The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Assad’s Exit, A McDonald’s Arrest, and Ben Wikler’s Democratic Blueprint

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

Jon Stewart unpacks Syria’s revolution, the rise of new leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, and the bizarre capture of an insurance CEO assassin. Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, joins to discuss his vision for the DNC, tackling Republican gerrymandering, and shifting the Democratic focus from elections to meaningful change for the working class.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, wherever you get your podcasts. You're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show with your host, John Stewart.

Man, do we have a good show for you tonight. The chairman, not the alderman, not the assistant secretary, the chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Only at the Daily Show does that get a big round of applause, really. Wisconsin Democratic Party, Ben Wick was going to be joining us to discuss the future of the National Democratic Party, specifically, is there going to be one? I don't know. But first, ladies and gentlemen, we can often get cynical about the state of things in the world, following a cycle of despair,

as though the horrors and deprivations of our modern world can never be overturned or undone. But then at our lowest, we get images like these from this weekend. A moment in time of pure unalloyed joy. The delirious, almost uncomprehending excitement for a people celebrating a suddenly bright and hopeful new future. Yes, even the people of Syria are celebrating the New York Mets signing. You heard them.

You heard them in the streets chanting I can can only assume, we're going to the Syrians. I kid of course. Those images were jubilant Syrians celebrating the end of the 50-year rule of the murderous, despotic Assad family, a result that would have seemed incomprehensible even two weeks ago. And you know what's the real deal? Because they sealed it with the universal symbol of fallen dictatorships, the traditional toppling of the statues.

They pulled them down with ropes. They toppled the horse one. They knocked over the one where Assad signaled field goal. They even paraded Assad's head. They knocked over the one where Assad signaled field goal. They even paraded Assad's head. They knocked over the one where Assad signaled field goal. They even paraded Assad's head. They knocked over the one where Assad signaled field goal. They even paraded Assad's head. They knocked over the one where Assad signaled field goal. They even paraded Assad's head through the streets

like a decapitated Charlie Brown in the Macy's Day parade. And if I may, a quick word to the many remaining despots in the Middle East. It is my deepest hope that when you see this footage, you realize once and for all that you are really remaining despots in the Middle East, it is my deepest hope that when you see this footage, you realize once and for all that you are really skimping on statue structural integrity. Because when you are overthrown, and you will be, they're just going through these statues like it's tissue paper. I mean, this one here, look at this one here.

Guy just pushes it over with one hand. It's all there, just boom, it's just one guy. This statue is a symbol of my eternal power and iron fist and, oh no, don't touch it. It's just clay and pressed wood shavings. Father always told me if it's worth putting up a symbol of autocracy, it's worth doing it right.

And while the dictators could have made it fun for people by filling the statues with candy or something. Assad's former subjects are still finding a way to have fun with the toppled totems. It's like their new public transport system. Some kind of Syrian version of a Club Med banana boat. By the way, I don't speak Arabic, but I'm pretty sure that what they were chanting there is, uh, mustache rides, five cents. Oh, I know that fella there is feeling the sweet taint of freedom. But while statue Assad is being teabagged in the streets, actual Assad has left the

building. Assad fleeing with his family to Russia, where he had been granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. Oh, didn't I get a hug? Oh, that's so sweet. Yes, Putin has given Assad humanitarian asylum and then immediately sent him to go fight in Ukraine. They're very... They're very shorthanded.

But obviously, it's a great decision by Assad. I think no leader can go wrong in their exile choice by posing one simple question to themselves. What would Steven Seagal do? But if Assad is in Russia, you know what that means Nobody's home at the palace. It's open house people. The estate sale begins crowds are pillaging the palace They are sitting in his chairs. They are Taking pictures in his chair there. They are stealing more chairs. They are sitting in his chairs. They are taking pictures in his chair. They are stealing more chairs. Was there some kind of terrible seating problem in this country?

The people are rushing the palace and they're just taking the chairs. People are coming out like, don't bother going in, the good chairs are gone. All that's left is money, jewelry, and antiquities. In fact, I want to show you real quick my favorite moment from the looting of Assad's palace. A gentleman in the palatial room frustrated that this chair is not reclining. Are there no depths to Assad's depravity? Where are the cup holders?

And obviously this is surprising because in that part of the world, you'd think there'd be an abundance of at least Ottomans. The... LAUGHTER CHEERING APPLAUSE There's an empire of them. LAUGHTER What was startling to me It was an empire of them. What was startling to me is how quickly the whole thing unfolded.

I mean, how long did it take to overthrow the Assad regime? The regime overthrown by rebel fighters in just 11 days. How did they manage to end a decade-long civil war and defeat the entire Syrian military in just 11 days? And... Wait, zoom in on there. Is that zoom? Are you f***ing kidding me?! No! There's no way! That guy! What?!

How did... Is that where he rode that city bike? Is that... Actually, I obviously couldn't have been that guy. Today, they did appear to catch that guy today at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It's true. Look, I'm sorry, guys. Apparently, a bystander at the McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It's true. Look, I'm sorry, guys.

Apparently, a bystander at the McDonald's ratted him out. And normally, I would say, snitches get stitches. But obviously, without pre-approval, there's really... LAUGHTER APPLAUSE Seriously, though, I want to meet the rebel mastermind who overthrew this entrenched regime. The leader of the Islamist rebel group Abu Mohammed Al-Jawani arriving triumphantly in Damascus addressing a crowd at a mosque.

My God, all hail Syrian John Turturro. Tell me more about this modern day George Washington. Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed Al Jelani, who's been on the US terror watch list since 2013. Significant portions of Al Jelani's group maintain strong links to ISIS. A former Al Qaeda member. He's got a $10 million bounty on his head.

$10 million, I his head. Ooh, $10 million. I hope he never ends up in a McDonald's in Altoona. Okay, so we've got a former al-Qaeda guy in charge now. What does he have planned for the new Syria? I'm assuming it's some Taliban-esque brutal fundamentalist dystopia. There must be a legal framework that protects and ensures the rights of all, not a system that serves only one sect. I ask God Almighty that this be a conquest free of revenge, but a conquest entirely of

mercy and love. Conquest of mercy and love. Conquest of mercy and love? I think that's how Taylor ended the Eris Tour. Wait, the new leader of Syria is a Swifty? How many terror groups is that guy in? This is dope. This is dope. I'm gonna switch you. Seriously though, how did an al-Qaeda associate suddenly turn into Deepak Chopra? You've gone through quite the transformation once an al-Qaeda leader and now you are projecting

this image of a moderate leader and a moderate group. I believe that everyone in life goes through phases and experiences and these experiences naturally increase a person's awareness. A person in their 20s will have a different personality than someone in their 30s or 40s. I get it. Who amongst us hasn't gone through an emo phase or goth phase or a 9-11 phase? You know how kids are, I don't like jihad anymore dad I'm into horses. I don't like jihad anymore, Dad, I'm into horses. Jelani's purported transformation to a more benevolent governance gives me hope as our country goes through its hopefully peaceful transfer of power to hopefully a more humbled

and mature leader as well. In his first network TV interview since the election, President-elect Donald Trump says he would like to see members of the January 6 committee sent to jail. Honestly, they should go to jail. Or not. That is, of course, the incoming United States president, and I'm assuming future statue haver, Donald Trump, who this weekend was in Europe, continuing the long American tradition of not waiting for the inauguration to become president and head overseas and meet with allies and remind

everybody how f***ing weird he is about shaking hands. Top down, up down, bottom, side to side, grab it, hit me on the flibbity, and how seamlessly Trump resumed his official duties of looking bored as shit in meetings. This is so dumb. Now normally the first lady Melania would have been there to say to Donald sit up! But another stroke of weirdness Trump was apparently traveling with his predecessor's wife attending the opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral with Jill Biden. It was a rare moment of conciliation,

one that would have given this country hope had it not immediately been undermined by the returning president releasing an actual cologne ad belittling and sexualizing said moment. The caption there is saying, a fragrance your enemies can't resist. The men's cologne and women's perfume are both selling for $199.

You f***ing won! You won! You don't have to push merch anymore. I find it hard to believe I'm saying this, but it's beneath you. I mean, for God sakes, you don't see Jolani out there pushing product. I conquered Syria, and now you can conquer dry hair follicles with my new line of beard oil. When we return, Ben Ricklund will be joining us. Don't go away.

applause applause applause applause applause Skylight frame is more than just a photo frame. It's the perfect way to keep loved ones close no matter the distance.

With Skylight, you can share the joy of a special moment, a silly snapshot, or a treasured memory instantly, making it the perfect present for anyone who values connection and family. Millions of families have fallen in love with their Skylight frame. It's perfect for parents and grandparents with a simple, user-friendly design. This holiday season, give the gift that keeps on giving memories. Whether it's for grandparents who adore seeing the grandkids' latest antics, or a friend who loves capturing every moment, the Skylight Frame is the perfect gift to bring joy and connection into any home. For a limited time, get 20% off your purchase of a Skylight Frame

when you go to ca.skylightframe.com slash comedy. That's right, save 20% off your skylight frame at ca.skylightframe.com slash comedy. That's C-A dot S-K-Y-L-I-G-H-T-F-R-A-M-E dot com slash comedy. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're gonna be talking about the election, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls?

We're gonna be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart wherever you get your podcasts. The head of the Wisconsin Democratic Party running to be chair of the Democratic National Committee. Please welcome to

the program Ben Wickler. Sir! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE All right. All good. Thank you. Thank you for coming in. From Wisconsin, the Democrats, and I'm getting it, you know, we take a little questions and things from the audience early on, and the biggest question that we get is, ha, ha, ha, no follow-up, and then the tears.

Yeah, sometimes vomiting. It appears the Democratic Party is slightly broken. You run the Wisconsin Democratic Party, which was broken before you took it over. There was a supermajority in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court of Wisconsin was diabolically making changes to withstand power. Scott Walker was the governor. How did you turn that situation around? So Republicans took over Wisconsin in 2010 and immediately smashed unions, suppressed voting rights, gerrymandered the living daylights out of legislative maps to make sure they'd never lose power,

even if voters tried to throw them out. And for years, it looked as though Wisconsin was going to fall off the cliff, be a state where Republicans controlled everything, whether voters liked it or not. Undemocratically so, because through all those methods, like what the Democrats in New York had tried to do is gerrymander it, you know,

even if it was closer than it should be. Those were the methods they undertook. So, 2012, 2018, Democrats won a majority of the votes. For the legislature, Republicans got almost two-thirds of the seats. And 2018, I moved home and volunteered. Governor Evers, now Governor Evers, ran. And in a landslide year for Democrats nationally,

he won by 1.1 percentage point. Super, super close. It was like we'd grabbed a branch as we fall off the side of a cliff. And we're pulling ourselves up by fingernails. Republicans then took away a bunch of the powers he'd been elected to wield. Republicans re-gerrymandered the state through the state Supreme Court after that.

And I was elected chair in 2019 with the goal of supercharging our kind of grassroots organizing and how we communicate across the state. And year over year, we flipped two, we won two critical state Supreme Court races. We were able to reelect Governor Evers, stop a Republican supermajority. Finally, a new kind of pro-democracy majority

on the state Supreme Court struck down the gerrymander. We stopped Republicans from preemptively impeaching a Supreme Court justice. And this year, finally, for the first time in 15 years, we had fair maps. And it meant that even in a year where we were basically 50-50 statewide in terms of the votes, we flipped 14 state legislative seats.

It is now, Democrats are on track to win a majority in both legislative chambers in 2026. We re-elected Tammy Baldwin to the U.S. Senate. We actually added votes for Harris relative to Biden. It came, we were the battleground state, the whole state in the country that came closest to defeating Trump where Trump still won. There was a lot of Republican turnout. There's still work to do. But we're a democracy again. We were the battleground state, the whole state in the country that came closest to defeating Trump where Trump still won.

There was a lot of Republican turnout. There's still work to do. But we're a democracy again. And that is the goal. That is the fight that we're fighting. Here's the idea. I'm just going to throw it out there. I'm just spitballing.

We gerrymandered the shit out of that place and appointed a bunch of Democrats to the state Supreme Court and cut all the power out from... No. No, no, no. No, no. Okay. All right. Yeah. No, no, no. No, your plan's probably good, too. We... What we want... What we want is a government that is

structurally required to pay attention to what people want and is held accountable for what happens, whether or not they actually deliver it. Was it only a structural issue? people want and is held accountable for what happens whether or not they actually deliver it. Was it only a structural issue? They're then applaud. Did you make any changes to the messaging to connect? Because again, I don't want to give the impression that I think that this election the Democrats

lost because structurally things were against them. I think they have a messaging issue. I think they have a what do they stand for issue. I think there's both. Okay. And I will say in this election just now, if Republicans hadn't taken over the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2022

and then gerrymandered that state, then right now Democrats would have a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. We're where we are because Republicans have paid attention to these down ballot races that the rest of the country doesn't even notice that have enormous consequences later. Right now, Wisconsin has a state Supreme Court race in April, Susan Crawford versus Brad Schimel.

Sure, Schimel versus Crawford. But my point is- The thriller in Manila. But there are Susan Crawford's and Brad Schimel's all over the country. Don't say that. Here's my point. The national party, there is an infrastructure piece which is to have a strategy in every state to prevent that state from being rigged and thrown out of whack.

And that's part of what we need to do at the Democratic National Committee. That's why I'm running for DNC chair now. And you're running to be the national DNC chair. Yes. You are outside of the establishment. Look, one of the things that's been difficult for the Democrats over these past years is they have been a real status quo establishment party. They suppressed, I think, Bernie's role in the 2016 election.

They've put their thumb on the scales pretty clearly. You're an outsider. Are they going to put their thumbs on the scale against you? I think Democrats across the country, members of the Democratic National Committee, there's a real sense of unity that we need to change and adapt and win elections. And the question is how we do that. And to me, it is these two things. One of them is organizing, building the kind of infrastructure and apparatus,

supporting state parties across the country to have the kind of strength that has made such a difference in Wisconsin. And the second piece is that we need to show people working folks across the country, and this is across race and ethnicity. This is rural areas, small towns, city suburbs, that we are fighting for them and that we mean it,

that we know this is not a game. And that, to me, is the central thing, that we know fighting for them and that we mean it, that we know this is not a game. And that, to me, is the central thing, that we know Trump next year is gonna try to pass a multi-trillion-dollar tax cut for the richest people in the world. And he'll do that by trying to cut healthcare. They're talking about cutting the Veterans Administration and veterans' benefits.

That's stuff that the vast majority of Americans do not want. And Democrats need to get caught trying to fight back against that and to create a country that works for working people. Right. If. Woo!

Let's see, that. Woo! I think the difficulty is, and it's the kind of rhetoric that I very much appreciate, I don't know that I felt like they've governed with that urgency that you're speaking with that urgency that you're speaking with, you know. And that's the part. How connected are the Democrats even here in the audience? You know, a lot of people talk about, well, geez, do you think

there were structural issues? Is that why we lost? It was pretty clear this was a whooping on narrative that... Please. Let me personally disagree. Yes, please. So this election, this is the first election of my lifetime where we lost the majority narrative that... I... Let me personally disagree. Please. Yes, please. So this election, this is the first election of my lifetime where we lost the majority of the voters who are making less than $50,000 a year.

Right. And those voters have a lot going on in their lives. A lot of them are the people least likely to be watching political news, hearing really either side's message. And they're folks who often got a lot of financial support during the pandemic when we passed expanded unemployment insurance and child tax credit, all this stuff that really made a difference. And then it went away at the same time as prices went up. And if you're experiencing, you have less money in the bank

and you have to spend more to fill a prescription or buy your groceries or ensure you don't lose the home where you're putting your kids to bed, then you're gonna vote for change. You're gonna vote for something else. Now, Trump is gonna make to vote for change. You're going to vote for something else. Correct. Now, Trump is going to make things worse

for working people. And Democrats... That was the argument that the Democrats were making, that he's going to make it worse. I guess, I think we're saying the same thing. I think we're saying the same thing. Yeah. And I think a lot of people did not hear our message.

And some people who heard it didn't believe it. But those are the two things. Let me ask you a question. Go to where voters are and show it. Because say it like we mean it. You were saying people making less than $50,000 don't really connect with the news so they don't hear our message.

But what they do feel is your governance. Yes. That's my point. And I agree with that. I think part of it is Democrats are defending a status quo that people feel is not delivering on the discomfort they have in their real lives. I think that during Trump's first administration, sometimes we'd say, this is not normal.

It wasn't normal. But it's also the case that what's normal is not necessarily okay. Boom. It is not okay... Boom. ...that people can't get an inhaler for their kid. Amen. And we have to show that this pisses us off. Oh my god I'm getting excited.

Yes. You actually have to make the change. Thank you. You actually have to fight and make change in people's lives. That is the point of this work. All right. The only measure of of work in politics, it's not actually winning elections, it's whether you deliver change in people's lives. Yeah, yeah. That is what winning looks like. That is the point of this work. Yeah. Actually, I was thinking, do you think we just didn't spend

enough time with the Cheneys? Is that the issue? You know, I was in Wisconsin. We had a business from Liz Cheney. We did a little bit better in the suburbs around Milwaukee know, I was in Wisconsin. We had a business from Litch-Channey. We did a little bit better in the suburbs around Milwaukee than we did in previous elections. And also, this is a country that is majority working class. Most people in the United States do not have a college degree.

They work for a living. They don't live off returns on their investments. Right. And if we're not winning working class voters, again, across race and ethnicity, if we're not winning with those voters, we're gonna lose. And we are the party that actually believes everyone should be able to join a union

and fight for better working conditions and wages. We're the party that thinks that no one should have to go to bed hungry because their parents didn't have enough money to put in a down payment for them. People shouldn't have to choose between rent and groceries. This is stuff that Democrats believe to their core. And we need to communicate it through our actions

and our words and where it is that we show up. So that we're listening. Yes. And then we're speaking in language that actually resonates for people. That is the work of the Democratic Party. It's like wrestling a bear. You're a giant man with a golden tongue.

Yeah. What do you think, ultimately, because I completely agree, one of the fundamental problems that the Democrats have had is they co-signed to this sort of what they call the neoliberalism economic supply side, deregulation, NAFTA, all these other things, and they never clawed it back. And what we keep hearing is, well, we just need to raise taxes on billionaires. But if you haven't convinced your voters

that the money that is raised will be spent wisely and with value, none of it's going to matter. Isn't it? Look, the Democrats have a harder road to hoe. Because they're the party that believes government needs to be there and play a vital role in balancing out corporate interests and helping people's lives.

It's not nihilistic like the other, which is, like, blow the whole thing up and reduce it to the size you could drown in a bathtub. So is that a message of competence that people can wrap their heads around in the Democratic Party? You have to prove it out to be able to earn trust. Have they done that in Wisconsin?

They've done that in Wisconsin. Governor Evers ran on fix the damn roads, and then he fixed the damn roads. So in Wisconsin... Can I tell you something? Wisconsin people, if I may, I mean no disrespect, they sure like the spicy talk. Wisconsin people, if I may, I mean no disrespect. They sure like the spicy talk.

Yeah. You know, sometimes there's pepper jack in the sea spirit. No, I don't know what you're talking about. Fix the damn roads. Ooh. But what happened, so that was 2018, right? 2022 in Wisconsin, it's so evenly divided. Five of the last seven presidential races

has come down to less than one percentage point. And that means that there's usually this slosh back and forth. If there's a Democrat in the White House, Democrats lose the governor's race. That's been true ever since 1962. That was the last time we won by one percentage point in 1962 with a Democratic president. And Governor Evers won in 2022 by 3.4 points.

He tripled his landslide 1.1-point margin in 2022. And that was in no small part because people could see that he was actually delivering on what he talked about, and it touched their lives directly. He had ads in every county about what he'd done in that county to make people's lives better. And I think politics can make people so cynical. It can be so frustrating. Sometimes it feels like the only thing people want to do

is attack each other. You have to actually show your work and show how what you have done will make someone's life better to have any possibility of building trust. And I think you're right, the Republican project is to create so much corrosive cynicism

that people give up and walk away. That is kind of their mission. And when they do that- Or vote to overthrow any status quo. Yeah, vote to overthrow the status quo. But then what they do is they use that cynicism to tear up the place and hand out the pieces to the richest people in the world.

Right. And for Democrats, we have to show that... That it works. ...that it works, that we can deliver. And in this moment, as an opposition party, we have to fight against these attacks and also make a proposition that we think we should be a country where everyone has basic freedom and

dignity we're working people can actually support their family or aspire to have a family if they want to the people should be able to live their lives and know that if they work hard that they're going to have a decent life that is not when we begin when you do this. I'm assuming that the Democratic National Committee has meetings. Yes.

And you're at those meetings. Yes. And you say this with that great passion. You don't use words like damned because we're a delicate party. What is their response to it? Do they throw analytics at you? Do they throw data? Because I have watched the people that were running these presidential campaigns on a

variety of platforms, and I've been stunned at the lack of accountability or even reflection. And I'm curious if that's been your experience in the meetings. I will say, you know, when the Democratic National Committee meets, I was just in a meeting with the state chairs, people do this work because they believe in actually fighting and making a difference. And it is often totally thankless. And it is often really tough.

And often the choices that people are making are between two bad options when they're in these roles. And so people are mad at them because they chose a bad option that was actually worse than the other one. It is really, really hard to do, to win these elections, especially when you're facing a wall of attacks and people who think that all politics is corrupt and you're like, I'm actually just trying to make sure

that kids can get lunch when they go to school. So I don't think that there is this kind of cynicism. I think that there's a system. No, no, I don't mean cynicism. I mean defensiveness. Defensiveness. I think that we're a system... No, no, I don't mean cynicism. I mean defensiveness. Defensiveness. Yeah, yeah. I think that there's a...

We're kind of in a system that is generally broken. Money has this giant role in politics on both sides. The people's attention is in a million different places, so you can scream something from the rooftops and almost no one will hear it. Often, if you work in politics, you're being told all the time, hey, you should do this thing, and you're thinking to yourself, I do that every single day, and no one notices it. So it is hard work.

You talk about messaging. You have to build an infrastructure if you want to get the message out. You actually have to have, you know, you talk about door-to-door organizing. We build neighborhood teams, so neighbors are knocking on their neighbor's door so that it's someone that you actually know.

So much better than this. That's door so that it's someone that you actually know. So much better than this. That's how we do it in the South Center. It blew my mind that they were like, we had strangers knocking on people's doors three times, and you're like, you're lucky no one got killed. But you have to do that for years to get to the point where it actually connects.

So your energy, though, I have to tell you, and I have talked to DNC chairs and people that have been interested, you have a different energy than they do. I'm telling you, they have a more corporatist vibe. That's been the vibe of their, I can remember Tim Kaine, God bless, good dude, but he came on the show when he was DNC chair and he was like,

we have door knockers. And I was like, oh my God, we're in the shitter. Like, the passion that you're like, oh, my god, we're in the shitter. The passion that you're bringing, boy, that feels like what it needs in this moment. I really do feel that way. You are approaching it from a much more populist, bottom-up standpoint than I've heard in the past,

other than Howard Dean's sort of 50-state strategy. And I believe in that. I really appreciate it. Well, I appreciate it. I appreciate the nice compliment. I will also say that there are so many people, there are thousands of people who work in politics, and sometimes you're buried in the numbers,

and you're trying to, like, when you use this phrase, then people are like, what the hell are you talking about? So you got to use this phrase. And a lot of times in politics, people, when they're on your show, they're trying to remember all those things about like what might be a landmine if you step on it, and it's going to blow up in your face.

And you're trained to do that in politics. You're trained to try to like navigate through these incredibly tricky waters. And that is sometimes important work to hold a coalition together, but it's easy to get lost in that and not actually go to the whole point of the thing, which is to fight in a way that makes a difference

in people's lives so that they remember who was on their side when something went wrong. And they understand who's trying to rip them off. Like, that is the reason why politics actually matters. Is someone writing this down?! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! Stop with the analytics!

Just sign one so- Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. I went back to the Mets. Dead on. Dead on. The caution is killing effective governance. It's that fear. If you come from a place of fear and not from a place of passion and belief, you lose.

And people can see. People can smell authenticity. They can feel it. And this, I think Trump is a disaster for the country. I also think it's very clear. Hallelujah. It's very clear. He does not think before he talks. He just says it. And there's something that draws people towards him about that.

Even when he's lying out of his teeth, he's lying in of his teeth, he's lying in an authentic way. I don't even think those are his real teeth, quite frankly. We have no idea about the teeth. His medical records, deep, deep secrets. Deep secrets. Yeah. I really appreciate you coming by and bringing this.

I'm telling you, you had a dispirited group of people wandering in the desert of feeling that they didn't know. They're thirsty for leadership. You have provided it for them today. We are announcing right now Ben Wickler is a nominee for President of the United States. No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No. No. No. No. 20 seconds! No! I'm running it for chair. I'm running it for Democratic. It's done. This is official. Listen, it matters who leads the Democratic National Committee, and it matters who leads state parties,

and it matters who does this work, because this doesn't happen alone. You have to have millions of people involved to be able to make elections like this work. I'm running to get people involved. I want people to join and fight and win. What are we doing? Thank you. Thank you for having me on.

It's been a pleasure. We're gonna have a good night. We'll be right back after this. That's what I'm talking about. special moment, a silly snapshot, or a treasured memory instantly, making it the perfect present for anyone who values connection and family. Millions of families have fallen in love with their Skylight Frame. It's perfect for parents and grandparents with a simple user-friendly design. This holiday season give the gift that keeps on giving memories. Whether it's for grandparents

who adore seeing the grandkids latest antics, or a friend who loves capturing every moment, the Skylight Frame is the perfect gift to bring joy and connection into any home. For a limited time, get 20% off your purchase of a Skylight Frame when you go to ca.skylightframe.com slash comedy. That's right, save 20% off your Skylight frame at ca.skylightframe.com slash comedy. That's ca.skylightfram.com slash comedy. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday.

We're going to be talking about the election earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You looted that from Assad's palace. Oh, don't be jealous, John. Okay, I picked you up a little something too. All right. Merry Christmas.

Is this Assad sods underwear? This is a sods underwear. I don't want a sods underwear. Oh, why? Because you don't celebrate Christmas? Michael Kosta, everybody. Here it is. Your moment is in.

Jeff Bezos called me. We're having dinner. As you know, Mark Zuckerberg came in. We had a really nice dinner. He asked to have dinner. I had dinner with him. We had a really nice dinner. We had a really nice dinner.

We had a really nice dinner. We had a really nice dinner. We had a really nice dinner. We had a really nice dinner. We had a really nice dinner. We, we're having dinner. As you know, Mark Zuckerberg came in, we had a really nice dinner. He asked to have dinner, I had dinner with him. I'm having dinner with everybody. People like me now. You know, it's something going on. I said, would you have come to dinner with me if I lost?

I think the answer is no. 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. Paramount Podcasts. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. Paramount Podcasts.