As you may have noticed, some people have gone a bit gaga over “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” — which is a really good show — and have made funny song mashups and A+ physics presentations about the ponies. The bronies (adult male fans of the show) became so widespread on 4Chan that posting pictures of the ponies was banned. (You won that round, moot, but I’ll sonic rainboom you yet.)
So it may have made sense to the hosts of NPR’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” to ask President Bill Clinton trivia questions about My Little Pony as part of their “Not My Job” segment, where they quiz knowledgeable people about a topic they shouldn’t need to know. But what they didn’t know was this: President Bill Clinton may have admitted he’s never listened to “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me”, but he sure knows his My Little Pony trivia. That’s right, show hosts Peter Sagal and Carl Kasell, President Clinton knows more about Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle than he does about your show on NPR. Mwahahahaha fantastic.
The audio of the entire interview is below (quiz starts at 6:15 but it’s all good), and we’ve posted a transcript of the “Not My Job” segment as well:
https://www.npr.org/v2/?i=137386121&m=137393889&t=audio
SAGAL: Answer three questions, or answer two out of three questions about the wonderful world of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and you win our prize for one of our listeners, Carl’s voice on their home answering machine. Carl, who is President Clinton playing for?
KASELL: The President is playing for Dave Parks of Chico, California.
President CLINTON: Poor Dave.
SAGAL: Poor Dave, I know.
SAGAL: So here we go. You ready to do this? One of the current My Little Ponys is Rarity. That is her name, Rarity. What is her particular enthusiasm? A: she loves her little line of toys called My Even Tinier Ponies.
SAGAL: B: giving other ponies makeovers. Or C: eating paste.
President CLINTON: Eating what?
SAGAL: Eating past, sir, Mr. President.
President CLINTON: P-A-S-T-E?
SAGAL: P-A-S-T-E, paste, sir.
President CLINTON: B.
SAGAL: Yes, giving other ponies makeovers. Yes, that is in fact Rarity’s…
SAGAL: Big enthusiasm. Very fashion conscious, our Rarity is. All right, when ponies in Equestria discover their true talents in life, they earn something. What? A tattoo on their flank, known as a cutie mark. B: a title, such as Fluttershy the Inventive. Or C: the right to mate.
President CLINTON: A.
SAGAL: A. You’re going to go for A, a tattoo known as the cutie mark? Oh, you’re right, sir.
Ms. JESSI KLEIN (Comedienne): I have to say I think it’s probably fair to say this is the highest stake situation President Clinton has ever been in.
SAGAL: I think so.
Ms. KLEIN: In his entire life.
SAGAL: And he’s doing so well.
Ms. KLEIN: He’s killing it.
SAGAL: That’s true.
SAGAL: All right, well let’s see if you can be perfect. The ponies’ most powerful enemy is which of these? A: Krastos the Glue Maker.
President CLINTON: If he’s not, he ought to be.
SAGAL: Yeah, I know. B: the evil pony Nightmare Moon. Or C: the cynical grownup, Chester.
President CLINTON: B.
SAGAL: B, you’re going to go for the evil pony Nightmare Moon. You’re right, Mr. President.
Mr. BODETT: Wow.
SAGAL: Nightmare Moon is released in the opening episode from the prison where she’s been held for a thousand years, and is only defeated by the ponies working together, and then they have a party.
SAGAL: Carl, how did President Clinton do on our quiz?
KASELL: President Clinton wins again, Peter.
SAGAL: Oh my gosh.
KASELL: He had three correct answers. So the President wins for Dave Parks.
SAGAL: Another victory for you, sir. You’ve done so much. Been elected twice, governor of Arkansas, the youngest governor ever. How does this stack up?
President CLINTON: It’s right up there.
SAGAL: All right.
SAGAL: President Bill Clinton is hosting the Clinton Global Initiative meeting next week in Chicago, with a focus on job creation right here in the United States. President Clinton, thank you so much for joining us on WAIT WAIT…DON’T TELL ME!
[Sources: NPR via Topless Robot; pictures via DC Comic Freak and 4Chan]