The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Jon Stewart Slams Media for Breathless Trump Trial Coverage | Salman Rushdie

Episode Date: April 23, 2024

Jon Stewart weighs in on the media’s overblown coverage of Trump’s criminal trial, from sketch-artist interviews to following his motorcade via helicopter, and how the airtime contradicts their stated goal to give him less airtime. Plus, Daily Show alum Jessica Williams surprises us with some joyful benefits of following the Trump trial story. Also, esteemed author, Salman Rushdie speaks with Jon about his memoir, “Knife,” recounting his brush with death, along with the subsequent journey of healing and the fight for free expression currently happening in the United States.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Survivor 47 is here, which means we're bringing you a brand new season of the only official survivor podcast on fire. And this season we are joined by fan favorite and Survivor 46 runner-up, Charlie, Charlie, I'm excited to do this together. Thanks, Jeff. So excited to be here, and I can't wait to bring you inside the mind of a survivor player for season 47. Listen to On Fire the official Survivor podcast starting September 18th wherever you get your podcast. 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 My name is John Stewart. We got a great show for it tonight. We got a great show for it tonight. We got to show you're going to be very excited that you tuned in for the team.

I'll be talking to the great Salman Rushdie. We'll be joining us later. We got a great Salman Rushdie will be joining us later about his new book, Knight, fabulous book and many other surprises. But before that, it's a big day for Donald Trump. Huge. His campaign for president was interrupted today by the trial, about the other time, that he had tried to run for president. Look, let's just check in in another installment of America's most tremendously wanted.

The whole thing is his scam. After a week of jury selection, today it was finally time for opening statements and it turns out, the prosecution and the defense do not see eye to eye. The prosecution arguing that Trump's alleged scheme to keep an adult film actress quiet is election interference pure and simple in those words. Trump defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, told the jury that the former president, though, did not violate the law. Mmm. That's right.

This is a classic case of the state of New York versus, uh-uh. Oh, no, you didn't. I think it's pretty clear he did it. Anyway, this trial will obviously be a test of the fairness of the American legal system, but it's also a test of the media's ability to cover Donald Trump in a responsible way, a task they have acknowledged, they've performed poorly in the past. I think to the degree that the media had lessons turned in 16, they seem to have been learned.

It's irresponsible for cable news networks to give Donald Trump hours and hours of free airtime. Way too much speculation and liberal wishful thinking and attempts to connect dots that did not connect. It's the media's responsibility to not get distracted. I think we were much too busy chasing after shiny objects. All of us have learned some very valuable lessons from the last couple of years in delineating what's significant, what's important. So brave.

Well done. And I think for this trial, we will see the seeds of that introspection bear fruit. Or we will learn that learning curves are for pussies. Here we go. It's on. It's happening. History will be made. Shaping up to be the trial of the century. Maybe the trial of the century?

The trial of the century. But just might be the trial of the century. The tax man is here, Donald Trump. He will finally be forced to face in on Donald Trump. the music. the music. The legal walls closing in around Donald Trump. The legal walls are starting to close in on Donald Trump. Yes, this time, Mr. Bond. It truly is your doom. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to leave this room. Obviously when I leave I'm not going to press this button right here that opens all the doors and dismantles the killing machine I've established. Don't follow me, Mr. Bond.

Perhaps if we limit the coverage to the issues at hand and try not to create an all-encompassing spectacle of the most banal of details, perhaps that would help. You're looking at live pictures in New York City of Donald Trump's motorcade. It's about a 20-minute drive between Trump Tower and the court building. Trump, leaving Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. They're now making their way across town along 57th Street. They just cross Park Avenue making their way up towards Lexington Avenue. He's heading down the FDR.

To the Manhattan Courthouse on Chamber Street. Arriving at this intersection of American History with defiance. Arriving at the intersection of American history with defiance, the brilliant juxtaposing of the moment with simple traffic terms was... He arrived at the intersection of American history, where he put a quarter in the parking meter of decimile. Leaving the car! Looking to avoid stepping in the urine puddle of jurisprudence. Seriously, are we going to follow this guy to court every fucking day?

Are you trying to make this OJ? It's not a chase. He's commuting. So the media's first attempt. The very first attempt on the first day it self-control failed. And I'm sorry to say that it, I'm sorry, hold on, we're getting breaking news. You know, he wanted to get a jury seated. So we had a lady. Bill, I'm sorry to interrupt. Just for one second, I apologize. We're just showing the first image of Donald Trump from inside the courtroom.

It's a still photograph that we're showing there. Just don't make sure our viewers know are just waking up from a 30-year coma. This is what Donald Trump has looked like every day for the past 30 years. This is what Donald Trump has looked like every day for the past 30 years. Same outfit. So we have a photograph of Donald Trump in the courtroom. But do we really know what he looks like? The man is a mystery, a Yeti, if you will. Anything could be a deep fake.

Do we have an eyewitness account, perhaps from a dismissed juror? Would you describe to me what you saw with Donald Trump, what you were sitting inside of that courtroom? Not very much. He was a bit ahead of me and off to the left. I didn't have a complete view of him today. Dude, wait, did I have jury duty this way? What the fuck? What the fuck? Brother, brother? Brother? Mother-fee-dres like me too. This is...

Anyway, coming up, more of our three-part interview with a guy who nearly saw Donald Trump in the courtroom. So we have a photograph, this freaking me out, that picture. We have a photograph and we have eyewitness accounts. But do we have anything in a pastel? A courtroom sketch that we're getting in right now. I'm looking at the courtroom sketch, and Mr. Trump looks like he is glowering.

I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a glower or just a glance. I don't know how, ah, it's it's art. It's artistic journalism, but it's not a not not not a thi it's not not not not thi it's not necessarily, it's artistic journalism, but it's not a photograph. Why are you showing it to us? It's a sketch. Why would anyone analyze a sketch like it was, it'd be like looking at the last supper and going, why do you think Jesus looks so sad here? What do you think, it's because of Judas? What if we interview one of the waiters and one of the tables from like a different section

of the restaurant who maybe didn't actually see him but you know, we got time to kill. Well, I guess we'll never know. Unless we could talk to the person who drew the sketch, but, but do we have the time? Nothing but. Christine Cornell, she was in the courtroom today, the official sketch artist. I want to show one of your sketches today. We're going through some of them, but this one, it appears in this one that his eyes are closed. What was happening here?

My apologies, ma'am. I was having such a struggle to try and get those eyeballs in. Damn it, woman! Does Donald Trump have eyeballs or no, man? Does he or no? You are in the room. Tell me! Or I will not come to your tricket shop in New Pulse. Tell me, woman! Look, what the f-fee what are we doing? Uh, I notice here his head is perfectly round. Why is that? Well, I like drawing circles. At this point, you're probably saying to yourself, how many television hours have they devoted to what Donald Trump,

a man who has not been off any of our screens for more than 30 seconds in the last eight years looks like, the answer is not nearly as many hours as describing his every movement? Trump craned his neck to eye prospective jurors and flashed a tight-lip smile. Leaning to the left a little bit quiet, his arms crossed as well. Hunched over with his elbows on the desk. Looked through papers, it periodically whispered to his attorney. Fidgetted and leaned back the scowl fixed to his face while he sat squinting. He was actually biting his lips today's proceedings. His lips pursed in that characteristic Trump way.

His eyeballs, gone. The hulking former president stood up slowly. He walked towards me with a mixture of desire, scorn, and let's call it age-related confusion. It was then that I realized that this former president of the United States has a front butt. Look, at some point in this trial, something important and revelatory is going to happen. But none of us are going to notice, because the hours spent on his speculative facial ticks. If the media tries to make us feel like the most mundane bullshit is earth shattering, we won't believe you when it's really interesting. It's your classic boy who cried wolf blitzer.

Look, it's a trial. It's boring. Mostly. I've been on jury duty and I can... That's not me. That's a trial. It's boring. Mostly. I've been on jury duty and I can... That's not me! That's not me! That's not me! That's a different guy! Why are you... It's not me! It may be me!

Look, trials are a lot of procedural shit, and side conferences, and sidebars, and what's exhibit 3722a and you're not out of order this whole card is out of a look the one person who's had the most normal reaction to the trial so far is Donald Trump. Donald Trump fell asleep on multiple days during his criminal trial. As he should. I mean he's been up since 2 a.m. rage tweeting. He needs his anger sleep. Look, we got a long ways to go here. It's the first day of the first of his 438 trials to come. Pace yourselves. And if you're bored, you can always start planning how you're going to fuck up covering his next trial

and the sober mea culpa you'll deliver during his next term as president. Because the kinds of things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things things thi th president. Because the kinds of things that you are talking about now. Okay, we get it. Oh, I get. I know that voice. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

Oh my God. Oh my God. It's Jessica Williams. Yeah. How are you, how are you? But are you down at the courthouse? Are you there to give us a report? Yeah, I am. And here's my report. John Stewart hates fun.

This trial rocks. Why you got to be all, get off my lawn about it. I don't necessarily sound like that but close as I was explaining though the media has systematically failed to contextual. Oh John please you're killing me my poor sweet naive older than I remember John. What? Really? We need this messy bullshit spectacle. Every other news story is a massive bummer. This Trump trial is like an open window in a greyhound bus full of farts. Why are you trying to close the window, John?

Why are you trying to make a smell farts? I'm not trying to make you smell farts! No, John, you are trying is a gift. An extremely gross old man slash former president might go to prison for banging a porn star and trying to pay her off. And you don't want us to cover that shit all day long? John, the first witness is named David Pecker, you know, pecker is slang for wiener, John. It's a peepee, a peeper.

You know, a dingle, a dangle, a fliabby bitch, you know, a dingle, a flibitty bitch, you know. When you say pee-pee, but then the peeper? Yeah. Wouldn't that be the owner of the p-pee? Different content. Okay, I'm just saying. One guy has the pee-pee, the other the peeper has a try to be grammar police. Look, I don't want to get in talking about the name David Pecker and that it has a double meaning and the meaning is for Weiner.

I'm already tired. I've missed you terribly. I've missed you terribly. I've missed you terribly. I've missed you terribly. Shit. And then here you come with your old timey, high-falutin media critique, ruining our good time, just like you ruined the 2012 Daily Show Christmas party. I didn't ruin that. What's not fun about mock tails and toferkie? I didn't ruin it. Look, Jess, I hear what you're saying, but I thought my commentary on the sketch artist was quite trenching. Oh, you want to talk about courtroom sketches? Look at this!

Win! Win! Win! Win! I'm Miss Walter Cromkite. I have a pen, and I scribble nonsense on my script before the show starts. Oh no, no, the M the M the M the M the M the M the M the show starts. Oh no, the Mets lost again. Win!

Oh my God! Jess, did you actually draw that of me? Yeah, dude, because it's fun to do, and people like fun, John. Damn. Anyway, I should get going. I think I see Pecker across the street. David Pecker? I'm not sure whose penis it is actually.

Get all me! Jessica Williams, everybody! When we come back, Salmon Rushdie will be joining us. Don't go away. Yeah, this is come on. He's back. He's back again. He's back. the true. Streaming soon on Paramount Plus. This is Dr. Frazier Crane. I'm listening.

He's back again. Hey dad, I got a question about punctuation. Ooh! No, stay on task. And he's more Frazier than ever. How do I look? Rich. Just what I was going for. Oh my God, they traded your baby for wine! Do you really think we would trade John for white, Zinfandel or any wine?

Frazier, new season streaming September 19th on Paramount Plus. Welcome back to the Daily Show, my guest tonight. A world-renowned and best-selling author. His new book is called Knife. Meditations after an Attempted Murder. Please welcome to the program, Salman Rushdie. So. Nice to see it. Nice to see you.

Nice to see you. First question, obviously. How are you. This was obviously a traumatic experience. How are you? This was obviously a traumatic experience. Nice to see you. Nice to see you. First question, obviously. How are you? This was obviously a traumatic experience.

How are you feeling? I'm okay, you know, I mean, surprisingly. Yes. But sometimes there are good surprises. This was one. I'm pretty much recovered. I have to say, and I know this, it sounds peculiar to say this because of the traumatic experience that you endured. I love this book.

It's a beautiful work of introspection. I feel like I know now how your mind works. You know, I've read other of your books, but you really do a wonderful job of taking us through how you think. Yeah, it's weird how I think. No. No. I mean, I have this kind of free associating mind which goes from the moon to a movie, to a book,

to a book, to a to'court. I had to read this book with another book next to me to get just some of the references. It's, but it's, it allows you, you know, sometimes you'll read an author's memoir and there's a certain self-consciousness to it. But maybe because this is about a traumatic incident, I feel like your defenses were down, and it was very revelatory. Yeah, mean there's a there's a subject. Right. I mean it's it's it starts up there's a

love story which turns into a murder story which turns back into a love story. Yes. The love story by the way is with his, Eliza, who is really the hero maybe of the book. Yeah, no, I mean, she did a huge amount, and I wouldn't be here in good shape without her. And plus, she's an amazing writer. Right. There's that, too.

I say, with a certain amount of gritted teeth. Is there competition in writerly families? Not really. Actually, one of the nice things about this is there isn't we're enormously supportive of each other's work. I thought a really interesting part of the book is, spoiler alert at the end. When you go back to Chautauqua,

Shatawa is the famed community in upstate New York where they bring in speakers and where this unfortunate event happened. And you go back to revisit the scene of it, but also the jail where they are holding this person that attacked you. It was a last minute decision. We were actually on the plane flying up to, because I had this desire to go and revisit the scene of the crime and show myself that I was standing up where I fell down. Right. You know sort of important for me. But then on the flight up there I thought Jotok was a really small town and and if he's in the county jail how far is that from the

institution and it turned out it was like five minutes drive so I thoult tho. Let's th th th th th let let th th let th. Well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well well let th let's th. Let's th. Let's th. Let's th. Let's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I was liked out th. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked out. I was liked. I was like, th. I was th. I was th. I was th. I was th. I was the th. I was the the th. I was th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm the. I'm the. I'm. I th. I'm. th. I'm. the the th. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I just, it blows my, but you didn't have a desire necessarily to see this individual. No, I just wanted to see the jail. But I just, you get there, it's a really boring jail. It's a little cell block and a wall with some barbed wire. But I thought, you know, he's in there, I'm out here. That feels good. You win. And what happened is a weird thing happened. My feet started dancing. You were dancing. No, my feet were dancing. But what does that look like? It's just shimmying but the body stayed. Well, and my wife said, stop doing that. I can imagine this gentleman just glancing out the window for no apparent reason going, is that the guy?

Yeah, and he's dancing at the car park. You, you know, you talk a lot about your thoughts about this gentleman and whether you want it to confront him. There's actually a really wonderful section of it, almost like a Socratic litigation that you do in four parts. Yeah, I make him up. You make him up. But you don't make him defenseless. No. The litigation that you and the dialogue that you have with him is challenging. Yeah. Well I thought you, you know, you got to give the enemy an even break. If you're going to have a serious conversation, then it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do to do 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 their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their their their their, their thought you, you know, you got to give the enemy an even break. You know, if you're going to have a serious conversation, then it's, it can't just be me yelling at him, telling him what a bad person he is, which I think. Yes. But he wasn't, it makes you wonder about, you know, you spent since 1989 this, this fatwa is put upon you, and it these fundamentalists and these are religious extremists

who have decided they're going to punish you for whatever their reasoning was. You write though that this gentleman is sort of a copy of a copy of a copy of that. He's 24, he wasn't even born when this thing happened. And he by his own account had read nothing I'd written. And yet he was willing to commit murder. I mean, that's stupid. Yes. But it's...

But it's... I wonder if you think of it, does it strike you as a change in fundamentalism? You know, you say he was radicalized by Iman YouTubey, that he watched YouTube videos and do you think this attack had more to do with like John Lennon's attack or with a religious attack? No, I think it's I think in some ways it's a very American attack. Right. He spent four years in a basement playing video games and watching videos and it kind of messed with his head. And also, you know, I mean he's born in Brayden, New Jersey.

Slow down. I think I know where this is going. Well then you know you're ahead of me. But you know we live in an America where people kill each other every five minutes. Right. And I think maybe in his New Jersey brain. Yes. That is how we describe it as well, by the way. He's got that New Jersey brain. Do you think that there is a shift, you know we think of fundamentalism

as primarily a religious artifact. Have the algorithms made fundamentalism something different from that? I think maybe they have. I mean I'm too, I'm too old to know really because I don't, algorithms don't know what to do with me. Right. Give them a chance. No I do. I do. I'm too, I'm too, I'm too, I'm too. too. too. too. too. too. too. I'm too. I'm too. I'm too. I'm too. I'm too. I'm to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to. I, 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 know really because I don't algorithms don't know what to do with me. Right. Give them a chance. No I do but they don't know what to do. So I'm not algorithmically influenced. Right. But people are. People are all the time. And yeah, I mean I think he was... Something happened in him which made it possible for him to decide to murder a total stranger. And that has to be brainwashing of some kind. Right. Whatever you want to call it, but I call it brainwashing. Yeah, as I read the story, I started thinking, you know, we're so used to this idea that of violence with a cause, this idea that these, you know, there is something

deep inside them that can almost be noble or understandable. This is not that. It struck me more as more in common with the school shootings we see here or the other things that you were just this thing he saw. And you know what's so strange about it is, first of all, he must have known that he was messing up his own life as well. Right. You know, not just mine.

At 24? At 24. And you know the last thing he did, before he got on the bus from Fairview, New Jersey to Chetauqua. The last thing he did, he canceled he canceled, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he was, he was, he, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he was, he, he was, he was, he was, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, they. they. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. toed, was too, was too, was too, was too, was too, too, too, the too, the th the he knew the prison had weights? He wasn't coming back and why should he keep his standing order going? Wow. So he's going through it and going like, I don't need serious radio anymore. I don't, I don't.

So this, was he suicidal or was he? I don't know. I mean, maybe we'll find out if whenever, if this trial happens, we might find out more about him, but... Do you dread something like that? Is that something that still visits you? No. I mean, I think, you know, if I, I, they've, if they need me to testify, I'll go testify. And I'll be in the courtroom with him, but my view is he should be scared about being the courtroom with me. Absolutely. Absolutely. Do you wonder sometimes, you know, and this is not not to get, but you and I are both getting older and you write a lot in the book about...

Speak for yourself, John. Saddle down. I was just on jury duty by the way. I don't know if you saw a picture of my doffelganger. But there is, I don't have you saw the picture of my doffelganger. But there is mortality. You write about Martin Amos and Paul Officer and people that you've lost, even during the writing of this book, lost to esophageal cancer.

You had a cancer scare in the middle of rehabilitation. Yeah, in the middle of all this repair work, suddenly, apparently I might have prostate cancer. I thought that's not fair. No. Well, you're right. He writes, he goes to the doctor. Well, you can tell. I mean, I went to the doctor and they, examining your prostate is not fun. Again, speak for yourself. It's, it depends on if you have a Jersey brain. Anyway, the first examination, they thought they found a bump on the prostate. And then I had to have an MRI scan. And the MRI scan, you know, it grades

from one to five and five is really bad. And came out as four right it said cancer probable and then it turned out that it was not probable that it was had this bump on the had been caused by some other infection and and and a medicine that they had actually given you yeah exactly and then a second doctor the first doctor's the first doctor's boss also examined prostate, more thoroughly. Were they lined up down the hallway? What are we doing here? No, this was very thorough. And also he was an Indian doctor and he was a fan of mine, so he was ex-exper.

Nothing more uncomfortable than that. Extra thorough. Yes. And he said, no, I think this might be caused by this other infection and so they had to go back and have another MRI scan and it said, one to five, it's one, no cancer. So I had cancer for two months and then I didn't. It's so incredible because you face this, as you write in the book, this 27 seconds. It was just 27 seconds.

And yet, do you think about, and pardon the question, but do you think, does it matter how you die? As you watched your friends and you thought about your fate and your brush with mortality, and then to have this cancer scare did it make you think it mattered how you die? I prefer not to. I've got some bad news for all of us. Yes. But I mean I don't know I my wife Eliza and I've decided we're planning our hundredth birthday party by hundredth birthday and I think it has to be a dance party.

Yes. Just your feet though, not the whole body. So we try to decide who should DJ. Any two... I'll pick somebody. Yeah, right. But it strikes me because you, whether you've wanted this mantle or not, and I'm assuming you don't, you represent something. You represent a courage and a freedom of artistic expression, of the importance of artistic expression, and of the danger that artistic expression often visits upon the people who do it. It's a, it's a noble shield to carry, but not an easy one I don't imagine. Not an easy one, and I, in a way there's bits of me that would prefer to be the people who do it. It's a noble shield to carry, but not an easy one, I don't imagine. Not an easy one, and in a way, there's bits of me that would prefer to be well known for being, you know, good writer. Well, I have to tell you, I'm pretty sure that's in there too.

Is that in that? Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. It used to be when I started out as a writer, when people would write about my books, they would mention that they were funny. And then after the attack on the satanic verses, everybody stopped saying I was funny. Really? Because that book is satirical. Yeah, and it's, and people who read it, I get two reactions to read it now. One is, where's the dirty bit? Because we can't find it. And the second is, who knew it was funny?

And I say, people who read it, suddenly. But it's, you know, with that on you, do you feel there's an idea that you have to wear that heroism? I don't know about the heroism. But it's, you know, with that on you, do you feel there's an idea that you have to wear that heroism? I don't know about the heroism, but I think I have to be part of the fight. Right. You know, I mean, there is a fight about free expression in America too at the moment. And I'm, I feel like I'm in that fight.

I have a dog in that fight. What do you 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. tho, you, you, you, tho, you, you, you that is, you, that, you, you, you, you, you, you, you tho, you 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. the. the, the, the, the, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. thee. the. the. the. the. the. the. But in that fight. I have a dog in that fight. What do you think how the nature of fundamentalism has changed and how that affects artistic expression? Like even now when we see all the protests up at Columbia University, some students protest this, others think that's going too far and they're threatening people and we're crossing all those difficult lines. You spoke at the Penn Banquet, yes? Yeah, last year. Last year. Which is a consortium of writers and poets and a lot of people truly defenders of free speech. I just got a text today. They've canceled. They've canceled the prize-giving because they're people attacking them for not being sufficiently

anti-Israeli or pro-Palestinian or something. I mean everybody's so angry right now, that nobody can listen or talk to anybody else so people are shouting each other. Listen there was a critic and this is going to sound like a joke a critic of Taylor Swift's new music album, the Torture Post Society, they had to to remove the critic's name from the critique because of death threats. Because he didn't like the record? I didn't read it because I love the record. Yeah. Of course I don't want to hear any negativity. No. But so do I drop. But it's it speaks to in

1989 there was an ayatollah and a fatwa and a group of religious muckety mucks who delivered the law from high above and now it's we're all fundamentalists. Everybody's an expert, everybody's got an opinion. And a hostility. The level of anger is crazy right now. Do you think of, you know, you have a dog in the fight in that creative? How do we, and I think about this a lot, how do we manage that?

And is that just a function of the algorithm? It might meet. I think to an extent it is. I. I mean I don't know frankly, I'm glad you asked me because I have the answer to the world's problems. It's actually on page if I would. Exactly. But you are thoughtful enough and you've been through it enough that I know you have an opinion. Yeah, I mean I just think people have to draw, stop having such thin skins. You know, at the moment we're all very easily offended. And what's more is we also th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We also 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 the the the their their the their their their their their their their their the answer the answer the answer the answer the answer the answer the answer the answer the answer the answer their the answer 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 th. to be to be a to be a toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. I toe. toe. I toe. th. I their their their their their their thin skins. At the moment, we're all very easily offended. And what's more is we also believe that being offended is a sufficient reason for attacking something.

But actually, everything offends somebody. Always. I mean, occasionally you. What? How dare you, sir? I am offended. You see, and then if you go down that road, then we can't talk to each other anymore. Right.

But having groups always had a way of policing language or behavior? I think I'm trying to think, has my perspective changed on it or has the dynamic change? I think what's happened is the temperature has got arisen. Right. I mean, yes, of course, people have thi th th th th th th th th th th th tho 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 that that tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho that that that that 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 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 the dynamic change? I think what's happened is the temperature has got arisen. Right. I mean yes of course people have always disagreed and people have always said you can't say that you've got to say this. That's not new. What's new is the volume and the heat. Right. And so what do we do about taking down the volume and taking down the heat? That's the question. And again, and again not 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 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, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, th. the the, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, the the, th. th. thr. thr. threathea. threathea. threat.e.ea.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a.a. I.a.a. That's the question. I mean and again not to make you the avatar of this but this is coming from a man who because of threats from fundamentalists had to basically alter your entire life. Well it did certainly have an impact yeah. I mean what what is sad is it I'd actually got

my life back really I mean I've been living in New York City for getting on for 25 years. Right. Well you had made a decision I'm going to come out of this and make myself available. And for 23 years it was fine. Right. You know and I mean I was doing everything that writers do. Book tours, readings, lectures, you know. Oh I know I'm a writer. Don't stop. I've been there with the coffee clotches. Oprah. Yeah, well, I haven't been with Oprah. None of us have. But anyway, so it was a shock when this thing out of a quarter of a century ago, more than that, 30 years ago, sort of came out of a crowd at me. You know, it was, I really was very surprised.

Do you find yourself now freed of that fear or is there still that PTSD? Like what, where's your, what does that do to you? Well I mean it doesn't, you know, nothing good. But it's now been what, 20 months or something? I think I'm pretty much back to myself at this point. Do you feel like you're in that writing rhythm again? Has your mind started to dream again? Let's finish this, Don.

And by the way, let me tell you something. And we don't have people on where I don't either, you know, read it or take a look. It's such a beautiful and incredibly interesting and revelatory book. I really thank you for writing it because you had to endure something awful, but your insight into that experience is really a remarkable gift to give to other people. And I really do appreciate it.

I just got funny bits. A couple of funny bits. Yeah. For a writer. Not for a writer. Not for a writer. But it really is a fantastic piece of work and I thank you for doing it. The book is called Knife. It is available as we speak. Salman Rushdie. We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back after this.

Thank you. I've got a time. Great. quick break and we'll be right back after this. Thank you. I've got to talk. This is Dr. Frazier Crane. I'm listening. He's back again. Hey, dad, I got a question about punctuation. Ooh. No, stay on task. And he's more Frazier than ever. How do I look?

Rich. Just what I was going to go. Oh my God, they traded your baby for wine! Do you really think we would trade John for white Zinfandel? Or any wine? Frazier. New season streaming September 19th on Paramount Plus. Hey that's on show for tonight. Before we go we're going to check in with your host for

the rest of the week Ronnie Chang and Jordan Clapper. Come on. Lovely to see you. What do you got for the people this week? Well, uh, look there a lot of news to cover, and personally, I'll be looking at it through the lens of my white privilege. Yes. And I'll be lending my insight on what matters the most to the Asian community. I'll be very left as an anti-Trump. Well, I'll be offering an angry, everyone is stupid, counterpoint. I don't want to say anything, but I think I think think think I think think think think thi I to to to thi to thi to thi thi, I thi, I thatheat, I thatheatheatheat, I'm to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to I don't want to say anything, but I think you're reading each other's lines. Damn.

Oh, yeah, damn. Shoot! All right, well, it's too late. We got to commit to it. Hey, look at me. I'm Jordan Clipper. I'm making fun of Trump supporters. Is that my head? Is that, think it forward to it. Here it is your moment again.

Yeah. It feels something like the legal walls are starting to close in on Donald Trump. The walls, once again, begin to close in on Donald Trump. The walls are closing in on Trump. More walls are closing around him than ever before. We've been saying the walls are closing in for two years, but it feels like they're actually closing right now. 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 Fairmount Plus. Anytime Time on Bear Moumous! This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Survivor 47 is here, which means we're bringing you a brand new season of the only official Survivor podcast on fire, and this season we are joined by Fan Favorite and Survivor 46 runner-up, Charlie Davis to bring you even further inside the action. Charlie, I'm excited to do this together. Thanks, Jeff. So excited to be here and I can't wait to be here and I can't 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 the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the ccity the cc. the cc. the cc. the cc. the cc. the cc. the cc. the cc. the c. the c. the c. the c. the c. the c. 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. the. the. the. the. thean. thean. thean. thean. tm. tm. th. thea. th. thea. thean. the. the. the. to bring you even further inside the action. Charlie, I'm excited to do this together. Thanks, Jeff. So excited to be here, and I can't wait to bring you inside the mind of a survivor player

for season 47. Listen to On Fire, the official Survivor podcast starting September 18th, wherever you get your podcasts.