As if leading the free world and surviving two elections was not enough, the White House announced this week that President Obama will appear with Bear Grylls on the wilderness survival show Running Wild With Bear Grylls.
According to NBC, Grylls will give Obama a crash course in survival skills during the President’s trip to Alaska this week. The filming will occur on Exit Glacier near Seward, Alaska. The episode will draw attention to environmental concerns over glacial melt and overall warming of the arctic region.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters, “I will not deny your suspicion that there may have been some suggestions put forward by the Bear Grylls team that were not approved by the Secret Service,” he said. “We have been able to work with the Secret Service to find a couple of interesting things for the president to do with Bear Grylls. It should be fun.”
Grylls is well known for over-the-top survival techniques like hydrating using saltwater enemas. The survival show puts A-list celebrities in awkward positions out in the wild while Grylls offers pithy British commentary and empathetic support. The episode with Obama is expected to air later this year according to NBC.
Obama is not the only world leader that likes to show his wild side for the media. President Vladimir Putin of Russia is famous for posing shirtless while fishing or camera mugging hunting shots next to dead animals. With all the competition for resources between the U.S. and Russia in the arctic maybe Grylls could referee a global warming superpower summit at the North Pole. What do you say Bear, up for that adventure?
