The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Rachel Maddow on "Bag Man" and the Sordid Tale of Spiro Agnew

Episode Date: December 14, 2020

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow talks about her book and podcast "Bag Man," which dive into the downfall of corrupt former vice president Spiro Agnew, and discusses the power of right-wing media. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17th. Rachel Maddow, welcome to the Daily Social

Distancing Show. It's great to see you. Thank you for having me. It's nice to join you in your hive from my hive. This has been an interesting experience for everybody in in this world because we're to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to the the to to the the to the th. th. to th. to to to to th. to to to th. the th. th. th. to to to to to listen to to to listen to to listen to listen to listen the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th th th th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thii thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. to to thi. to to to thi. to to to thiii. thi. the the the thee. the. the. to see you. Thank you for having me. It's nice to join you in your hive from my hive. This has been an interesting experience for everybody in this world because we're doing the thing we do in a way that we don't do it. Today we're going to talk about your book. And if I told people, Rachel Maddow's on with a book about a corrupt president who has explosive rhetoric and is extremely divisive and has used the White House for his own ends, people will be like, ah, Donald Trump, and you're like, no, you're wrong, then they're like, you got me, Richard Nixon. And you're like, no, you're still wrong.

And then you'd be like, it's Spiro Agnew. So let me ask you this, when we talk about the book, is it big piece of it that can help, which is not that Agnew was a corrupt, unbelievably corrupt, sort of monster in the White House. Like, we've seen that. We know what that means. That's kind of dog bites man at this point. The part of this that needs to be told is the good guys in the story. Like, we need to tell each other heroic stories about public service and citizenship and civic responsibility that model good behavior. And in this case, the prosecutors and the Republican Nixon appointed U.S. Attorney General were all like paragones of nonpartisan responsibility, and they're the reason that Agnew never

became president, which would have been a catastrophe for this country in the abstract, and especially right in the wake of Watergate, which is when it would have happened. And so it's the good guys that I feel like, ah, that's the part, those are the guys who need to be famous. That's the part of it, that could help us now. One of the lessons I'm learning right now, that's thiii's the political world, you know, even with Nixon, it didn't feel like it was like in the streets the way it is now. And granted, I wasn't around for it, so I don't know if that's how I'm reading it. But this feels like it goes down to the ground,

like the man on the street is involved in this level, if that makes sense. You know, it's not a political thing, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's th. It's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not, it's not a thi. thi. thi. thi. thi, thi. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, 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. thi. thi. th th th th th thr-a. th th th th th the the the thi. the thi. thi. thi. thi. thing now. And I sometimes wonder, I go, do you think we've gotten to the point now, where your reality is only based on your political affiliation? And that's what I struggle with in America, because you guys just have two political parties. I'm not used to that. So here you just have, it's this or it's blue or it's red? I'm like, what about purple? What about, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what, what? their? their? their? their? their? th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th is th is thi is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only is only?? th? th? th? th? th? th.... th. th. th. th. th. th. the reality? the reality? the reality? the reality? the reality? the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. th. th. thi. the thi. thi. thi. th you're one of the people who I know thinks about this and you convey stories and people respect you, I wonder if you grapple with that paradox that America is right now

where it's the United States that is no longer united because it's literally split down the middle. Yeah, and where we don't have an agreed upon set of facts, we would rather look at things through our own lens, those are the only lessons that we listen to. I mean, the thing that I think is helpful about history in that point, like in the case of Agnew and in Bagman,

is that, so like, there's this moment where Agnew goes to a Republican women's conference in Southern California. And Nixon has told him to resign. And the Justice Department has told him, you're gonna be indicted. And he knows he is like on his way out. And he goes up before this audience of like kind of rabid Republican women. And he says, I will not resign if indicted. And he starts screaming about the terrible, the media, and how the media can't be tho, th. th. th. thii, th. th. thi, th. thi, thi, thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and tho, and tho, and thi, and thi, and to to to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and th, and th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to thi, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too. too. And, too. And, too. And, toe. And, the.rible, the media and how the media can't be trusted.

And the women in the audience, some of them start screaming at the reporters. I don't think they called them the enemy of the people, but it was the exact same thing that you get like with, with Trump telling his supporters to scream at the media. And this is 1973, some of those women at that event brought their own tape recorders to the event so they could record Agnew because they knew the lame stream media would take it all out of context. So there's been a there's been a thread of this through American politics that isn't new and that people I think who are the most sort of demagogic have exploited for a long time. Your show is not just the most successful it's been, but it's the most successful show.

I don't even know how it's measured sometimes. They go like weekly for these people for, long story short, Rachel Maddow is number one. That's all I know. Congratulations. Thank you. What I would love to know from your perspective, as somebody who is truly a giant in broadcasting is, as Rachel Mad out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out out, 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 told, to to to to to to told, 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 to to 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 th the the the the thea.. the the thea. thea. too. too. too. too. to to some of the tips and tricks are that liberals don't have, that conservatives do have that they use really well?

Because there's no denying that Fox News are really engaging and really good at convincing people of things. And now Newsmax and OAN are outflanking them on that side. Where now they're going, oh, you guys are liberal in that way and it's like, no, they're not liberal. Is there something that liberals and Democrats are missing in America in learning how to communicate with people and convincing them of ideas? It's a really, really good question, and one that I have thought about a lot. I was also part of this experiment where liberals tryed to do AM Talk Radio with Air America Radio for a long time and it was at that point AM

Talk Radio was basically in a foreign language or sports or church or Rush Limbaugh. Like that was that was it. And so the idea that you'd like, you know, tune in to hear somebody wax poetic poetic about the Voting Rights Act, like it was just, and it didn't work. You know, we tried and it didn't work. And so I have thought about tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho that that tho tho-I that tho-a th. that that that, that, tho-a, th-a, th-a, thr-a, th-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, th. th. I th. th. th. th. th. tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, tha, toda-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'er. A. A so I have thought about this a lot. I do think that there is something that is a little bit magic about the right-wing media, which is that the left-wing media will never do, and that I think liberals and centrist will never do, which is that they tell their audience, you can trust no one other than those that I am giving to you. And you actually see that right now with

the president trying to discipline Fox News. Saying, oh, Fox News is now giving you fake news too. You have to go to the more pure. Like, that willingness to hive off what you're offering from everybody else. That's, I will never develop that muscle. You know, my show will always be the Washington Post just reported this and Foxthe Associated Press just reported this and Fox News just reported this. I trust other other than myself. I believe in journalism. I believe in the fact-based world and so therefore I'll never tell you to shut it off and only listen to me. And the right has the opposite view of that. And that explains why they've locked up so much of their own market. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I's, th. I's, th. I's, thi. I's, thi. I's, thi. I'm, tho, tho, thrown. I'm, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, thus, 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 th. I's, I th. I's, I's, I's, I's the the the the the the the the the the the the th. I's thr-I. I's thr-I. I's thrown. I'm true. I'm tru. tru. I'm tru. tru. truu. tru. tru. tru. tru. tru. I trust, I trust, I I think it also explains why they don't speak to the whole country. They only speak to people who they've already convinced to turn off everything else. If there was a way to do like a, you know, like those, you know, what are those shows called in America's, like wife swap, spouse swap type things? Would you ever do like a week or something on Fox? Do you think th. th. think you th. think you th. Do you think you th. Do you th, do you th, do you think you th, do you th, do you th, do th, do th, do th, do th, do th, do th, do thi, do thi, do think, do thi, do thi, do thi, do thi, do thi, do thi, do thi, do thi, do thi, do thi, thi, their, to, to, their, to, their, their, to, 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.... I. I. I. I. I. I. I, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to. I. I. I. I, true. I, true. I, true. I, true. I, true. I, true. I, to. I, to, their, their, their, them and say to them, hey, I know you don't like me, but let me lay out my case, and do you think you would be able to do that? You are not going to believe me when I say this,

but I sort of feel like I do that every night in what I'm doing anyway. Like, I don't assume that my audience already thinks all the same things that I do or that has the same perspective perspective perspective perspective perspective perspective perspective perspective perspective, do or that has a same perspective on it. So I feel like I'm always trying to convince people who don't otherwise come from the same perspective that I come from that what I'm saying is something to offer. Like here are the facts, here's my take on it, here's the story may be wrong, here's an expert who can tell me if I'm wrong, here's, you know, you make of this what you will. So I feel like you're you make you make you make you make you make you make you make you make you make you make you make you make you make you make th you make th you make th you make th you make th you make th th th th th th th th the th th th th th th thus thus thus thus thus thi thi the thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus the tho tho 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 th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi thi thi thi. thi, the reason this is hard to imagine is because I'm just trying to, I'm just trying to imagine like the moment of walking into the Fox Studios and the Fox executives being like, do-dood-dood-dood-dood, really? Is this person going to sell

erectile dysfunction pills to our audience to the people on Fox, I think it could be Rachel Maddow. I know you've got to get ready for your show. Thank you for taking the time. Thank you for writing an amazing book. I wish everyone wrote books like this about history, because I, like most of history, like most, it's written well. So congratulations on an amazing story. I hope everybody goes out and gets it. And I hope to see you again in person soon. Trevor, thank you so much. You're great, my friend. Thank you. Rachel that out? I appreciate you.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show with Trevor and Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show week nights at 11. 10 Central on Comedy Comete Central and the today. 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. 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. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. th. the. th. the. th. the. th. the. th. the. th. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. Really? But that's all about to change.

Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look, starting September 17th. Wherever you get your podcasts.