Dr. Phil McGraw has made a career of helping couples, family and friends overcome differences and find common ground. Apparently that gift for relationship-mending gab extends to estranged world leaders — or at least, their late-night impersonators.
On Thursday's "Tonight Show," McGraw applied his diplomatic skills to mending ties between Russian leader Vladimir Putin (well, Jimmy Fallon as Putin) and President Barack Obama (played by Fallon's pal Dion Flynn).
"Now, my first two guests have been in a very public spat for the past few months, but they say they're trying to work it out," McGraw explained to viewers.
Enter the two world leaders, who quickly made clear that patching things up wouldn't be easy.
"I'm the one that's always reaching out," the Obama stand-in complained to McGraw. "You know, I call — he doesn't pick up. I send a text, and three days later I get a text that says, 'Sorry, I just got this.'" At that point, faux Obama turned to Fallon's Putin and fumed, "... I'm spying on you! I know you read it three days ago!"
For his part, the Putin character said he felt smothered by the president's attentions. "I go to sleep; I wake up with 20 text messages from this guy," he told McGraw. "It's like I'm a teenage girl, (and) he's James Franco."
To stop the bickering, McGraw appealed to the men's inner children, a.k.a. Little Barry and Little Vladdy Poot-Poot. The two never quite work through their issues, but they do share a bonding moment and consent to a group hug.
Can world peace be far behind?
"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" airs weeknights at 11:35 on NBC.
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