The Daily Show: Ears Edition - George Stephanopoulos - Standing Up For The Truth

Episode Date: September 19, 2022

George Stephanopoulos discusses advising ABC News embedded reporters covering the midterms in new weekly docu-series, “Power Trip,” why he believes Democracy is “on a knife edge,” and standing up for the truth in journalism in an ever-growing world of election and fact deniers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Please welcome, George Stephanopoulos. George Stephanopoulos. It's great to be here. Thank you. How's it going? George Stephanopoulos, welcome to the show. It's great to be here.

This is so amazing having you here because I mean, I feel like this is your world. You, you know, you're one of the, the the show. It's great to be here, thank you. This is so amazing having you here, because I mean, I feel like this is your world. You know, you're one of the most familiar faces, you're one of the names that is most synonymous with all things news. And now you're taking us behind the scenes, and now you're taking us behind in their 20s, they're all ambitious, passionate, smart kids. They don't have a lot of experience, but they're going to go out on the campaign trail, basically a zone defense covering the country and cover all these campaigns.

We're doing it for the first time for these midterm elections because I said it in that clip. I think our democracies is taken the midterms. We've never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never never. I. I've never never never never. I've never. I've never never never never. I've their. I've th. I've never never never never never. their. th. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. It's. It's. It's their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. It's. It's. their. It's. their. It's. It's. It's. It's. their. their. their. It's. their. their. their. their. their. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the te. te. te. the te. the the the the the the the the the the their. their. the as we can. It feels like these midterms are going to be different. And you know and people often say that. I've seen you know American news try and drum up interest but it feels like these ones are going to be particularly different. This is the first time I think in a midterm election. We saw a little bit of in 2020, a lot of it in 2020 where the very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very. way we debate and decide elections is under assault. I mean you've got 40% of the country who still doesn't believe the last election is over. 40% of the

country who is determined who doesn't accept facts right in a in a debate and you know our whole system is premised on the ideas both sides can to argue out based on a common set of facts whoever wins and you go on to fight another day. This is different because that has not been settled after the last election. Let me ask you this. As somebody who's been covering the news for so long, as somebody who's been involved in campaigns,

you've seen the tide's shift, you've seen the tide's shift, you've seen the attitude change. Did you see this coming? Is it new? Is it new? Is it new? What was the moment? There's got to be one moment where you noticed that something had shifted. I can't say I ever saw this coming to this degree. I never believed. I mean, I still well up when I think of the capital under assault on January 6 after an election. Our whole system has premised on the idea of a peaceful transfer of power, but the change that started to happen, I'm, you make it sound like I'm very old, I guess I am................... And, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th. the, the, th. the, the, the, th. th. th. there's there's there's there's there's their, I'm there's there's there's there's, I'm, I'm, I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I's, I's, I's. I's, I's. I's. I's. I's. I's, I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. the. the. the. the. the. there. there. there. there. there. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm still. I'm. I'm still. I'm very old, I guess I am, but when I first worked in campaign. I'm just doing it for a long time. You could be a news child star.

I didn't say you all in George. When I first worked in campaigns, we used to footnote our commercials because we were so concerned about being called out for not telling the truth. Interesting. But what has changed over time is their their their their. their. their. their. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. th. that, that, thi, the change, thi, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. You, th. You, the change, the change, the change, the change, you, I, I, you, I, I, I, I, I, I, you, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, the change, the change, the change, the change, the change, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, you're, you're, you're, their, I's, their, telling the truth. Interesting. But what has changed over time is that as each side basically just tries to get out their own voters rather than trying to persuade others, they care less about whether they're called out by the media on telling the truth or not. It's interesting you say that because I've noticed on the news shows, you'll be talking to politicians. And back in the day it felt like a politician was so afraid to to contradict themselves to be a hypocrite to have any moment where there was a discrepancy and now it feels like just having the platform to come on your new show and say something is more important than whether or not you know

what they love often you'll have someone come on and you can show and it can be footnoted you can go to the dictionary, you can go to 8,000 reference books and say, you're just not telling the truth, and they say, well, you're lying. And they don't care because to the group of voters they're trying to appeal to, calling us out whether we're right or wrong, works for them. So do you ever get to a point where as a news organization you say we caught have certain people. Right now, I mean, I will not put anybody on my show who will not accept the results of the last election. Just they don't come on.

Wow. You have new issues coming up all the time. I had an interview with a senator a few weeks back, which I still can't believe. And remember how when Hillary Clinton had her emails that were classified, how Trump said, lock her up. Republicans wanted investigation after investigation. This senator would not even say that Trump having all of those documents in his house was wrong. Four questions, four times, would not say it was wrong. So, you're in an interesting position.

For a long time, America had an agreed idea of what was happening on the news, for the most parts. Both of you, yeah. Right. Cable news came, and then it became, you know, really partisan. You could have it this way, and you could have it that way, and your facts could almost be alacar now. You still occupy a position, and then it's try to, you know, but you still occupy this position where most people think of it as, okay, this is the middle, this is, but the Overton window of middle is shifting. How do you now respond? Do you try and do you have to cater to some of these politicians? Here's what you don't do.

I mean, I think there is a risk when you're talking to certain politicians if you're willing to say what you're saying is not true........ I. I. I. And sometimes you have to risk looking partisan by doing that, but I think we can't bow to that threat. I mean, as long as I'm confident when I am that we're arguing about facts, undisputable facts, I have no problem saying you're not telling the truth. Even if that's going to cause somebody to say, oh, you know, you're just being a political hack. You have to do that. That's what we have to stand up for as journalists, right and wrong, fact, not fiction.

You are now sending these journalists as embeds. You know, they're on the ground, they're getting information on the ground from these people. What we see even in that clip, and I think the docuse is people say, well, you're fake news. Do you think we are moving towards a world where the news is what you want to hear and then what you do essentially almost falls away? It's the great, I think it's one of the greatest dangers our democracy faces right now. I think there is no question about that.

You see it right there. By definition, there's going to be certain people who, no matter what the facts is is is is the facts is the facts is the facts is the facts is the facts is the facts is the facts is the facts is the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts the facts.. I's the fact is their, their, th. thi. thi. thi. thi. I's, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. their, their, the. the. thean. toean. toean. toean. toean. toean. toean. toean. toean. toe matter what the facts are, if I'm saying it, you're a liar. It's fake news. If they're Kennedy saying, he's right, not wrong. And you're right. People just end up going to the places where they know the view that they already have is going to be reinforced, whether or not it's true. Have you found any way to break through on the ground, on your, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, on, the the the the the the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, their, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is a.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e. their. on your show in any of the journalism? We're going to try to do it with this new show. I think what we're going to try to do is show the process of these young reporters trying to get the truth. Show them doing it in the right

way, showing them doing it, we hope with integrity, showing the risks they take to do it. I thin' the risk, the risk, the risk, the risk, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, is, is, is, is, is, is show, is show, is, is show, is showing their, is show, is show their, is show, is show, is show the risks, is show, is show the risks, is, is their, is, is their, is, is their, is their, is their, is their, is their, is their, is their, is their, is their, is their their their their their their their their their their their their their their throomo, their their their their try.o, their tryo, their trys.o, their their transparency on the process, I hope that people will trust what they're hearing. Well, I wish you the best of luck. Thank you so much to join me on the show. Thank you. It's a rainy, fascinating doctor, series. Make sure to check it out. George Stephanopoulos, everybody.

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