The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump Dangles Shutdown Paychecks, FAA Stretches Thin & FBI Looks for Amelia Earhart | Anthony Ramos

Episode Date: October 9, 2025

Josh Johnson shares the latest updates on the government shutdown as the Trump administration searches for files on Amelia Earhart, the FAA faces staff shortages due to unpaid workers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy lends an unhelpful hand, and the president issues an ominous message to furloughed government workers. Plus, Jordan Klepper decodes the president’s apparent taunts. Between women getting trapped in game machines, beloved mascots being arrested in front of kids, and joyless, boozeless grown-up arcades, Ronny Chieng lays out how Chuck E. Cheese makes adults act stupid. Broadway star, singer, and actor Anthony Ramos joins Josh to talk about his new movie, “A House of Dynamite,” directed by Kathryn Bigelow. They discuss the intense thriller in which he portrays Major Daniel Gonzalez, a military officer in charge of the battalion that monitors intercontinental ballistic missiles, how he unwound during filming, and what he would do if, like his character, he thought he only had 19 minutes before a strike. Plus, Anthony gives Josh a quick lesson in harmonizing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Hulu original series Murdoch Death and the Family dives into secrets, deception, murder, and the fall of a powerful dynasty. Inspired by shocking actual events and drawing from the hit podcast, this series brings the drama to the screen like never before. Starring Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette and Jason Clark. Watch the Hulu original series Murdoch Death in the Family, streaming October 15th on Disney Plus. Did you lock the front door? Check. Close the garage door? Yep.

Installed window sensors, smoke sensors, and HD cameras with night vision? No. And you set up credit card transaction alerts, a secure VPN for a private connection, and continuous monitoring for our personal info on the dark web? Uh, I'm looking into it. Stress less about security. Choose security solutions from TELUS for peace of mind at home and online. Visit TELUS.com slash Total Security.

learn more conditions apply you're listening to comedy central from the most trusted journalists at comedy central it's america's only source for new this is the daily show with your host josh johnson Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Josh Johnson. We've got so much to talk about tonight. Boeing is no longer our biggest air safety concern. Donald Trump finds a new way to not pay people, and America looks for our oldest missing white girl.

So let's get into it with our ongoing coverage of Shutdown Showdown 2025. Locked up, locked down, and closed the business. I know the government is technically shut down, but that doesn't mean everything is shut down. Rest assured, friends, our politicians are still working hard to make sure the important stuff is getting done. The Trump administration has ordered FBI employees

to search for papers or digital records related to the disappearance of famed pilot Amelia Earhart. Hell yeah. Trump heard we wanted to see the secret files about the famous person with a private plane who suffered a mysterious death, and he was like, Amelia Earhart, got it. Do we really need to see the Amelia Earhart files? Like, we know what happened to her. Like, people looked for her.

I mean, not hard, but, like, it's... But that's just because you couldn't back then. All you could do is stand to the shore and scream, Amelia! Nothing. Okay. So that's exciting news for someone, probably. But unfortunately for the rest of us, the shutdown is affecting the planes that aren't missing. This morning, growing gridlock for travelers across the country as the government shutdown hits air travel hard.

The FAA warning of staff shortages at least eight major locations, threatening delays and cancellations in Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Newark, Atlanta, and Nashville. Oh, damn. So many great American cities and Vegas. But yeah, all across the country, there's delays, shortages, and cancellations. The only people that could possibly be excited about this is Spirit Airlines. They're sitting at the airport like, you were all talking shit. For years, you had jokes.

we're all spirit now. I bet they're all at the airport doing their best bane impressions. Like, I was born in the cancellations. Molded by them. I didn't see a flight until I was already a man. But basically, what's happening is the TSA agents and air traffic controllers

still have to show up to work during a shutdown even though they're not getting paid. So a lot of them are saying, if I'm not getting paid, I'm going to call out sick. which is understandable. TSA have a hard job. You're going to run your hands up some guy's butt crack

and not get paid. So things are getting a little hairy in the skies, but don't worry. Because we've got Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, former real-world cast member and somehow most qualified cabinet member.

And he is on the case. I'm here at Newark Airport about to go up into the tower and talk to some of our air traffic controllers. Okay. Cool. I like that you use the music from a barbecue sauce ad, all right? But surely you are going to go up there into the tower

and bother the air traffic controllers while they're working. How does the shutdown impact controllers and towers like this? Not just in Newark, but around the country. I think the biggest thing is, you know, it's just a distraction that we don't need. Yeah, yeah, if there's one thing I don't need in a job like this, it's a distraction. The only thing more distracting than a shutdown would be if my boss showed up with a camera crew and made me do an interview facing away from the windows while I'm trying to land planes. But anyway, I interrupted you.

Sean Duffy, you were trying to give these air traffic controllers a morale boost. I have a wife that doesn't work, two kids at home. If I don't get a paycheck here in a couple of weeks, you know, I still have to provide for them. So it's not something I want to have to be thinking about. Mortgage, car payments, utility bills, food, all issues. I'm a working guy just like you are. Not helping, all right? Damn, Duffy, he knows what bills he has to pay.

You don't need to make a whole Dessie's child song about it. He's up there like, you got your mortgage, your car payment, your roof needs to be replaced. Man, I'd be stressed if I was you. Plus, your wife is home alone all day. You don't know who she's banging. But you know what? Whether it's a distraction or not, I'm glad Sean Duffy is talking to them about their problems. It's a quick and direct response that shows no matter what happens, President Trump is not

going to let this shutdown stop him from showing how much he cares about the health and well-being of the federal workers. President Trump has already threatened to fire federal workers, and now the White House is floating a new threat, suggesting that some of the 750,000 federal workers might not get back pay. Damn, Donald. You're going to furlough these workers and then take away their back pay? If I were them, I'm stealing way more than normal. You know what I mean? When I get back, I'm coming to work with a screwdriver. Forget the toilet paper.

I'm taking the whole toilet. What else can you even do to these people? For the most part, we're going to take care of our people. There are some people that really don't deserve to be taken care of, and we'll take care of them in a different way. I guess kill them? He's not very good at delivering threats. Like, I'll take care of them in a different way.

could mean anything from murder to giving them a happy ending. But here's the thing, Donald. Are you sure you want to be piling more stress on air traffic controllers? Because they were already air traffic controllers. That job is like juggling and playing rush roulette at the same time. I don't think they can handle not getting back pay. And if the air traffic control system falls apart, this is bad for you. Because if you can't fly anymore, that Katari jet you got is just going to be sitting on the White House lawn like

white trash Winnebago. For more on how the shutdown's affecting air traffic control, we go to Atlanta's airport with Jordan Klepper. Jordan, what are the air traffic controller saying? Mostly they're saying, oh shit, another plane!

A shit, another plane! Pass me that snapple bottle. I got a piss in it. Stuff like that. That's horrible. Don't you worry your pretty little head there, Josh? The Trump administration wants to assure all Americans that their health and safety is in the hands of America's heroic federal workers who would never leave their posts.

Great. That's reassuring that they're taking care of these heroes. Heroes who are freeloading pieces of shit that will work without pay till they die and like it. That's the thing. I'm getting a lot of mixed signals. Does the Trump administration think these guys are heroes are a piece of shit.

Yes. How can you be both a hero and a piece of shit? I don't know. You could save a cat from a tree, then call it a gay slur, I guess. These controllers know what I'm talking about. Keep up the good work there, Stan, you mooching turd dragon.

Jordan, this is the problem. People can't possibly believe that Trump is giving federal workers the support they need when he keeps taunting them. Oh, Trump's not taunting. these poor federal workers, Trump's just saying, what's the matter, huh? You want this little paycheck? Who wants this little paycheck? Who wants this little paycheck? Who wants this little paycheck?

Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Then why don't you get some scotch tape and put it back together, you turn sucking vultures? I wouldn't call that taunting, would you? Yes, I would. Come on, man. These people are overworked, pissing in snapple bottles, and demoralized. You're going to make them quit. Oh, no, no. They won't. You heard the president. If they try any shit, he's going to take care of them in a different way. What does that mean?

You know, a different way. You know. This is confusing me. I got the throat sign, but not the touchdown sign. Oh, well, come on. I think it's pretty clear. He's going to take care of them in a different way. Chik-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chik-chik-chik-choo.

Choo! Ooh, jazz hands. You know, you know. Those signals are only confusing me more. Is Trump going to pay these guys or not? Oh, yeah. Trump's going to pay them. Great.

With this. No. The hand that signs he checks, he signs the checks with. Okay. And he holds the knives with. No. And because he's inviting them to a steak dinner. All right.

A dinner in hell? No, stop. This is exhausting. You're exhausted. I've been here for three straight days. I'm starving, and I'm dehydrated. For God's sake. Oh, my God.

It's filled with Snapple. All right, Jordan Klepper, everyone. When we come back, we love he's getting a rest of little Chuckie Cheese. Don't go away. whatever you're listening to, and hit play on your next adventure. This fall, get double points on every qualified stay. Life's the trip. Make the most of it at Best Western.

Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions. Welcome back to the Daily Show. When it comes to the news, some stories are serious, some stories are inspiring, and some stories are just stupid. And for those, we turn to Ronnie Chang in a segment we call Everything is Stupid. Life as an adult is annoying. Bills, aging, and if you're white, putting your parents in a nursing home, everyone seems to be yearning for the good old days. Remember, Nintendo, saved by the bell, the L.A. riots? If only, that was something that could

take us back to that time again. Chuckie Cheese is leveling up for us grownups. Yeah, the company has launched Chuck's Arcade. It is an adult's only spinoff. No, no, not that. I meant more like Back to the Future themed strip club with a dancer named DeLorean. But, okay, what the hell is this?

Inside, it's fun in games, a mix of retro classics, VR experiences, and claw machines. There's a nod to the past. Each location features a decommissioned animatronic on display. Prizes, candy, and merch are all here, but no food or drink for sale. It's all about the games, and it's all about the arcade experience. Yeah, I mean, why should kids get to have all the fun at Chuck Echee Cheese? When's it going to be my turn to get hand, foot, and mouth disease in the ball pit?

Also, if you're opening an arcade aimed at adults, Why aren't you serving booze? Every adult activity is just an excuse to drink. I mean, weddings, birthdays, waking up, driving to work. Next thing you're going to tell me there's no prostitutes there either. I mean, at least Madam Oink looks like she puts out. So clearly, this booze-less hooker-less arcade is a cheap attempt to cash in on the stupid nostalgia craze. But based on what I've seen, Chuckie Cheese is the last.

place where adults should be. A woman got stuck inside a money-grabbing machine at a Chucky Cheese restaurant in Burbank. A still unidentified woman inside the Snow Day game console on her knees, her right hand stuck in a hole. Burbank firefighters took 22 minutes to free her. Look, you can't just call the fire department to save this imbecile, okay?

This is Chucky Cheese. You have to win her. Okay, fair and square. But hey, maybe I'm being too hard on this dumb-ass woman, okay? I'm sure this happens all the time. Snow Day is manufactured by a company called Coastal Amusements, said company President Michael Dean. There are hundreds of these games in Chuckie Cheeses throughout the country,

and we've never seen something like this happened before. Wow, this is really exciting. I mean, she found a completely undiscovered way to be an idiot. Give her a Nobel Prize, preferably one with no sharp edges. So, yeah, it looks like adults going to Chuck E. Cheese isn't such a great idea. And I don't just mean as customers. Police in Tallahassee releasing video now of that arrest of a suspect who worked as a Chuckie Cheese mascot. Stop resisting. Stop resisting. You're being detained. Stop resisting.

Police entering the restaurant handcuffing the suspect. They say he'd been identified as a suspect in a credit card theft investigation. The police really couldn't have waited until Chuckie's shift was over. You really had to kick the door down while he was singing happy birthday to Timmy? Also, they keep telling him to stop resisting. I mean, he works at Chuckie Cheese. He stopped resisting a long time ago. If you know what I mean. That is truly some of the most amazing footage I've ever seen.

So thank God for police body cams. This is why we march. But this kind of thing could cause lasting damage. I hope they want any little kids around to see it. The Central Florida family was snapped in the back of this, now viral photo of Chuckie Cheese getting arrested at a Tallahassee location. Chuckie Cheese gets arrested. Don't worry, little girl.

The trial will be quick. Chuckie Cheese is going to get the... a death penalty. Then the grieving process begins. But is any way we can make sure these kids need more therapy? When they had him at the truck, they took off his head

and put it on top of the SUV truck. See, kids, they didn't arrest Chuck E. Cheese. They just decapitated him. And put his head on a truck like a trophy. And then they took the black man inside him to jail. Everything's fine.

So don't worry, little girl. This might be a traumatic memory for you now, but one day you'll be an adult, reliving this moment, completely sober in a Chuck's arcade while screaming for help inside the snow day machine. Back to you, Josh. Ronnie Chang, everyone. When we come back, Anthony Ramos will be joining me on the show,

so don't go away. With Amex Platinum, access to exclusive Amex pre-sale tickets can score you a spot trackside. So being a fan for life turns into the trip of a lifetime. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Pre-sale tickets for future events subject to availability and vary by race. Turns and conditions apply. Learn more at amex.ca. This episode is brought to you by Peloton.

A new era of fitness is here. Introducing the new Peloton Cross Training Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ. Built for breakthroughs with personalized workout plans, real-time insights, and endless ways to move. Lift with confidence, while Peloton IQ counts reps, corrects form, and tracks your progress. Let yourself run, lift, flow, and go. Explore the new Peloton Cross-Training Treadplus at OnePeloton.ca. Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is a Broadway star, recording artist, and actor

who stars in Catherine Bigelow's latest film, A House of Dynamite. Please welcome Anthony Ramos. Thank you so much for comic. for joining me. Thanks for having me, man. Yeah. You're like a star, man. You're a star.

That's very kind. But no, it's like, this is wild. You're in the movie and now you're here. I'll tell you what was wild. That Chuckie cheese shit was wild. That was wild. Man. So with this movie, because I'm very curious,

you know, I've seen you in a few roles now, and they're all very, very different. And so for a movie like this that is stressful, what was it like to take that on? this you play this soldier who is in charge of this thing that's supposed to run as a countermeasure to a missile and as we just saw it didn't go well right doesn't go his plan yeah yeah i play uh yeah major daniel gonzalez and he's um you know there's there's an actual you know there are soldiers in uh greeley you know uh for greeley in alaska and all they do is monitor all the uh ballistic missiles launched

around the world. They sit there for 24 hours and rotate shifts and they just watch all the ballistic missiles go off all day and all night. And yeah, this one doesn't do the thing that they thought was going to do. Yeah. Yeah. And taking on this role, was that like stressful for you? Because I've heard from actors that sometimes they don't think about a part of life until they play a person who lives it. Right. You know, so now are you kind of like looking up? Do you know what I mean? Like, do you look up in the sky? Like, you know what I mean?

No, I mean, no. Yeah, right. Every day I'm just drinking my coffee like. Yeah. Because my man, because then even, you know, in the movie, it's like this missile. But, you know, remember the balloon? Yeah.

Yeah. It's like that would have been them who were like, we got to shoot this balloon. Oh, it was a balloon, right? Right, right. Yeah. Sure. And so, I just feel like when you're playing a role like that in a thriller that has a lot of intensity to it and the pacing is very, I don't know how I would say it other than like, it's just tight.

Like from shot to shot, the tension's like building, building, building, building. So I know that you're shooting scenes and then you get your breaks and you go home and everything. But like, how do you unwind after that? Just THC drinks, brother. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, do you, you said that there's a thing that you do in the movies, if you can,

where you sneak a line in for, like, your friends and your family that, like, maybe only they'll understand. Did you do it this time? I tried. You tried. I attempted. Okay. Got cut, though.

Yeah, yeah. I tried to, in the beginning of the movie, I'm getting into argument with who said. you know, who I, you know, I guess is on the other line, like my wife or spouse, and I was, I said the name of a girl I used to talk to. They didn't make it in the movie, though.

And then they, yeah, they cut that. Okay, fair enough. Yeah. She's a nice girl, no. She's a nice girl. Yeah, yeah. And so when it comes to how, like, diverse of an actor that you are, like all these different roles,

is there something that you're learning as you play people who are so different from the last person that you play, Like, I know to a certain degree it's just acting, so the job is to show up and become the person, but I don't know. We've seen how, like, some people always play the bad guy, some people always playing the hero. And I feel like you, you have a lot of dynamic characters that you've been. Like, I've watched you sometimes and not known how to feel about you. But because you're doing your job.

Wouldn't be the first time I heard that. Yeah. But do you, I mean, is that something? Is that something you feel whenever you take on a role? Are you being super selective with things where you're like, oh, I don't know if I want to go to this place? No, I mean, I try, you know, look, we, I think it's cool when we get to play people who are different than the person that we, that we put on every day, right? Like, I think there's a version of us that we put on,

depending on what setting you're in or where you are. You're probably different when you're at home, you know, by yourself or with a friend than you are with, you know, a room full of five strangers or 10 strangers or whatever it is, right? But, like, I think that it's cool to be able to play the villain, like how I did in Ironheart to play the hood

and then go playing Usnavian in the Heights and then going to play Noah Diaz and Transformer and then get to turn into a transformer, you know and then like just putting myself into the the minds of all these different people and and then uh you know in this one playing getting into the mind of this soldier and then uh you know but you just you know you just take small parts of who you are and put them into each role and you start there right with the person that you are and then and then you're like okay well cool well this is this is this is kind of how I would react to the situation but now let me put my

myself into the mind of this guy, all right, this is Daniel Gonzalez. He has a wife. He has two kids. He's been far from them for six months. He probably misses his family, but he has a duty here, and he has to compartmentalize, and you just have to, you know, I don't know. I just love the, I love the craft, man. I love thinking about all those things, you know. And so you basically, when you take on a role like this, you start with, this is me if a missile was coming. Right. Right. And then you add all the other stuff later. You worry about the extra stuff

later. Missile is the... Yeah. Yeah. This is me if my ex is walking down the block. And so... And so do you now, having finished the movie, watch the movie, has it made

you like a prepper now? Do you have me? Like, if I'm If I learned a lot about military operations, what they would do if a missile was coming, and what they would do if things didn't go according to plan at a missile was coming, I don't know. I might be like a bunker.

Are you a bunker guy now? A bunker. You got a bunker in New York City? I don't have a bunker. They're treating you good on a daily show. That's brilliant to like, I asked you about bunker that you made about me, which means you clearly got a bunker.

I mean, Nah, man, you know, if it comes, then I'm just like, oh, God, I hope I lived a good life, you know. I mean, joking, but honestly, man, I mean, look, like in reality, we don't have a lot of time. You know, look, for anybody who sees this film and goes to watch this movie, like, there is, this movie happens in 19 minutes.

And, you know, in the film, we don't know where the missile comes from, but you don't have 19 minutes to intercept it. You have 19 minutes until it hits. So you have less time. for that, you know, for that GBI, it's a ground-based interceptor, for it to hopefully hit the missile and successfully intercept and blow it up.

And if not, you know, you know, you just got to hope that. Yeah. You got to hope for something. No, I'm with you. I mean, look, 19, I'm just wondering, because once again, you know, you put a little piece of yourself in the role, then you played the role.

I think you played it incredibly, all right? Thanks, man. 19 minutes left. What are you doing with your real life? You know, you have 19 minutes left. Let's say the movie's real life. We both have 19 minutes. What are you doing?

Man. Maybe I got, like, a wife at that point, and, like, maybe I'm not too far from her. I'm like, yo, babe, 19 minutes. Yeah. 19 minutes, baby, what are we doing? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. You all right? So you are an actor, singer, songwriter, dancer, and a restaurant owner. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, man. Thanks, thank you.

That is absolutely incredible. You're like a quintuple threat. I mean? And I'm, admittedly, trying to be, like, a threat. You know what I mean? Like, I was wondering just because, you know, trying to do these interviews. You're a threat, though.

You've been killing this the whole time. Oh, thanks, man. That's right. More than a threat, my brother. No, that means a lot. It still isn't any one of those things. But I am a little tone-deaf, and I was wondering if you would lend some of your talent

to me and teach me how to teach me how to sing just a little bit. Because you're an incredible singer. Thanks, man. And so if you're an incredible singer and I can't sing at all, maybe you could give me just some carry a note. Maybe you can help me carry a note.

Carry a note? You're not looking at me with any confidence. I'm just trying to make sure I hit the note. I don't know what note is going to be. It could be any note you pick. I won't know the difference. Okay, uh, um, okay, uh, um, uh, uh, just try that. Okay.

You got it. Uh, now come on, stop playing. Wait, wait, wait, wait, no, I'm gonna put my, I'm trying to do, I'm trying to match exactly. We're gonna do a lot. Okay. Okay. Yeah, right there.

You know what I'm saying? Wow! Come on. Wow. I played, Josh. Oh. Was that singing? Yo, we was just harmonizing my Jeep.

That's what that is. Cheers, bro. Cheers. You know how there? Come on. You are absolutely phenomenal. The movie is phenomenal. And I appreciate you so much for being here.

Thank you so, so much. Thank you so much. The highest environment will do is to collect theaters globally October 10th and on Netflix, October 24. Anthony Romney. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back after this. Yeah. Calling all book lovers. The Toronto International Festival of Authors brings you a world of stories, all in one place.

Discover five days of readings, talks, workshops and more, with over 100 authors from around the world, including Rachel Maddow, Ketourou Isaku, and Kieran Desai. The Toronto International Festival of Authors, October 29th to November 2nd. Details and tickets at festivalofauthors.ca. Maybe it's just a phase you're going through. you'll get over it. I can't help you with that. The next appointment is in six months. You're not alone.

Finding mental health support shouldn't leave you feeling more lost. At CAMH, we know how frustrating it can be trying to access care. We're working to build a future where the path to support is clear and every step forward feels like progress. Not another wrong turn.

Visit camph.c.ca to help us forge a better path for mental health care. That's our show for the night. Now here it is, your moment is then. Hypothetically, Senator, maybe they didn't recognize any of the names of the eight sitting United States senators. Uh-huh, hypothetically.

That was a joke. Or maybe they should have gone to Amazon and buy some testicles online. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching The Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcast. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus.

This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Simons celebrates freedom of expression with a daily ritual of getting dressed. Fashion's power lies in its endless possibilities. Each garment is an invitation to get creative, be unique, and show the world exactly who you are as you are. Be true, be authentic, be unapologetically you. Express yourself at Simons.