The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Democrats Fend Off "Red Wave" in Midterm Elections | Mark Leibovich

Episode Date: November 10, 2022

The Republicans "Red Wave" turned out to be a puddle, abortion rights had a major win in several states and The Atlantic's Mark Leibovich discusses his book "Thank You for Your Servitude."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Coming to you from New York City, the only city in America. It's the Daily Show. Tonight, election day is finally over. Slavery is also over. And Mark Lebovich. This is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you for coming out in Corksons. This feels amazing right now. Wow, we're going to have so much fun. Take a seat everybody. Take a seat and let's do this. We've got a great show for you tonight with all the big post-election

day news. Republicans won, but somehow also lost. Donald Trump is throwing millennia under the bus and slavery is now illegal almost everywhere. So let's do this people, let's jump straight. We need to all the results in another edition of Vote Demick 2022. So, going into last night's midterms, almost everyone was expecting a huge night for Republicans. So, going into last night's midterms, almost everyone was expecting a huge night for Republicans, a red wave that would wash away the Democrats in Congress and yank off Joe Biden's swim trunks. So everyone could see his old man butt. But now the votes are in. And already, already, people are realizing that although there's still a lot left to count,

it's clear that thethere's still a lot left to count, it's clear that the red wave did not show up. This morning controlled of Congress up in the air, with both the House and Senate still hanging in the balance. Republicans acknowledging the expected red wave never materialized. With five races still to call, it's unclear who will control the Senate. Control of the House is leaning Republican, but only barely Democrats overall are doing much better than expected. That predicted red wave only appears to be a splash, if you will. The word wave has no application yet to what we're saying. This might feel more like

the edge of a lake. This really looks much more like a red whisper, if that. This wasn't even a red little ripple in a pond. I've heard it called, you know, the red sprinkler. I've heard it called the red splash, the red puddle. The red drizzle, the red spritz. Yeah, you know, when you're paying and then a little bit comes out after you're done. It's a red one of those. I should probably go get that checked out, by the way. And like some of these didn't even make sense.

You know, like I'm sorry, but what is a red whisper? What is that? Like, ASMR for conservatives? Is that what that is? It's just like, now I'm crumpling up the voting rights out. Oh yeah. But yes, last night was not the red wave that many people expected it to be. And to be clear, to be clear, Republicans are still in good shape

to take control of the House, and they may even take control of the Senate when it's all said and done. Now, it's too early to tell, because, you know, America counts its votes as slowly as George R. Martin Martin Martin Martin Martin to to to to to toearton. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be. to be to be to be. to be. to be. to be. to be to be to be to be to be. to be to be. to be to be to be to to be to the the the the the the the the the the toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to to to to to to to to to to R. Martin writes the books, but it's definitely not the huge win that they were expecting. So it feels like a loss, which is really strange to me about politics. You know? It's the only place where you can technically win but still lose because people thought

you were going to win more. You know? Basically, Republicans got the job done, but no one's really happy about it. You know? It was like, ma'er. I could have done this to myself. M'er. And again, lots of races are still undecided.

And again, lots of races are still undecided. Arizona and Nevada won't be done counting votes for a few more days. We won who won Alaska's races until the dog sled arrives. And the big Senate race in Georgia looks like it is headed to a runoff in December. Yeah, which is only going to screw up Herschel Walker's brain even more, right? I don't think of any like another election.

Has it been six years already? Oh man. That means I got 35 children now. What's happening? Oh wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow wow. that's that's that's that's th. th. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho tho tho tho tho tho th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. We th. We's th. th. th. We's th. We's th. We're the. the. We're the. the. to. to to. the. to. the. the. thean. the. the. the. the. the. th. wow. But one big race that was decided last night was in Pennsylvania, where John Federman defeated Dr. Arnst. Which, you gotta admit, is exciting for the Capitol because nobody in the Senate looks like this guy. I mean, huh? Have you seen this? He doesn't look like everyone. He's massive. He's got the bald head, the goatee, the hoodie, which is dope.

Normally, Senators look like your dad's boss from work, you know? John Federman looks like he can physically raise the debt ceiling. Ah! 37 trillion! And look, now, one of the reasons so many people were surprised by last night's results is that for weeks, for weeks, pundits have been saying that there are only a few issues that really matter to Americans right now, like inflation, like inflation, crime, and whatever the hell is going on with the Twitter check marks. And in particular, in particular, the experts were saying that voter concerns about abortion had fated. Because the voter concerns about the abo I guess all those experts have been fired and will never be allowed back on television because it turns out they were just a little bit wrong. The issue of abortion turned out to be a massive factor yesterday with the Supreme Court's decision in the Dobbs case to overturn Roe v. Wade playing a much bigger role than polls before the election suggested.

In California, Michigan and Vermont voters chose to enshrine reproductive rights into the election suggested. In California, Michigan and Vermont, voters chose to enshrine reproductive rights into their state's constitutions. The biggest surprise came in Republican leading Kentucky where voters rejected an anti-abortion constitutional amendment. It was a huge night for abortion rights across the country. I mean, women voted in droves. Yes, well people said a few weeks ago that it didn't matter, that it was fading. It didn't, turns out that wasn't right. Yeah, it turns out abortion rights didn't fade away as a concern. And it's crazy that people ever thought it would, you know, like what women out there would be like, you know it really

bothered me over the summer when the state government wanted to take control of my reproductive system but now I'm like th like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like th like like th like th like th like th like th like th like the th like th like th like the th like th like th like th like th like th like th like th like that. I'm like that. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the th. the th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thee the theea. thea. thea. thea. thea. th buddy is their choice, I don't know. So it looks like abortion rights with a big one last night. And it looks like the big loser last night was none other than Donald jumped the shark trump. Because so far, it looks like many of the candidates he endorsed ended up being unendorsed by the voters. Here's what we know for sure this morning. It was a disappointing night for former the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big the big. the big the big. th. the. the. the. the. th. the. th. th. th. th. thi. the. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I'm th. th. th. I'm th. th. th. th. th. th. thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi unendorsed by the voters. Here's what we know for sure this morning.

It was a disappointing night for former President Trump. The biggest loser last night was Donald Trump. In state after state, candidates that he endorsed did not win or are losing right now. But perhaps the worst result for Trump is that his biggest Republican rival had the best night of anybody. Florida Governor Ron De Santis might have moved closer to a possible 20, 20-2. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. to thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, the the the the the thi, it thi, it was a their their their disappointing their their disappointing it their their their their their their their their their their their the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their th, it th, it thi, it thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. th his biggest Republican rival had the best night of anybody. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might have moved closer to a possible 2024 presidential bid with a commanding victory over former Governor Charlie Chris. That's right. It was a bad night for Trump and a great night for his rival, Ron DeSanctimonious. He absolutely crushed it in Florida.

I mean, crushed it like bath salts crushed it. And judging by this post, on his to to his to to a to a to a to a to a to a to a to a to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible their their their their their their their their their their possible possible their possible th. th. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. to a possible possible possible possible to a possible to a possible possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to a possible to to the monies. He absolutely crushed it in Florida. I mean crushed it like bath salts crushed it. And judging by this post on his knockoff twitter, Trump is not taking it well. Yeah, he wrote, shouldn't it be said that in 2020, I got 1.1 million more votes in Florida than Rund D got this year 5.7 million to 4.6 million just asking. You see what you've done Ron the Sanctus? You see what you've done? You made Trump so mad he's doing math.

4.6 plus 5.7. You see what you've done? You made Trump so mad. He's doing math. 4.6 plus 5.7. Even sounding like Shakespeare in that, shouldn't it be sand? And hit that too far. And here's the thing. Here's a thing. That's exciting about this.

The santa's success, combined with Trump's failures, is already causing chaos in the Republican Party. Because now, Republicans are asking themselves, what do we do? Do we stick with Trump, who's screwed up two elections now, but still controls all of the hardcore Republicans and is also completely toxic with everyone else? Or do we go with Ronda Santis, who's clearly the upgrade of Trump?

But then you risk losing Trump, and then he burns down the entire GOP. What do you do? And it's funny, it's so funny to watch, because all these conservatives, they don't know what to do. All right, they're just like, ah, do I go with Trump? Oh, oh, do I go with dissenters? Oh, if I had principles I would follow them, but I just want to pick sides But they're not sure which parent is going to keep the house But it's true true trump had a tough nights, you know this poor guy was just at home watching his top election deniers lose and Crying into a box of classified documents

nuclear nuclear But because this is Donald Trump he's not taking responsibility. In fact, it's? It. the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, it's thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi they're not they're not they're not they're not they're not they're not they're not they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they's they's they's they's they's they's they's they's they're they're they's they's they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're not. they're they're they're not thi thi thi thi thi thi thi to thi to to to ta' ta' thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi Donald Trump, he's not taking responsibility. In fact, it's being reported that he's blaming Melania for pushing him to endorse Dr. Oz in the first place, saying it was, quote, not her best decision. Yeah, and I'm sure in response, Melania was like, yes, it's true. I'm very bad that picking man. But not everything about the election was about Democrats or Republicans,

so let's take a moment to appreciate all the historic moments from last night. We want to tell you about several historic firsts across the country. In Alabama, Republican Katie Britt, the winner in the race for U.S. Senate. She is the first woman ever elected to the Senate in Alabama. In Maryland, Democrat West Moore will be the state's first black governor. And Massachusetts made history on two fronts, Democratic Attorney General Mora Healy will become the first female governor in the state's history, and she will also be the nation's first openly lesbian governor. Election history was also made in Florida, 25-year-old Democrat Maxwell Frost, is set to be

the first member of Generation Z to win a seat in Congress. Wow. A 25-year-old congressman. That's going to be great. To have a young person in Congress, and by young, I mean under 85? I mean... It will be tough though. It will be tough being that young around that many old people. Half his time is going to be spent helping them with their phones.

It's going to be in the middle of a speech. And that's why my district and the people of it deserve the... What? What, what Chuck? No, just swipe up. Swip up to close the app. No, swipe up. No, don't click that. There are not really hot singles in the area. It's a trick, Chuck. It's a trick.

And there's a lot of other cool first. And there's aQ first, immigrant first. Honestly, I almost feel bad for anyone who won last night and wasn't a historic first. There was probably some straight white guy last night giving his victory speech like, it's an honor to be the first governor in state history who can, uh, do this? Uh, pretty sick, right? Yeah? Yeah? No?

Just me? All right. That's it for the headlines. But before we go to a break, it's time to check in on the weather forecast with our very own. Desiladig, everybody. Good to see you again, Dizzy. Good to see you again, Dizzy. It's getting cold in the east, there's storms everywhere. What's the weather looking like? Weather's great. Look outside. What I want to talk about is how people everybody, th. It th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho, tho, tho tho th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thozy. thozy. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho. thoo. th. th. tho. th. th. th. tho. tho. th. tho. tho. th. It's th. It's storms everywhere, what's the weather looking like? Weather's great, look outside. What I want to talk about is how people came out and voted for abortion rights all over this country.

Yes. Yes, big deal. Big deal, including my home state of Kentucky. Yeah. That was shocking. Huge, Kentucky, Trevor. The state where women have fewer rights than most horses. It's true.

I mean, in college, I had to get my birth control from a horse fed. Wow. Veterinarian, that's terrible, Desi. Yeah, right? I mean, they also had ketamine, so it wasn't all bad. And that year I went on to win the Belmont. Anyway, also, New York and Massachusetts elected female governors for the first time. Yeah.

Which is a win. It is a win. But if we're being honest, like, how is this only happening now? In New York and Massachusetts, these two states have been states since the beginning of states. You know how long women have been around? Like, at least that long, maybe more. And how about that Ron DeSantis' victory last night, huh?

Oh, my god. I almost feel bad for Donald Trump, you know? He had to smile and clap for DeSantis on the outside when he was fuming with jealousy on the inside. Trump finally felt the massive red wave only hit Florida. Oh man, and I think all women can agree. It's always a good thing when your red wave is lighter than you expected. I just want to say, I get how Republicans are feeling. I mean, sometimes you expect your red wave to arrive and it doesn't.

And then you start to panic. You consider your options, which are suddenly very limited. Yeah, plus, with this runoff in Georgia, you might not know if your red wave is coming for another few weeks and by then it might be too late. The next thing you know, Herschel Walker sending you a get well card with a check in it. Anyway, I just want to say to all of those Republicans who are feeling this way, don't stress, trust me. I've got a great veterinarian in Kentucky you can call. Hot notch. Thank you so much for the weather, I guess.

All right, when we come back, we're going to be talking about a surprising result from last night that most people don't know about, so don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show. You know, yesterday's election wasn't just about politicians. People also voted on ballot issues. For instance, Connecticut voted to implement an early voting system, right? California voted against legalizing mobile gaming, and Maryland voted to legalize marijuana. So finally, you can buy drugs in Baltimore, right? But, but a big ballot measure in several states involved slavery. And I'm not talking about teaching slavery. I'm talking

about actual slavery. Five states'm not talking about teaching slavery, I'm talking about actual slavery. Five states were voting on constitutional amendments to ban slavery and not all of them pass those bans. In all, five states were voting on removing slavery from their constitutions. Vermont, Alabama, Tennessee, all voted to ban slavery as punishment for a crime. Louisiana, a former slave state rejected that amendment. All right, America, four out of five states said no to slavery in the year 2022. That's what I'm talking about. That's amazing. Now we just need to invent electricity and we're living in the future baby. Oh I can't wait.

Yeah, as you heard, Louisiana, unlike those other woke states Voted against ending slavery Yeah, and for more on that we go live now to Roywood Jr. everybody Yeah And Roy the reason we're coming to you is because you are in Louisiana right now and I would love to know 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, no, no, no, no. no. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. that. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th the th th th th th th th the reason we're coming to you is because you are in Louisiana right now, and I would love to know. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not in Louisiana. I'm on the Mississippi side of the border, and that's as far as I'm going, but I'm definitely

not going in. I ain't going in that shit. You can't tell me a place just voted on slavery, then asked me to go there. I'm too old, too tired, I don't seem good. I can't be a slave. Well, right, this is bad. This is bad, yes, but it doesn't apply to you. This is about forcing prisoners to perform labor for free. Oh, is that right?

I didn't realize that. My bad, man. You, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, let me, let me, let me, let me, let me, let me, let me, let me, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, tho, thoomo, thi, thi, tho, tho, to me me, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I, I to to to to to to to to to to to to tho, I, I'm, I. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. th. thi. to. to. to. to. to. to. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. that. My bad, man, you're right. You know what, man, let me just mosey on into Louisiana. Boom, next thing you know, I walk around and then they got me for jaywalking. Now I'm 12 years of slave, and I got to wait for Brad Pitt to come and save my ass. No, thank you. I am safer here in Mississippi, which is safer here, which is thi, which thi, which, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th, thi, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thin, thin, thin, thin, th, th, tham, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, thi, thi, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thi, is something no black man has ever said. But Mississippi is better. Fair enough for it. Well, at least, at least your home state of Alabama voted last night to ban slavery and it won the vote by 75%? Huh? That's amazing.

Yeah, but, but that means 25% voted to keep slavery. That's a lot of people. Now every time I'm at the grocery store I'm looking around trying to guess who voted to enslave my ass. I bet Miss Patterson was the one. She always saying shit to be like, oh baby you grew up so strong. Get your hands off me. Squeezing my muscle, sizing me up. Trevor this is terrible for black people. Well technically Roy under these laws it's it's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. thages. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. th. thi. thi. thi. to to to to to to be to to to thi. to be to be to be to be to be to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the the. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. black people. Well technically Roy under these laws it's not just black people everyone even white people could be enslaved. You bullshit. Well why didn't they just leave with that? They gonna make white people slaves now? That's the most progressive thing I ever heard. No right you're not you're not gonna make white people slaves. I know you can't make them I hear you got to catch them on your own. You know what? You got to catch them on your own. the th. the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their you th their th. th. You're th. You th. th. th. th. th. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. their their the. their the. You're going to be a white slave? No, Roy. I think you misunderstand. They're not going to make white people slaves.

I know you can't make them. I hear you got to catch them on your own. Hey, you know what? You know what? I think I might head in the Louisiana going to get me a white slave, man. I'll see you later. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, down how damn it. They try to get me travel. Help me, Brad. Oh, shit, good luck with that Roywood, Jr., everybody.

I'm going to have to go to Baylor and Mike Neibovich, we'll be joining me on the show to chat about how the Republicans and how victims are captured by chance. Don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guess tonight is a stopwriter at the Atlantic who's here to discuss the midterm results and his latest number one New York Times bestseller. My guest tonight is a stop writer at the Atlantic who's here to discuss the midterm results and his latest number one New York Times bestseller, thank you for your servitude, Donald

Trump's Washington and the price of submission. Please welcome Mark Liebervich. Mark Lievich, welcome back to the Daily Show. And congratulations on another number one New York Times best-selling book. This is really interesting for me because you're one of the best writers out there. Not just because of how you write but how you capture the world that you observe. And it's politics, this is really interesting for me because you're one of the best writers out there. theea you theau you thea the you're you're you're you're one you're one you're one you're one you're one the the the the. the. the. the. the. You're one theateateateateateateateateateateateateat. You're the the the the thiii. the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. theeeee. theeee. their the. their their the capture the world that you observe. And it's politics, you know, talking about Trump, talking about the Republicans, talking about the Democrats and how they respond.

But this book is really interesting because it's about the hold that Donald Trump has on the Republican Party. And you talk about it in a way that I think few people understand. Tell me why it's servitude and not just him being the head honcho. Because the Republican Party has surrendered to Donald Trump. I've lost my voice last night. I was up all night. I understand. They have surrendered all the... And this is not another book about Donald Trump. This is a book about the party that enabled him. This is a book about the people who bowed out to him, who could have stopped him, and yet continue to underperform an elections like they did last night.

And the reason is, Trump is sort of an anchor around their necks, and no one is standing up to them. And I wanted to give readers a sense of what this looks like. You've given us more than just a sense, because we saw a glimpse of this when the primaries were still taking place. You had all these Republicans like, Trump is not the Republican Party. All of them, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Lindsay Graham. We was on the show saying Donald Trump will never be the face, I will never support all these things. Trump wins, and almost overnight everybody falls into line.

Everybody becomes pro-Trump. But what you show us in the book, because of the interview, some people anonymous, but some people on the record, saying, no, we hate this guy, but we care about winning more than anything else. So we're going to work to keep him in power. It's such a weird dynamic. I was stunned by what they said to me, both on the record. And obviously, the dirty little secret inside Washington is that most Republicans who absolutely, you

know, just bow down to him in public, trash him in private. And there are a lot of people last night in the Republican Party who are saying, Donald Trump did this. This is another election he coughed up for us. He's the first president in a hundred years to lose the White House, the House, the Senate. They underperformed another election last night, but they're only saying it privately. I will think that this spell has been broken when I see some people actually speaking publicly about what he's doing to the party.

You know, it's interesting that you say that because as we read through these conversations in the book, and you know I love how the book sort of starts with the Trump Hotel and what it represents a moment in time, a moment where he's at his peak and how people literally come and physically almost bow to his shrine, and then at the end where it's now, you know, almost like a vacated version of its former self. But the party seems different in that Republicans are murmuring, but nobody's saying it. You see what people are saying on like,

oh, it wasn't ideal that Trump did this, it wasn't. They're scared of him though. Because they've given him the party, or he's taken it, but they seem scared of him. And it's been depressing the red wave that so many people anticipated, which would have vindicated all of this. It would have indicated the character flaws, the weakness, the patheticness that so many of them, who could stop it. And if there were 10 Liz Cheney's, it would be different,

but there's only one. I think it also it also illuminates something that's actually, I mean I don't even know how to say this correctly thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the the thi, the the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tm. today, tm. today, the today, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. mean, I don't even know how to say this correctly, but it's weird because Trump is almost more honorable than they are. Because, I mean, he says what he's saying, he does what he's doing. Yeah. They say what they're saying in private, but then they do what he's doing in public. And so, you know what does that leave a country where lawmakers don't believe what they're voting for,

don't believe what they're coutowing to? Like, where does that leave America? And how do they feel about the position that they're putting the country in? Right, I mean, what does it say about a party when Donald Trump is the honorable one, right? And also, and also, given how vulnerable Democrats were the to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, th., th., like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, is., is., is., is., is., is., is., is. And, is. to, is. to, is. the the to, is. to, is. to, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, how unpopular Biden is, how bad inflation is, all those issues, to still, you know, underperform the degree they did, gives you an indication of how, you know, voters are saying, like, we don't like this either. In fact, we like this worse.

So I think, you know, it's all, again, it's all relative. But where do you think this goes now? Even, you know, not just as somebody who talks to them, somebody who analyzes, somebody who's been in many of the rooms where these discussions are being held. It feels like, you know, you watch Fox News now and you can see people being a little more vocal saying, DeSantis is clear to the future. The Santos of the craziest quotes I've ever seen from somebody who's a lawmaker who say you say what is your plan for 2024 and the person says dead serious our plan is to

hope that he's dead by then right no this is what this is the quotes it's a quote they're saying this they're like we don't have another way we we don't know what to do it's crass it's crass it's the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to the to to to the the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to their. their. their. their. their. tr. tr. tr. true. true. true. true. true. true. true. true. true. true. true. true. true. the true. true. their. their. their. It's a quote. They're saying this. They're like, we don't have another way, we don't know what to do. It's crass, it's depressing, but it also goes to the passivity of what these folks are doing. Someone else will take care of the problem. And even now, no one has spoke up. All of the, like I said earlier, all of the criticisms of the criticisms of have been private. So I just don't think, and these are weak people, Trevor. These are, these are people who have sold, I mean whatever they've sold, they have given up, I mean it's the price of submission. Right. As Lindsay Graham said to me, if you don't want to be reelected, you're in the

wrong business. And you know, at a certain point you sort of ask, is it really worth it? Yeah, yeah, it really illuminates, I think, many of the things that are wrong with American politics in that it has become more about staying in the job as opposed to doing the job that somebody has put you in. Absolutely. And it leaves the country in a place where everything is for an idea. So, you know, when you look at it now, just hearing the whispers, hearing everybody, you know, or even the people speaking publicly to you, is this the moment where the party says, okay, it's going to be a Ron DeSantis, or are they still just waiting to see what Trump decides to do with the Republican Party?

I've had a lot of moments where I've thought the fever is going to break. If January 6th didn't do it it it it th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thooooooo. th. thi. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. tho. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. So, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. to. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toea. toe. toe. toe. thea. the. the. the. the. So. So, to break. If January 6th didn't do it, if him losing to Joe Biden didn't do it, I don't think this is going to do it. Wow. Wow. And so as somebody then who talks to these politicians, I would love to know where you see it all going from here. Because, you know, on the one hand, you have the Democrats who have Joe Biden. And I remember you wrote, you know, an article about Joe Biden, which really blew up over the summer and it was about him being too old to run in 2024. And you said, you said, hey, Joe, you've done what you said you want to do. I broke the story that he's old. Full credit. You know, but you, but you came out and you said something, you, you, you, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, to, the, to, the, the, the, to, the, to, the, to, to, the, the, to, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, too, too, too, you, you're, you're, you're, you're, you got, you know, got you a lot of flack, but

also had many people say, yeah, I didn't want to say that, but it's true. Because I don't know if people remember, Joe Biden said, I only want to run to beat Donald Trump and that's all I'm doing. And now it seems like he may want to run again, but you're one of the Because on the one hand, yes, Joe Biden is old. On the one hand, yes, he may have only been the person to be Trump, et cetera. But on the other hand, an incumbent has a feeling of, it's the status quo.

People don't like presidents changing all the time. That's why Trump losing was such an anomaly. So what do you think someone else up, that person is just now a toss-up in the election. Yeah, I mean, the thing about Trump is that he's not only made the Republicans scared, he's made the Democrats risk-averse, they're afraid of trying someone new or exciting or different. I mean, Joe Biden, his most important contribution to the Democratic Party and arguably to the country, was beating Donald Trump on November 3rd, 2020, whenever, th........... And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi. And, thi, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, I I thi. And, thi. And, I thi. And, I'm thi. And, I'm thi. And, I'm thi. And, I'm the thi. And, I's thi. And, I's thi. And, I's th Democratic Party and arguably to the country was beating Donald Trump on November 3rd, 2020, whenever it was, whenever Election Day was. Fix that.

So, the problem is governing is a bit of a bitch afterwards, right? As we sort of learned. You know, he might be called upon to do it again. But, you know, it's not like the Democrats have an obvious and deep bench. But I did believe that if some of the people like Tim Ryan were to somehow win last night, they would immediately emerge and you know maybe a John Fetterman, maybe a Pete would a judge, maybe a couple of others. And to your point about being risk-averse, I mean the history of the

Democratic Party has shown that they've often had the fresh off the bench person. You know, Barack Obama was like the young senator, you know, and you look at all these other Bill Clinton was the young upstart, people didn't expect it. So maybe that is where the path lies, isn't taking a little risk. But from your book, it seems like nobody wants to take the risk. And it seems that because of that, the country is in a really scary place because it feels like it's risk-aversk, and yet, and yet, and yet, and yet, and yet, th, th, and yet, th, th, th, and it's like, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, and, thi, thi, thi, so thi, so thi, so thi, so the the the the the the the the the the the th, people, th, th, people th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thri. And, thri. thri. thri. thrii. thiii. thiiii. thii. thi. People thi. People to the riskiest place of all. Indeed. Well, on that note, it's a really fun be-treat. It is an amazing book. I'll tell you that. Congratulations again. Thank you so much for joining you on the show.

I hope your voice gets better. We'll see you again. Thank you for your servitude. We're going to Thank you very much. Well, that's our show for tonight. Thank you so much for shooting in. But before we go, before we go, I wanted to tell you real quick about our newest daily show podcast. Jordan Klepper fingers the conspiracy. In this limited podcast series, Jordan is going to step off the trump trail and dig into some fingers the conspiracy. In this limited podcast series, Jordan is going to step off the Trump trail

and dig into some of the wildest conspiracy theories he's heard and trace their origins with journalists, experts, and anyone who might know when JFK Jr. is coming back from the dead. Now, new episodes are going to be available Wednesdays on Apple Podcast, the I-Hart Radio app, wherever you get your podcast. You can also watch and listen at Daily Show.com, forward slash, CLEP a podcast. Watch the Daily Show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes any time on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.