The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Jordan Klepper Calls for Gun Control After KC Parade Shooting | Cord Jefferson

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

Jordan Klepper highlights why the recent Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting is a case for firmer gun control in terms a football fan can understand. Plus, Trump could get off for election interference because of District Attorney Fani Willis’s romance with prosecutor Nathan Wade. Grace Kuhlenschmidt takes us through the romantic gestures of past presidents whose mistress stories are straight out of a rom-com. And Cord Jefferson, writer and director of the Academy Award-nominated film, “American Fiction,” shares how his experiences in Hollywood contributed to his desire to expand any limited ideas of Black stories or Black characters, why he thinks it’s good that his movie makes some people feel uncomfortable, and how the film’s success is feeling very meta.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. I'm George Kleper, we got a great show for you tonight.

We're going to dig into some of the big stories of the day. Oscar-dominated filmmaker Cord Jefferson is here. But first, yes, yes. First, let's get into headlines. Now as we all know, the Super Bowl was on Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs won. Taylor, there you are. Three Kansas City Chiefs fans here. Taylor Swift somehow got box seats.

Usher's abs were on the outside of his shirt for some reason. It was great. And yesterday, they had a celebratory parade in Kansas City that tragically ended in gunfire. Now, there's still a lot we don't know about the situation. The good news is we do know one of the heroes that helped stop the shooting. Now it wasn't Missouri's lax gun laws, it wasn't a good guy with a gun. Wasn't anybody bearing arms. It was just a guy with arms. Take a look at this video. It shows the moment that one of them was tackled by a couple of

fans who were in the right place at the right time. One guy was hollering saying, you know, stop him or catch him. And as I'm tackling him, I see his weapon. Bravo to this guy. Bravo to this guy. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. Yes. Frankly, not just for stopping the shooter, but for executing a flawless tackle in front of the Super Bowl champions. Travis Kelsey is right there and you're like, watch this form. Look, maybe you think we don't need gun control. But don't pretend there's any level of security that will prevent something like this from

happening. There were more than 800 police officers there, and all they could do was react after it happened. Let me put this in football terms. America needs a defensive strategy that will stop a guy from getting the ball in the first place. Not just hope someone tackles him before he gets to the the the end the end the the the end the the the the the the the end the ball in the first place. Not just hope someone tackles him before he gets to the end zone. That's not a winning strategy, unless you're playing the jets.

Also, we need to limit the size of the ball. That ball is a weapon of war. The founders didn't anticipate the ball would be this big. I'm in too deep with this metaphor, I hear it now. You get the idea. I'll say what's infuriating though is that we're not going to get to have an honest conversation about America's gun problem. Instead, we'll be having a conversation about America's parade's parade problem. Should they have more security? Should they be smaller?

Should they replace the confetti with Kevlar? Should the parade just be an email? It's not fun, but those are all the ideas we're allowed to have. Also, one thing I noticed about the media coverage around this is everyone saying today was supposed to be a celebration, or the day started out filled with joy. Shouldn't every day be able to end without a mass shooting? Is our bar really that low? Like even my shittiest day. My wife leaves me.

The IRS audits me. I go to see Madam Webb. I mean a shitty, shitty day. Even that day deserves to end without a shooting. Maybe I'm just a selfish, selfish optimist. You know what, like the rest of the country, let's quickly move on from gun violence and talk about something else. As you know, Donald Trump is on trial in every jurisdiction in America. One of the most important trials is down in Georgia, where he's accused of trying to overturn the election.

And because this case is so important, it's crucial that the prosecution does everything above board and by the books. A.K.A. not this. After weeks of mounting questions, Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis acknowledging a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired to lead her case against Donald Trump. Trump and his two co-defendants claim Willis benefited from the money her office paid Wade, saying he had taken her on lavish vacations. D.A. Willis could be disqualified from the case, so could her whole office potentially. This could really bring the investigation back to square one.

Are you kidding me? Trump might get off because these two were getting off. The case might be derailed because these two were getting railed. Are we f'c because they're f-fooed? I can't believe a legal team's sexual appetite might destroy this case. Now I finally understand why Trump hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer. No one's risking their case to see what he's packing. But maybe, maybe we should give Fannie Willis the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe, maybe she didn't know it was a conflict of interest to have sex with an employee. In 2020, Fonny Willis was asked why Fulton County voters should elect her as DA instead of her opponent. They deserve a DA that won't have sex with his employees. Because they deserve a DA that won't put money in their own pocket. Ooh. Okay, that's tough. Okay, uh.

But to be fair, she kept her promise. She did not have sex with his employees, just hers. I guess we call that progress. Now, one of the accusations against Fawney Willis is that after she hired her boyfriend, he kicked back money to her by taking her on lavish vacations. And today they questioned Nathan Wade about those vacations, and the answers didn't exactly roll off his tongue. I'm asking if you remember paying for a cabin six months ago in Tennessee?

No. You remember booking a cabin? I booked lots of cabins. Did you go to a cabin with Miss Willis ever? Ever? Ever? Ever? Ever. No.

I don't care what you're answering. Anytime you pause that long, it's suspicious. Also, who books so many cabins they can't keep track of them? You're either Davy Crockett or a serial killer. So after today, things are not looking good for special prosecutor Nathan Wade, but he does have an option here. He sexed his way into this mess, he just might have to sex his way out. If his loving is so good that a prosecutor is willing to break the rules for it, then he's got to sex everybody into breaking the rules for him.

Sex the judge, sex the jury, sex the bailiff. If the clerk wants some sex, sex the clerk. If Monty Raju is outside the courtroom, sex the Raju. And if it comes down to it, he's going to have to sex Donald Trump. If he's that good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good that that that 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 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 it, he's gonna have to sex Donald Trump. If he's that good, it ought to do the trick. Trump will walk out of that courtroom like, the case is rigged, but the D is fire. That's for Fannie Willis, when she took the stand today,

she denied any wrongdoing and also tried to bring some perspective to the day. You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. Yes, thank you! Donald Trump is the one on trial, which is why you should have been more careful. This is possibly the most important trial in the country right now, and it could be completely derailed not because the evidence or the facts, but because two two two two two two th. th. th. the thii the th. th. thi thi thi the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the, the, the, theateate. the, thr-a, thr-s, thr-s, try try try try try try try try try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, tha, thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. the, the, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. thean, thr-i. thr-i. the evidence or the facts, but because two people got horning. So maybe the first thing we need is some new HR training. Hello. If you're watching this video, you're one of the 200,000 prosecutors currently working on

a Donald Trump case. There's been some confusion lately over whether you should hire a person you're fucking to prosecute the most important case in the nation. So we wanted to just take a moment to clarify. Don't. Don't do that. Remember, there are over 330 million other Americans. You can have sex with any of that or hire them as a prosecutor, but not both. It should be pretty obvious. Well we're at it, here's some other super obvious things to avoid that thi them as a prosecutor, but not both. It should be pretty obvious. Well, we're at it. Here's some other super obvious things to avoid

that I can't believe I have to say out loud. Don't bribe the judge. Don't bribe the defendant. Don't burn down the courtroom. Don't join ISIS. Don't hire ISIS. Don't try to sell the judge drugs. Don't hire a stripper cop to be the bailiff. No under any circumstances toilet cams. Don't slurp up the defendant's bathwater. Don't

recruit the jury into a multi-level marketing scheme. Don't sell tickets to the trial on StubHub. And finally, don't steal the judge's organs and sell them on the black market. By following these simple rules, you can maintain your integrity and not legally speaking, fuck this up, we don't go away. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio, on sandwiches.

Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the Daily Show. Romance is in the air. And this week, to celebrate that, our Grace Coolidge-Schmidt takes us through the most romantic people she knows. When you think of the most romantic men ever, who do you think of? Jack Dawson, Noah Calhoun, no Dum-Dum, those are made-up characters played by actors who have restraining orders against me. For me, the most romantic men on the planet are the men who have served as president of the United States of America. And there are so many to choose from.

Romantics like black and white president Woodrow Wilson. Woody met his special lady, Mary Holbert Peck in beautiful Bermuda while his wife stayed home with their sick daughter. Can you believe it? That's like straight out of a wrong calm. In fact, Wilson was so smitten with Mary, he even wrote her love letters. Quote, you really must come down to relieve me. That is so romantic. He truly wanted to bust in that chick. Fellows, take notes. Another president of passion was Warren G. Harding. And the G, must stand for gentlemen, the gentleman, because even that chick. Fellas, take notes. Another president of passion was Warren G. Harding. And the G must stand for gentlemen,

because even though his wife was chronically ill, he still found time to sleep with other women. Our wovable Warren was such a Romeo, that during his campaign, he paid not one, but two women to keep their affairs secret. Stick me in the freezer because my heart is melting. One of these beloved blackmailers was Carrie Phillips, a possible German spy. Yeah, Harding was willing to risk divulging state secrets and endangered national security?

All for love. I promised I wouldn't cry. Oh, I promised I wouldn't cry. Of course, when it comes to romantics, it's hard to top Franklin D.R. There was no one more in love or more faithful to his wife, secretary. F.D.R. kept seeing her for decades, even though his cousin wife, Eleanor, was not a. Love Conquer's All, bitch! In fact, F.R. was so committed to his one true mistress. He even gave up walking so he could save all his energy for boning her. Ladies, if your man can walk, that's a red flag. But perhaps America's most romantic president was none other than John F. Kennedy

Airport Jr. President Airport Jr. had so much love to give, it couldn't be contained in one woman. Or two women, or three or four. Or 17 women, actually. Two of these lucky lovers were White House interns that Kennedy referred to as, get this, this is so cute, fiddle and faddle. Oh, no one's ever called me faddle? They just take the time to learn my real name.

Oh. And while historians debate whether Maryland was really one of JFK's lovers, this footage of her singing Happy birthday to him is one of the most genuine purest displays of affection ever captured on film. At 125 the motorcade moves into the downtown that is not the right JFK video. Stop! And last but certainly least President Lyndon B. Johnson. Even when he was busy with President's stuff, LBJ always put his lovers first. He even had a bell installed in the Oval Office so the Secret Service could warn him when his wife was coming.

Are those wedding bells I hear? Nope. It's a get off my dick and hide in the filing cabinet bell. So sweet. Lyndon's relationship with his devoted side piece spanned decades of his marriage until sadly, she broke up with him over his involvement in the Vietnam War. That's right. The Vietnam War also had a dark side. Who knew? So next Valentine's Day, if you're trying to inject a little romance into your life, you don't need to go to a fancy restaurant or an expensive jewelry store. Just book a ticket? Yes, thank you.

Thank you, Grace. Yeah, that was very sweet, but I don't know how romantic that actually was. You realize those were all extra marital affairs. What? Oh my God, that's so much hotter. I guess it was. Grace Coolidgeman, everyone. When we come back, Oscar-dominated filmmaker, Tor Jefferson will be joining me on the show.

Don't go away. We'll guess we're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio, on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is a director and Emmy-winning writer whose film American Fiction is currently nominated for five Academy Awards. Please welcome for Jefferson. Lauren. Wow. Thank you. Wow. Thank you.

Wow. Feefeature film debut and you get five Academy award nominations. Yeah. I'm curious how you're feeling about it and how you're wielding that strength now. Uh, I'm curious how you're wielding it too much, unnel. I'm not wielding it feeling about it and how you're wielding that strength now. I'm not wielding it too much, unfortunately. I probably should be more demanding, yeah, but I'm not.

I'm, I feel a little overwhelmed, you know? It is, we made this movie with very little money and very little time. We didn't make it under these great auspices, and so to be here right now. Sitting with you is beyond my wildest this must be your highlight yeah man this is crazy you know truly I I don't really get nervous in interviews anymore but I'm pretty nervous here right now the daily yeah man the daily shows a big deal yeah nothing to be nervous about all right so I want to talk Palestine okay that that's great. Everybody, everybody get out your phones. There you go. Start putting this on the internet. I'm happy to do it. My public is going to love this. They're like, let's

get into this. Well, I mean, this movie I think what I was surprised to find out that it's based on a book from 20 years ago. Yeah. Right, but it's still so relevant today. What did you see in that story that made you want to tell the story now? Oh my god, man. So three months before I found this novel, erasure by Percival Everett that I adapted, I sent in a script to some executives and th, th, th, th, th, 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, th, th, th, 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 th, th, th, th, the the tho, tho, the the the, the, the the the, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, tolde, tolde, to to to to to black character needed to be blacker. And I said, I sort of, I said, I will indulge this note if whoever gave it is willing to sit down with me and tell me what it means to be blacker. Tell me how to make somebody blacker. And of course that note went away because they probably knew they were setting themselves up for like a huge civil rights lawsuit. And so they dropped it. And you know, but that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just that was just their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. the, I. I. the, I. I. the, I. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the, the, w. the, w. the, the, w. And, you know, but that was just one of the many instances in my TV and film writing career, where it's like, people just have this very limited perspective

of what it means to be a black writer. They have a very limited perspective of what black stories look like, what black life looks like. And so, when I read this book, that was published in 2001, but it felt like it was written yesterday, yeah, I just just just just just just just just just that it felt like it was written specifically for me. I just understood the characters so well. Yeah, I think one of the targets of this film is white liberal audiences.

And first off, how dare you? Do you get exhausted talking to white liberals about this movie and having to explain race to them over and over again to be like, what is the deal with race in America? Um, no, actually. I mean, I mean, maybe a little bit, but I've set myself up for this. This is like, this is what I, this is the work that I put into the world, so I'm happy to chat about it. I mean, I think, I think what's what's what's what's what's what's what's interesting. the the the th. th. th. th. I thi. I the thi. I the thi. I the thi. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. What's interesting. I's interesting. I's interesting...... What's interesting........ What's interesting... What's interesting.. What's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. It's interesting. I's interesting. th. the the the the the the the the the the to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the it's a political satire, but it's also really heartfelt. I was surprised by that. It really follows a family, it follows the struggles that they have.

Why was that important for you to tell and to marry with it? It seems like those don't always go together when you see satirical films. Yeah, and that you played right there I think is more is one of the grounding moments of the film. I didn't want it to feel like it was so funny or got so silly that it became slapsticky I was like it to feel like this entire things a joke that you can laugh at. You don't need to take it seriously. I always want to feel it's like. It sort of like says like this entire things a joke thi. It's th. It's th. It's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. so so so so so so so. so. so. so. so. so. so so so so so so so so so so. so so so. so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so. so so so. so. so. so so so. so. th th so th th th th th th th thi thi thi the thi the the the the the soe soe soe soe soe soe soe soe soe so. so. so. so take it seriously. And I think that this movie sort of makes some people uncomfortable sometimes, and I'm okay with that. I think that every time I'm experiencing a piece of art and it makes me uncomfortable, I kind of lean in because I think that sort of wisdom is on the other side of that discomfort.

Well, I want to talk a little bit about the ending. I don't want to give it away, but this movie, but the movie, but the movie, but the movie, but the movie, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, the movie, the movie, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thape, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, and I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, and I thi, I thi, and I thi, the the thi, I thi, thi, I thi, thr, I'm thr, thri. thri. thriii. thriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. thri. thi. thi. thi. thending. And I wonder if that comes out of network notes, wanting you to end this movie for a certain audience, if that comes out with you, either not knowing how you wanted to end it or wanting to end it in a way that leaves people with their own ways in which they can end the story? Like, how did you approach wrapping this thing up? Yeah, so the novel that's that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I throaqqqqaqqq is thoaq is thoaq is throaq is throan is thoan is one., thoan is oaq is o' is o' is o' is o'n.., thoannenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenenene...... thrownananananananananan's is throwne. throwne and the epilogue of the novel is this Latin phrase that translates to, I offer no hypothesis.

And so to me that, that meant that it was great. Great, great. That's a Latin phrase they used with mathematics. People love that. Yeah, I love that ending to the ending to the ending to be didactic. I wanted the ending to feel audacious. And so I wanted to, I was trying to figure out what the ending was going to be. And one of the producers called me and said, the movie's a big swing. Try to write an ending that feels like a big swing too, because I was kind of stuck as

what the ending would be. And so I wrote an ending that feels as the thian thian thian thian thian thus thus thus thus thus thus thus, I thus, I thus, I thus, I thus, I thus, I was thus, I was the the, I was the, I was the thi, I was thi, I was the the, I was the, I was the, I was the, I was the, I was the, I was the ending, I was the ending, I was the ending, I was the ending, I was the ending, I was the ending, I was the ending, I was the ending, I was the ending the ending th. I was th. I was thin, I was thin, I was thin, I was thin, I was thin, I was thin, I was thin, I was thin, I was theat, I was to to to to to to to to told. to to to to to to to to theat, I was to to to th And yeah, I think that I didn't want to spoon feed people lessons. Like it said, I offer no hypothesis. I'm giving you some scenarios and some characters. It sort of offers you an opportunity to think for yourself and decide how you want to think about things. I mean, I do think this movie also asks a lot of questions about about what Hollywood wants in movies from black filmmakers and what a white audience will respond to. And you make this film.

And then primarily white, Oscar Public is like, we love this film. And I wonder how you, is that, is that a sweet revenge? Is that an extension of the meta story that you're telling? It feels like there's a conversation about people enjoying your film that's already happening within your film. Yeah, absolutely, look, it is you, 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, and I'm, and I'm, and I'm, and I'm, and I'm, and I'm, and I'm, and th. And, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, 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, 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.. th. th.. th. th... th. th. th. th.. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that's already happening within your film. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, look, it is, I'm basically slowly cosplaying as Jeffrey Wright. I'm looking at myself right now and I'm becoming Jeffrey Wright.

Do you normally wear these glasses? Yeah, I know. This is a Jeffrey Wright suit. I'm going gray like Jeffrey Wright. So it's getting more and more minute. I'll tell you how it met it's gotten. The other day, Percival Everett, the author of the novel Erasure, was stopped in a coffee shop in LA. This is a true story, and somebody asked him

if he was Jeffrey Wright. And he said, no, I'm not Jeffrey Wright, but I wrote the book that that maybe this will all be, maybe after the Oscars I'll reveal that I'm a white guy. And nobody will know. You guys don't know. I've been, maybe, maybe, I tell you what. Maybe I've been in Blackface this whole time and it's just a big true. God damn I love it.

That would supersede the ending of seven for me. I'm just Toby McGuire. People don't know that. I'm Toby McGuire. You were Toby McGuire this whole time. Court Jefferson is not real. American Fiction is now playing in theaters everywhere. Core Jefferson. We'll say a quick break and we'll be right back after this. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going

to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. That's our show for tonight, but before you go, please consider donating to every town for gun safety.

They work with local, federal, and state governments to end gun violence and build safer communities. If you want to support them in this work, please donate at the link below. 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. 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 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