem with comedy is Joe Biden. Joey B drops several “jokes” during the tour. They are your standard, old-guy ribs. However, Ole Joe always hits the punchline. He shifts his view for emphasis and finds the camera or Penn’s eyes when he wants to drop the hammer. It likely helps that he has given this tour countless times. But there’s nothing wrong with preparation!

I’m interested to see how the rest of Penn’s week as host shakes out. I can’t think of another host that will have the viewpoint he does. I also don’t know if that’s a bad thing.