(NBC)
President Obama ate a piece of salmon that had been half-chewed and left behind by a real-life bear in Alaska during his episode of “Running Wild with Bear Grylls.” In footage of the upcoming episode, set to air later this year, Obama and Grylls are seen sitting on a riverbank, where a bear gnawed at part of a piece of salmon before leaving the rest of the fish for the president and the British adventurer to finish. Watch the video below.
Obama, who apparently likes the word “sucker,” asked Grylls, who picks up the half-eaten salmon from the ground, “Why wouldn’t the bear finish this sucker?” noting that it “looks like a nice piece of fish.” Grylls explained that bears eat just the fattiest parts of fish, including their eggs, brain and skin, promoting the president to repeat, “So a bear has chewed on this sucker.”
Grylls then cooked up the remaining fish carcass, which Obama ate and called, “tasty,” though he added, “It would have been nice if we had a cracker to go with it.”
Later in the show, however, Obama expressed, “Bear’s a mediocre cook, but the fact that we ate something recognizable is encouraging.” The president was concerned before the show’s taping that Grylls was going to make him eat something bizarre. Still, the president said, “The fact that he told me this was a leftover fish from a bear… I don’t know if that was necessary. He could have just left that out.”
Overall, Obama enjoyed his time in Alaska with Grylls because, as he explained, “First of all, I’m not in the office. Second of all, I’m not wearing a suit.” As Gossip Cop previously reported, the president was in Alaska for three days to observe the impact of climate change on the state.
But as Gossip Cop also noted, Obama’s appearance on “Running Wild with Bear Grylls” has caused controversy with PETA, which has long been opposed to the adventurer’s show. PETA’s president Ingrid Newark has called the NBC program the “bottom of the barrel” and “sexist,” telling Gossip Cop that she objects to the outdoors show because “women have been bullied into slitting a baby pig’s throat and eating a mouse soaked in urine” on it. She feels, “There are far better ways to get the message about global climate change out than by appearing on this disgusting show.”
Gossip Cop can only imagine how PETA will react when it sees footage of the president eating a bloody salmon carcass. Check out the video below of President Obama and Bear Grylls sharing a piece of salmon left over by a wild bear, and tell us what you think.
