The Daily Show: Ears Edition - 2025 Year End Precap Hostravaganza | Jordan Klepper, Ronny Chieng, Desi Lydic, Josh Johnson and Michael Kosta

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Join the Daily Show co-hosts as they take a look back at the biggest stories from the Very Normal Year that was 2025. Jordan Klepper, Ronny Chieng, Desi Lydic, Josh Johnson and Michael Kosta get together to highlight the weirdest news moments of the year, the characters that grabbed the spotlight, and their favorite bits from their Daily Show co-hosts. They also lay down their predictions for 2026, assuming we still make it that far. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to https://RocketMoney.com/DAILYSHOW today. To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://hims.com/dailyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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cram them into the smallest room in the building and force them to talk to each other. I am one of those hosts. You're already laughing, Ronnie. it. I'm one of them. I'm Jordan Klepper. Let me pass it to Ronnie Chang so everybody can introduce themselves in case we all haven't taken the time to learn each other's names. Oh, I'm Roy Chang. Desi Lightick. Josh Johnson. Hi, I'm Michael Costa. Good to meet you guys. I'm really happy to finally meet some of the other hosts. Yeah. It is nice to be together because we are almost never. That's true. Not all of us, you know, usually maybe four out of five or like a good three.

Yeah. But yeah. It's much less in a sweet. Wet Lodge. Yeah, yeah. But you know that everyone thinks we're always hanging out all the time. Do you guys get that? Yeah. People always ask me, like, what's it like hanging out with everybody all the time? And I say, I don't hardly know each other.

We don't barely know each other. No, I think we actually hang out more than, we don't hang out as much as the public things, but we hang out more than. Most coworkers? Yes, correct. Yeah. That's true. The Daily Show never truly ends.

Not knock wood, but Careful what you say I haven't read the news recently You hear that advertiser It never ends Write that down So we're always sort of On to tomorrow show

And working out of right So there's very few like Hey let's celebrate the past week's worth of shows You're always just sort of like cool You're working on next week's show So it's always like a sexy baton toss Yes Very sexy

But I feel like I've seen all you guys Every day I feel like I see you guys every day But to Josh's point is never all five at the same time. I'll see three of you, I'll see two of you, so I never feel like I don't see you guys. Even when I am not with you all,

you're all brought up, you know? We're always in your hearts. Meet and greets after my shows. They always tell me to tell you that you're brave. Oh, me in particular? No, 100%. They're like, oh, how does he do it? And I was like, oh, I don't know I'm not there

when he does it, but yeah, He does it, and they're like, yeah, he just goes. I would be so scared. He just talks to people and everything. It's very sweet, you know? That always comes from a very sweet spot, but you realize how terrified people are of talking to other people. Yeah. You're so brave for talking to other people.

That really speaks to the moment that we are. Also, you do have seven security guards following you at all time. They're scary, too. They're also scary. Yeah. It does actually bring me comfort to know that I'm not the only one that people. are asking me about my castmates yeah no usually I get mad say why are you asking about them ask about me but really I should be happy that you're also being asked

about me yes yes yes we're constantly I don't talk to my fans I don't know what the hell they I don't know what that's true I try to avoid them yeah well I try to avoid your fans too yeah they're intense right no they will specifically tell me you know like if especially if I get stopped they'll be like, man, you know, Daily Show's so good. Desi's great. And I'm like, yeah, she is. And then they'll be done.

They'll be done talking to them. And I'll be like, oh, okay. I will have you know I got that this weekend. Really? About you, specifically. So, yes. Annoying. We need to exchange fans.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, let's swap. I've had that happens every time I go out about and do a talk, that's where you quickly realize within five or 10 seconds that you are not their favorite person. What I will do, like, it's curious, even on, like, an Instagram scale, I'll notice, like, somebody who's maybe like a checkmark or it pops up,

so-and-so, like the thing that you did, or they will be like, you all have met them off-screen, a mildly famous person who you might meet, who talks about how much of a fan they are, and then you go on to, like, Instagram, and what is always heartbreaking is that I will go to see who they follow and realize they don't follow me, and they follow, like, two or three of you. I love that you're admitting that this is the kind of deep-dive research you're doing on your off-time. You're like, oh, really? You're that big a fan, John Legend?

Well, it seems like you're a real big fan of Josh Indyman. But not enough to follow him here. Wow, wow. It's lovely to be a part of a team, but you realize you're ranked in that team with every single person that you're. Do you imagine how, like, Tony Koochooch felt? That's a reference, I can't. or Scotty Pippen, even, you know, like, dude, what's it like playing with Jordan?

They must have adds that all the time. It's like, yo, I got seven rings. It must have been annoying as hell. Especially you knowing how much you played the last game. Oh, my God. You made a clutch shot. And now they're like, what was it like when Jordan passed? Most of us know we should take control of our finances,

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Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com slash Daily Show today. That's RocketMoney.com slash Daily Show. Getmoney.com slash daily show. All right, so here's what we're going to do here. We're going to sort of put a bow on 2025. Look back at some stories, some highlights, some low lights, just have a fun time together before we go off on our merry ways and reassemble in 2026.

Do any of you remember anything that happened this year? It's all a complete blur to me. It's a blur. I didn't remember anything until someone mentioned five years. And I was like, oh, yeah, that was this year. It's crazy, right? Yeah. Wasn't that also last year?

Yeah, kind of. Like, weren't fires bad the last three years? Yeah. Also, just to be clear, fire has been around a very long time. Maybe one of the first things to be around. The L.A. fires were as an enormous news story that I had, I hate to even say this, but the barrage of other events had slipped my mind that that existed. Whose week was the L.A.

I mean, it's existed for a while. Do you remember who was behind the desk? when those began? I remember John, John went real hard his day on fires, but I wonder if we were maybe dark, and then he was like a comeback situation. We might have been. And there was sort of...

Because he said a tornado fucked a hurricane, something fired, and I like that joke so much that I totally butchered it. I just remember him going hard on it because Trump was saying that there wasn't the fire hydrants weren't accessible or some bullshit. Yeah, yeah. But I remember John went hard.

That must have been January. Right. I kind of remember shining a spotlight on a smoke show of a reporter during that time. But I think that was a couple of weeks after. When you look back, what are the stories that pop out, even though it all feels like a giant blur? What pops up? What is the chaos that pops up in your mind? The first story that I remember in January that I can recall is the Gulf of America, right?

Was that like the first Trump? That was right off the bat because so January we have inauguration. So it's only about 11 months. Right. Right. Golf of America and War with Canada. Panama Canal. War with Canada.

Yeah, I feel like those were sort of being talked about, if I recall, pre-inoguration. And like that's out the gate, Gulf America, we're going to fight with Canada. And we want the Panama Canal. Like those are the first beefs. Right. Right. And then pre-presidency was fires. And then you gained to that.

And then when was Luigi? No, that was last year. Oh, was it? I'm pretty positive. I can't remember. That's my bad then. Was Luigi last year? Yeah, I can't remember. Because he just is about to go on trial now.

It's truly a book. I remember Liberation Day. And the reason that's relevant to me was because I was like, here's the tariffs. Here's the thing I printed. And like, we still don't know what the fuck is happening with tariffs. Do some countries have them? Some countries don't. I, of course, you remember Luigi, God, that was captivating.

And then the saddest one was Charlie Kirk was probably, if you asked me the story that dominated the year, to me it's that. But what do you even say about it? Epstein was pretty big. Yep, you're right. Epstein and Josh, you had that first Epstein, Trump is on the list week, right? Yeah, yeah, because Elon said it, but he had just, he had just tweeted like Trump's in Epstein files, but that was because he got fired. Right. That did I feel such an important thing to remember.

When people are looking at like Marjorie Taylor Green and, oh, this is proof that the Republican Party can shift. It's like Elon Musk, Elon Musk said Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. Yeah. Very publicly on the largest platform to the most number of people you could possibly talk to. And two weeks ago, Elon Musk was invited to the White House to have a. to have a dinner with... A literal pat on the back. He literally had a...

He invited to get a pat on the back. Exactly. Yeah. It's like, there is no ideology and there is no... I'm turning away. You can't burn any of these bridges when money is the true currency. Yeah. It is interesting because he's so...

The president is so sensitive with certain things, right? And then some things he's so fixing with it. Or he just forgot. Or he's aging and he just completely forgot. I don't know if he gets grievances but he you know even when Mandani was in the which also happened this year Mandani was in the White House and and you remember when they said like the the press was asking Mandani like hey is the president of fascist and Trump was like you can say it's okay yeah right and that was such a cool

like thick-skinned move right he's like they want to call me a fascist to say it I don't even care you know and then some things he's so sensitive about but Other things he's like, yeah, whatever. He was so crushing on being in a room with another winner. You could just see that Mom Donnie energy where he was like, oh, he was won over by this other winner successful, cool kid in the room.

Because he's surrounded by losers. Like, like, fun. And not even in a partisan way. Yes, yes. It's like, who has fun around Ron DeSantis? Do you know what I mean? So it's like that's the energy. So I think to your point, it's like,

Mom Dani's in there and he's like, you know, charismatic. And Trump hasn't seen charisma in a while. From Queens? Trump's from Queens. But it's not like you called it, right? You didn't call that they would get along. No, no, no, not at all.

That was surprising. Watching that dynamic was so fascinating. And there was, I know he was sitting at the presidential desk in the Oval Office, but there was something about the visual of him being seated and Mamdani kind of standing over him in a power, in like a very alpha position. I don't know. It was just like, it was. the dynamic I hadn't seen.

Yeah, it's probably the opposite of what he intended, because it's like, I feel like he's sitting to make Mamdani stand there so he can be like show, like doing a little show and tell, like, look, look, he stands for me. But then it's like, you also then can't look up at him lovingly. Like, it's like, that's also what shifted it.

It's like, you see Trump looking at Mom Dai while he's talking, he's like, yeah. It's charming, so charming. That is the same place that Kid Rock stood as well. Yeah. I always thought Trump would have, like, a little trapdoor right there. Next to the cold button. There's actually a trapdoor at the front of that desk, right?

Isn't that with little young JFK Jr. That was installed quite some time ago. There is. There is, and the front of the resolute desk there is an open panel where there's a famous picture of John of Kennedy's son. Who's apparently going to be a vice president for Trump in some future administration world? Do you think Trump had his hand? on the secret under the desk gun at all times too.

I've always wanted under the desk gun. Oh. And just put that in the pot if you want. Put that in your contract. But like fixed to the desk? Yeah, correct. Yeah.

You know, like every detective movie. What sucks is the office space here is so tight that all of our deaths face the wall. You'd have a dangerous person walk in and yet all you can really do is shoot at a wall. Why didn't they put this on a swivel hinge? You have to achieve the status of a big open floor plan. Otherwise, you need a desk facing a door, which is very hard to achieve in New York City.

I mean, really, only John could shoot us. You're right. Yeah. I mean, also, it's such a fixed point that imagine if they're just standing a little to the left. And now you miss. I'm like, what was that? To be clear, yes, John has the best desk out of everybody, right? It does face other people.

So kudos. That's what you get. That's what you get for being in the state for that long. For inventing American satire. You get a desk that faces. Incorrectly states over now. Modern American. Perfected.

Modern American. Modern American satire. Modern American satire. When does modern American satire start? Probably with Admino TV, right? Television as a medium. 50s, 40s, 50s, okay? Yeah, but nobody was cutting clips in the 50s or 60s.

Oh, you're talking about using news as a narrative structure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're just going to be more specific. Satirical news shows. Soterical news shows. I get what that means. Sorry, I have to explain it to people who didn't go to law school. I always forget you went to law school.

I don't because he reminds me all the time. Yeah, how can you forget that Ronnie went to law school? Two degrees. Here's a question. We're sort of touching out of it here. But is there any news stories that happen? Like, as we know, your week at the desk is a wild week. And we've gotten, I'd like to say, pretty good at responding to the news of the morning,

the news of the afternoon, the thing that happened last. night is there been any news stories that you've watched somebody else get or cover that you're like ah damn it I wish I was behind the desk I did like um this isn't really a new story but you and Troy's Fox the pageant thing well the oh yeah you guys were talking about the Fox Awards the Freedom Awards yes Freedom Awards I don't wish I covered that because they covered it so it was so funny Troy and Desi were they did a two-hander where they were both talking about the Freedom Awards and it It was, it was, it was great.

It was a great segment. I love that. The footage was very funny. Yeah. But you guys also, you guys added so much, it was great. Very, very light lift. Can I, okay, you, when you covered Pete Hegzeth speaking to the military about no fatties, that whole section was so funny and only something that I feel you could do.

Like the jokes that you were hitting were so specific to you. I don't know. I think we could all come down there, you know. I mean, anyone could come down there, you know. I mean, anyone could come. and do their version of it, but, like, there were certain, they were just very Ronnie jokes. Oh, okay. Thanks, thanks.

That was one of my favorites. I remember, did you cover, well, I remember you covering RFK Jr. Bear and Roseanne Barr response video? That's right. That to me, I loved that act. And so, sometimes you want a meaty story that you can kind of pull together and what have you, but then the absurdity of this administration knows no bounds. And that one, I remember what I loved about how you guys covered it that day was,

Sometimes there's so much chaos that you're jumping all over with a bunch of different stories, but you guys like sat in that clip, which was wild. It was, if I recall, RFC. Was it a Vanity Fair story that leaked or something on RFK? Oh, the bear? Yeah, bear in the woods. RFK hit a bear, picked up a bear on his way upstate

at the back of the car. Stored the meat for a while. Scored the meat. And then the second level that a video got released of Roseanne Barr defending that story. It's a turdunkin of America right there. And I remember you walking through it, and I laughed so hard. I was like, that's such a great story.

You've been such a great job of like, let's sit in this shit. Because this is chaotic. It's not just one joke. We need to really unpack this. I think Jubin helped. I mean, he always helps, obviously. One of our writers, Jubin Perang. I remember that day him saying, like, let's wallow in this.

And that was great advice, as he always. gives because there was enough there for us to just sit at the desk and like keep pulling clips, keep pulling things because RFK Jr., the more you kind of take it seriously, the funnier it can be. Yes. Who had this, him swimming in sewage?

Yeah. Was that you too? That wasn't me, I don't think. I covered parts of it. I can't remember if that was the first wave of that story coming out or... That was so delicious. No, no, that was. I think that was me. You're right. He wasn't swimming in sewage. He was swimming in a creek that they had proclaimed.

has sewage in it. I mean, I mean, still should not be swimming in it. No. Yeah. But he was shirtless in it, yes. And it was like Father's Day maybe? Oh yeah, he was with his kid. Yeah, yeah.

Because it wasn't like, it wasn't like Ninja Turtle swimming. Right. That's what I'm trying to do. But it was like a clear sewage leak that is, there's signs. Yeah, and it was like, don't swim in that. Yeah. But he was doing it to build his immunity. Is that the thing?

I don't know if he's building it. anymore. Oh, okay. I think, no, I think he's showing it off. He's showing off immunity now. I personally think he feels like he's cooked up all the immunity he needs, so now he just moves through life as he sees fit. I don't think, because also he's, isn't he 70? Mm-hmm. So at 70, you're not building anything anymore. Like, there's no like, I'm building strong bones. Oh, he's definitely doing the opposite of building things. Yeah, yeah. You know, but it brings up a good point. I do get annoyed when there's a no swimming sign and it doesn't tell me why. No swimming

Fecal matter Whatever you know okay I don't want to swim there No swimming we don't have a lifeguard on duty Well I want to swim now I can we can do that Do you see that as a challenge? Yeah I see it as a challenge I think that we need I think and this is what I want everyone to get out of this podcast We need more specific no swimming signs I mean this that is maybe the whitest thing you've ever said

Undertoe I don't want to swim in that Yeah sure we don't supervise this area Well, we can go swimming. The idea, the idea that someone bothered to make a no-swimming side. I should just trust that. To a degree. Right. Because I just don't know anyone who is just trying to pry people of swimming to the point where they just randomly put it up.

So then if someone was doing that and it was like, no, I'd be way more on your side. I'd be like, yeah, you got to check it. But the fact that someone who's not here right now is like nobody should swim in it. Do you trust the color flag system they have at the beach? Do you know the color flag system? You know the color flag system. You know they haven't changed it. The lifeguard hasn't been out there enough time.

I'm always skeptical. Lifeguards are underfunded. What's green? What's yellow? What's orange is the one? What is orange? Does orange mean have fun? Does orange mean have fun?

I mean, I'll throw this out there because I don't go to the beach often. So I'm the wrong one to ask. And when I go, I don't swim. I just sort of stand there. But the, anytime there is not a lifeguard anywhere, like at the beach or anything, I assume that they drowned. Right. I don't go off like in my head like, oh, I guess the lifeguard's like on break. I'm like, the lifeguard clearly tried to save someone and this person fought them so.

Because, you know, sometimes people fight you when you're trying to save them from drowning. I always assume there needs to be a lifeguard that needs help. I mean, I feel like more often than night you'd approach a beach, oftentimes the lifeguard's not there. So you have like a tragic tale in your mind as you set foot that there was a person there recently who got fought with

over saving their own lives and that person's dead now. And yet you're like, let's go, let's go still enjoy this day. I don't enjoy it. I just, like I said, I stand there. I don't get in the water. Oh, sea glass. Yeah. I'm just like, at a certain point when you don't see a lifeguard, you're like,

All right, maybe, but maybe who guards the lifeguard? You know what? Now that is. Good point. Let's think about that for a minute. That's pretty, I think, who does guard the lifeguard? Apparently, no one, because I don't say anything. No one that knows me knows that I think this.

I don't know if you know this, but Josh did take some ayahuasca earlier in the sweat lodge, and this is, it's starting to come out now. Now you're good. Now I get this. I mean, it's a wonder that I'm even, uh, uh, uh, Lucid, you know, because ayahuasca apparently really takes you somewhere. Yeah. Somewhere else.

Yeah, yeah. Have you heard about... Who guards the lifeguard? Have you heard that there are people that do ayahuasca like here? Like, they just go to like... Would you mean here in this building? No, like in the city. Yeah, yeah.

And they just go to like a gym. I'm trying to find them. And they do ayahuasca in like a gym. Oh, that would not be the way to do it. Yeah, it's not the way it's intended at all. Well, I know there's groups... I've heard of groups in L.A. who have, like, taken the ayahuasca tradition

and then made it sort of like a quasi-meditation retreat situation. Yeah, but unfortunately, the two people I know firsthand who did ayahuasca went in atheists and came out not atheists. Really? Yeah, and it's so irritating. Really? Two for two? Yeah.

I fucking hate that shit so much. Why does it ever happen the other way? I know. Why has it ever happened, like, a devout evangelical plus ayahuasca. It was like, you know what? There's all bullshit. I was wrong. I know.

Yeah, I wish so, yeah. I wish that was the case. I think atheists just need, like, more compelling sensations. Do you know what I mean? Like, all the religious sensations, like, drink this. And you're like, what is it? It's like, don't worry, you about to see God. Yeah, and then you feel something.

And then you feel very weird, and you're like, maybe that was it. Whereas atheists are just like, come on. Yeah. It must have been a trip when somebody ate a magic mushroom the first time. The first time, right? Just so, you know, our producer is very subtly moving. Who am I? They want you overlawn foam for my awash.

Oh, this is, oh, you know what? I'm going to move? Okay, yes. Hint, hit, hit. You're listening to this, don't take it. So looking at the, look at this past year. Stay atheist, stay atheist. Stay atheist, guys.

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Anybody you're sad to see go? Kind of sad to see MTG go. You think she's gone? Oh. I think based on my read of her, the way she's giving speeches now, My read is she's gone and gone. I can see the true belief in her of, like, I'm out.

Really? I think she's playing the long game. And I was going to give her a shout out for being the most compelling character just in terms of, like, having a real character arc. Yeah, her arc is great. Yeah. Great character. Very bingeable.

I mean, she's probably the best room reader we've seen. Because, like, she is jumping ship before, like, it's like if someone had a personal lifeboat and they saw the iceberg up ahead and they just quietly didn't tell anybody but then they got off because what she's going to be able to do because don't get me wrong. She's leaving Congress for like all these like rumored reasons.

I think maybe she just went ahead and did enough insider trading and made enough money that she's probably like good and then she's also like there's a way more like culture of sort of cachet in leaving on your own because you're disgusted with like politics as everyone's discussed with politics

that's a very like every man approach even though you're part of why you're disgusted with politics. Like that, like you were supposed to do the thing. Yeah I mean? Like when you hire a plumber, they, it's not noble for them to come out of the bad and be like, gross. I'm going to go. It's like that's, but you signed, you said it was gross and you could take care of it. That's why you're here.

And so she's getting like these pats on the back and all these like rumored reasons, some of them glowing, some of them not as favorable that she's leaving. But then my thing is like you have so much more you have the opposite of what cash Patel and Dan Bonjino have now Because they had the sort of culture on their side of like that right wing culture. Oh, if we could just get in there We would fix everything and now they are in there and people are like these guys are clowns whereas she gets to do the opposite like You could lay a lot of these problems at her feet like she was in government for a lot of them But she's like you know what this is too nasty this is and then she's leaving and somehow she gets credit for it but I think she's going into media.

Yes, that's a good call. I think media is going to be the move because she's going to be, it's one thing to have like a Fox News correspondent or a contributor, and then it's another thing to have someone who can say I was on the inside. Like almost the way that, what was the guy's name? He kind of tried to do it. What is it? It's not.

It's not holding Caulfield. That was the catcher of the ride. That's the character of the ride. That's the character in the rhyme. Madison Cawthorne. Yes. Okay, yes. So it's the same thing that Madison Cawthor like tried to do.

Oh, yeah, that guy. Because he was like, oh, this is so corrupt. This place is correct. And then he lost his seat, but then he didn't have the extra thing. It's hard when you're out of that limelight. It's funny seeing Matt Gates pop up now inside the Pentagon for the news network. And you forget how far he clearly had fallen, but he knows how to play that system, and yet he then just seems a part of...

I mean, I think becoming a quote-unquote truth-teller in the media ecosystem is a money-grab for a lot of these guys and know how to do it. MTV, I don't buy that there is any true, like, I don't buy the argument that her point of view actually shifted or that there's a moral reckoning that's happening, but I do think she is a curious case of somebody who knows how to read a room, and that if the ship is sinking, she would probably be one of the savvy ones to jump off. I mean, she's really curious to see if there's, if there's truth in that in this upcoming year. She stood at Capitol Hill with Epstein victims calling out Trump.

I mean, she knows how to piss off Trump. She is so good at that confrontation. I thought that was badass for her to go that hard. And then to bail ship is very interesting and very curious to see where it's headed. It also shows you just how ineffective Congress is. She ran on I can go in here and change things elect me so I can change what's happening in this world It's like oh and this person is I'm gonna stand up to the strongest man on the planet

What are you gonna do? I'm quitting Yeah So that's not the place to do it So you think media might be the place I think we're gonna see a lot more Pete Heggseth I think Trump loves Heggseth He loves the suits He loves the haircut he loves how clearly he speaks

Clearly shit is amping up with Venezuela We for one of the first things Trump did was bomb Iran. He loves Pete Hexeth. I don't love Pete Hexeth. I think he's a clown, but I think we are going to see a lot. What did you say? I say you careful with me. I think Trump loves him and I think he's going to use him more and more. And he's so loyal to Trump. Really? You don't think any of the many kind of fumbles he's made. He should have been out with the first signal text. He should have been out. But that's what I'm saying. You don't think the fumbles are going to. You don't think he'll throw him out of the past. He loves him. I think they're in bed

together the person the person who is not turning out to be who I thought they would be in the administration is like Pam Bondi Pam Bondi she's a clown she yeah it's like she initially started and like there were people that were like Pam Bondi is smart like you know he's like yes like if anything there was almost this um this bubbling up of I won't just say fear but there was like there was some real anxiety in in a lot of like left-leaning politics and a lot of, like, political experts that I know that they were like, I don't know, Pam Bonnie might get in there

and she might basically do quietly and very effectively what Trump says in this, like, very dumb, loud way, right? The same way that what's his name from Project 2025 is like, you never see him on camera much. V. Miller? Yeah, Vaught.

No, no, Vaught. Yeah, like, and so I just, I, see her now and it's like she keeps having the same trip up trip ups as trump without having like any charisma so it's like it's across my desk it doesn't exist we finished it we're opening investigation it's like and she also never has the like uh caroline levitt level of like i said what i said what are you going to do about it she she always seems to like backtrack which you can make her nervous which is weird it's like you're you're the entire aren't you the attorney general because whatever you answer my questions it makes me feel like i'm the attorney general

like it's very it's very awkward and then like even when she's trying to praise trump you can tell trump only accepts praise from like a few people that feels like sincere from you know and you can tell when she's like thank you for being the biggest baddest most president president ever that even Trump is like uh this is annoying like and so i don't know i don't know how much longer she'll be around Oh, interesting. I think Cash Patel, I'm watching. I think he's had a fun character arc in these last six months. Oh, God, yeah. Oh, my God. I thought, like, when you covered, Desi. The women's jacket thing. The women's jacket. The girlfriend, country music singer, him mad at the agents who were guarding his girlfriend because they left halfway through because there was no threat.

Like, that's such a, there's such a human, hilarious, buffoonish element to Cash Patel. But I see there's a little bit of turning in the Magasphere around him where I'm wondering, I don't think Trump makes, Trump is not firing people because I think that seems to be an admission of guilt. And I think he's learned like, well, I'll stick it out with Hank Seth. I'll stick it out with all these people because it looks like I'm doubling down on Maga. And I wonder if Cash has the cred to ride it that way. I also don't think he, I think he's not firing people this administration because these are more

loyal people. That's the previous correct. It's a whole reason there. The previous ones were more establishment, Republicans were actually. had competency, and these guys are just the pure loyalists. Because if you're going to let someone go, you have to have someone right there willing to step in

who's going to be just as loyal. Yeah. Yeah. There's not a second cash Patel out there. Yeah. I hope. There's another figure who's popped up recently, which is Lindsay Halligan, who is the person, the lawyer who's prosecuting.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. All the Comey indictment. All that. And she's getting I think the Supreme Court has said, like, you're not a lawyer. I mean, the fucking, the jury didn't even see the indictment. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, you know, you went to law school, right?

Just the law school perspective on this is that one of the things, one of the things is that you're genuinely scared of being disbarred. That's a genuine fear where you're lawyer. Your number one concern is don't do anything that will get you in trouble as the lawyer. And all these people, the way these people act, I'm like, They, I guess, you know, nothing matters anymore because how, the lack of following any of these procedures is crazy. Or doge cut all the people that enforce that stuff. Yeah, so, I don't know.

So, go America. Yeah, go Lindsay Halligan. I think she hasn't been fired yet, which is crazy to me. So she's one of my favorite characters. I'm wondering if you, do you guys want to play a game? Sure. Love games. They've set up a fun game for us here to play.

They're calling this one, Who Am I? And what they've done is the lovely folks in our podcasting, department have polled descriptors that we've used on the show about characters of the last year that we've talked about so they're going to play they're going to put up here in the screen we'll read them out loud the names the descriptors of these people let's see if we can guess who these people are okay let's see what we got scrooge if the ghosts never visited dd so devon wrote that yeah that's sometimes a fun detail we get from the inside as you occasionally get funny jokes and the initials of writers who pitch those jokes so you get

We get to judge them from afar. Elon? Scrooge if the Ghosts never visited. It's going to be someone older like Mitch McConnell. I'm going to go Trump. Donald J. Trump. Oh, hey. Okay, you got it.

Nice job. That's very classic. Okay. Half melted Bob Barker. Oh, that's a tricky one. That's Mitch McConnell. Steve Bannon? No?

I think Mitch McConnell's a great guest. I think it's Mitch McConnell. Let's go Mitch McConnell. For all of them. Joe Bob. Oh. Do you remember? He was president of him this year.

It was crazy. Joe Biden started the year as president. The action figure that got too close to a light bulb. RFK? Or would you, or a Heggseth? Pete Heggseth is. I think RFK. But it would have to be melted.

Mitch McConnell. Oh! We definitely leaned into the melting of Mitch McConnell for sure. Oh, man, he started freezing up again recently. I know. Really? It's a hot take, but I think like he should do one more election and then retire. I said it

This is fetus in its 100th trimester I'm going to say Cash Patel I'm going to say Steve Ben I'm going to go Miller I'm going to go Stephen Miller

That's a good guest too Mitch McConnell Eric Trump Oh yes That's a good Trump They have an indictment on these descriptors I was going to say

They clearly don't know The voice of the host of the show It's really not Off-Broadway American Psycho. Stephen Miller. It has to be Stephen Miller. I think HEC-Seth could work. The hair.

What do we got? Gavin Newsom. Okay. Yeah, that's right. And that seems true. You don't think you make it to Broadway? No, quite. You know?

I feel like he, I don't know. I feel like he would just be so excited to be in a theater that he'd be like, I'm going to stay. We have a man who has definitely fucked a robot already. I mean, Elon. Elon. Elon. Elon. Yes.

Yeah. Nailed it. Friendless Ziplock bag full of Jiz. Wow. Zach. Very Zach. That is a Zach book. Friendless ziplog bag full and Jiz.

Mike Johnson? Oh. Elon a little bit. Yeah. Oh. Friendless. Yeah. Friendless is a good specific there.

The rest is just, we're just being mean. We're just coming up with the grossest possible thing. But he does have a lot kids. That's why he's full. Oh. Oh, so I guess that is more specific. You're right because of the kids. Yes.

See, it was grounded in something. It was grounded in a truth. Yes. A caterpillar in the middle of becoming an ugly... Oh, no! This could be Stephen Miller. This could be Stephen Miller. Yeah.

Yeah. Man, I can't... Yeah, I don't remember doing that. You wrote that one. There's a JJ right there. Oh, J.J. There you go. Yeah, wow.

You probably used AI. Star of Kubrick's lesser-known sequel, Eyes Wide Open. Cash. Cash Patel. That's a cash. Yeah. we have recently we had it made me laugh out loud it was like oh that's the cash Patel it was like the picture of cash Patel was here's cash Patel reacting to the

information that Cash Patel is in charge of the FBI right right director of the FBI yeah that was last week that's that's that's that's pretty spot-off is a good one guys to wrap this thing up I wonder if there is a prediction mm 2026 prediction what do we think we're heading into what are we gonna cover are They're people that are going to pop up? What do you imagine 2026 has in store for us? I think Trump will turn over a new leaf and become a better person. Yeah, yeah.

All the signs are all pointing to it, you know. He learned the error of his ways. I see that his health problems will allow him to reflect on the things he can do, the good he can do in the world. Totally. Tone down the rhetoric and have coherent policy decisions. Full Marjorie Taylor Green arc. He's going to follow through and there will be world peace. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. I think it's been a year. It's been a year. He's got three more. Three more. I think it'll be interesting to watch. Desi and I were speaking about this on one of our holiday trailer shoots recently. It really feels like the last week he's been getting very angry, like truly angry.

You've watched him call, like, the reporter's piggies and the one called stupid, right? But, like, it's funny, ha-ha, but the way he says is that he's angry. It'll be interesting to see how that. that anger progresses throughout the next year and the next year the next year. I think he's going to start to become a little more unhinged and really test all of us and our legal system's ability to handle how far he pushes. I think he will become unhinged in a way that makes him less harmful, like makes him more transparent to the people who need to recognize it.

Yeah, it's a good question. Yeah. Another problem with this, what's happening in 2026, is that a lot of the economic things that he's fucking up, take time to see the fuck up. So we're going to see the effects of the fucking up more next year. The anger will bubble up, yeah. I think the midterms are going to be fascinating because there's a decent chance. You start to see the economics not turning around, these tariffs really affecting people, the health insurance.

Trump, at least what it's looking like right now, is not a good thing to run on for these midterms. And you're going to see a party attempting to distance itself from the- Donald Trump read that well I think they might out of self-preservation well like he is a lame duck president and starting to grapple with well I mean yeah that's why he's got to figure that out here they attempt to but I think he might I bet he will harden that narrative yeah because he's going to feel the slipping away of a party that's like you're not helping me win we've already seen this happen in these special elections as we get to the midterms it's not popular and if you

aren't running again then we have to come up with our own identity which that party can't do without Donald Trump, but it's going to be faced with having to attempt that in four, five, six months. And Donald Trump will probably react in kind, which could be more so the narrative of a third term, at least in a much stronger, angry or more plausible way. Wow. Educated analysis. I hope he's right.

Well, I don't know. No, no, you don't. No. The fact that we're even saying third term, like, casually shows that the way he drops this shit on us is effective because we should not even. be fucking saying it yes yes it's the overton window of it all correct he keeps saying it he puts it out hat it's a joke it's a joke it's a thing that's like us and right now right even even we like that can't happen and it technically cannot happen but here we are

talking about hey allan can you just take this part right out of the podcast yeah just edit this don't give any ideas out there i can see the window allan's actually hung himself i do think in 2026 there'll be another uh uh diddy documentary It doesn't seem like he's done. I think there's more coming. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. Underserved in the documentary world.

It's up to this point, but there's more. There's so much more to uncover. And I do think that, like, I don't know if you've seen it, but it, whewf, it's harrowing. And it, there's no cliffhanger, but you, Diddy's still alive. So there's, he's gonna be Diddy more. Is that someone will be more analysis of Diddy? Do you think there'll be new, new Diddy stories or more so a look back? Oh, 100%.

Like, here's the thing. Here's the thing. 50 Cent, you know, produced this documentary, sold it to Netflix and everything. But that's four episodes. But what they cover is like sort of an arc history of Diddy, right, to this point. I think that there's so many more people in the woodwork that he screwed out of money. There are people that get talked about in the documentary that aren't in the documentary. So then there's hearing their side of things and everything.

So there's, as far as content goes, there's a wealth of it because he screwed people over for like easily what, like 35 years. So it's like that's already bad. But then also. So it sounds like he'll be our next president. Probably. I mean, he's only, he only has 77 civil cases against him. And so I feel like pending. That's a lot.

Are there any words or phrases that you guys don't want to hear next year? I don't. That you heard too much this year? Oh man Trump 6-7 6-7 is not great That was 6-7 anti-vax

Anti-Vax I don't want to hear Executive Order If we could just go for a little while Without hearing that one Flawable deniability People know what they're doing I hope

We We lessen the over Celebration and marketing of AI I hope I hope I 100% agree with that. Yes. I think we've, I think there's, I feel as pumping up the idea of AI being such a game

changer in a way that is affecting markets before it is completely proven out. It will have its effects, but it seems as if that's taken up a lot of space around conversation. I choose humans. Do you think? I saw you made those t-shirts. Yes, I choose humans. Yes.

Will this podcast be hosted by AI in 2026? Oh my God, no. This is, we're going to, next year. we're going to add three more hosts. The room is going to be half the size, so it's going to be sweaty and tight. It's going to be the most human sweaty space you could ever find. Hell, yeah. Bring it on, baby.

All right, that is every single thing that happened in 2025 and probably also 2026. From everyone here at The Daily Show, we want to thank you for watching and or listening this year. The show is going to take a winter break. We'll be back on January 5th. Happy holidays. Merry Christmas.

Happy Jan 6. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching The Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.