This literally one of the most amazing interviews you will ever hear on the radio, and one of the few times you’ll ever hear anyone — stand-up comedian or otherwise — completely mock, skewer, and trivialize a former cabinet member who, at one time not that long ago, held an immense amount of power. If you’ve never heard this interview, it’s essential if you’re a Louis C.K. fan, and it’s actually not that old. In fact, it was conducted in 2011 in between the first and second seasons of Louie, before he’d really taken off as a big star. It is an unbelievable radio interview, and if Louis ever winds up dead behind a dumpster in an alley, there’s a 60 percent chance it was Rumsfeld.
In it, Anthony and Opie have Donald Rumsfeld — who served as Secretary of Defense in two administrations, the White House Chief of Staff in one, and was instrumental in orchestrating two wars — on to discuss his memoir, Known and Unknown. Why he agreed to appear on Opie and Anthony is beyond me, though both of those guys were mostly deferential to Rumsfeld. Louis C.K. absolutely was not.
Starting around the 2:30 mark, Louis C.K. begins asking Rumsfeld if “he is a lizard from outer space who eats human flesh.” He doesn’t ask just once, either. He asks repeatedly throughout the 17 minute interview while Rumsfeld — who doesn’t appear to understand what the hell is going on — basically dodges the question. Importantly, however, HE NEVER EXPRESSLY ANSWERS. In other words, though Louis C.K. presses Rumsfeld on several occasions, he never once denies that he is a lizard who eats Mexican babies.
“There’s plenty of evidence that this guy is a well decorated and appreciated American,” Louis C.K. says. “And he has more credibility than almost anybody. But I just want to know if he [and Dick Cheney] are lizards.”
Other highlights include: Louis C.K. asking Rumsfeld what it was like to shake hands with Saddam Hussein, asking if he’s ever tasted human flesh, how many guys he’s met that have died by hanging, and how many people he has personally killed.
It is amazing radio, and one of the purest instances ever of someone speaking truth to power.
