Leno Opens Up To Lawrence O’Donnell About Political Views, Talks Big, Wide-Ranging Obama Interview

“NBC interviewer-in-chief” Jay Leno joined Lawrence O’Donnell on Tuesday night to preview his sitdown with President Obama, and was remarkably candid about his own political views. Leno reminisced on his long history of interviewing politicians and presidents on his show, and told O’Donnell he likes Obama, admired his remarks on Trayvon Martin, and that personally, he’s a fiscal conservative and a social liberal.

Leno said Obama was very “eloquent” talking about Martin and his own racial experiences, praising him for “speaking from the heart.” He said that while people may be “confused about Obamacare and the economy,” they get the Martin case. He also likened Russia rounding up homosexuals to “Germany 1933.”

Leno reminisced about his past political interviews, told O’Donnell Rick Perry was “just too narrow-minded for me,” and said of Obama, “He thinks the way I think.” He acknowledged that even people who hate Obama’s policies “like the man” and think he’s genuinely trying to build up the country.

Leno even got somewhat specific about his politics, telling O’Donnell he’s a fiscal conservative and social liberal, and shared his thoughts on other comics doing political material.

Watch part one of the interview below, via MSNBC:

And part two:

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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