The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump Hits Les Miz, Elon Repents & RFK Jr. Infects CDC’s Vaccine Committee | Jeff Hiller

Episode Date: June 13, 2025

Desi Lydic tackles Elon Musk's vague apology to Trump, RFK Jr. putting his conspiracy buddies in charge at the CDC, and Tulsi Gabbard getting AI to do the FBI's homework. Plus, Trump celebrated deploying the military on Angelenos with tickets to "Les Misérables," so Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, and Josh Johnson debate whether the president is a Jean Valjean or a Javert. Stephen A. Smith is the King of Takes, but how did he begin his reign? From the Fashion Institute of Technology to Winston-Salem State University, Smith went from the basketball court to print media, ensuring that everyone knew he had all the best takes. After getting a job at ESPN, Smith taught everyone the difference between talking s**t and taking s**t. This is The Daily Showography of Stephen A. Smith. Actor, writer, and comedian Jeff Hiller sits down with Desi to discuss his new memoir, “Actress of a Certain Age.” They talk about honoring celebrity memoirs in the chapter titles, the improvised “this is church” moment in “Somebody, Somewhere,” encouraging queer youth to mobilize and gather during Pride Month, and the humiliating experiences of his career that culminate in an epic book typo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart 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 your host, Desi Lydic. Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Desi Lydic. We've got so much to talk about tonight. RFK Jr. goes doctor shopping.

Pete Hegseth gets into a catfight, and Elon Musk is sorry for what he said when he was definitely not high. So let's check in on the best cabinet ever in another installment of The Worst Wing. What a bunch of losers. Let's start with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and the only member of Trump's cabinet to be reheated in an air fryer. Earlier this week, Kennedy abruptly fired all 17 members of the CDC's Vaccine Advisory Committee, which understandably caused a lot of concern among people who prefer

not to die from an old-timey organ trail disease. But RFK juniors got a new batch of doctors to replace them with, so I'm sure they're all equally qualified. So let's get to know some of these vaccine experts. Some of the picks are well-known vaccine critics, including Dr. Robert Malone. Robert Malone, who's claimed that millions of Americans were hypnotized into taking the COVID-19 shots and has suggested those vaccines cause a form of AIDS. I think they like this guy a lot better when he was just selling us dos Equis.

I don't always take vaccines, but when I do, they give me AIDS. Look, this guy's obviously crazy, but you can't deny there was some hypnosis going on during the pandemic. Like, we were washing our hands every day? Like, what was that all about? But forget the Department of Health. Let's move on to the great work being done by Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence and the only Hawaiian who can make aloha sound like a threat. She decides which of America's secrets need to stay secret, but lately she's been getting some help.

Tulsi Gabbard, head of DNI, says the government is now using artificial intelligence to speed up its work in determining which documents can be declassified and released to the public. That includes files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Cool, that technology we're all scared of and have

no idea how dangerous it is. Let's teach it how to kill a president. What could go wrong? Also, why are you having AI read the JFK files for you? AI is for tedious things. These are the most exciting documents in the government. It's like asking AI to watch all the sex scenes in a porno so you can focus on whether the pizza got delivered.

Maybe I've been using AI wrong this whole time. I thought it was for doing my kids homework and seeing what I look like as Shrek. Wow. Stay thirsty, my friends. Let's move on to Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense and guy whose favorite cologne is Rufy. He's been axing a bunch of medical research programs for veterans that he claims are boondoggles. But when Senator Dick Durbin called him out on it yesterday, he gave a specific example of waste.

And it was very specific. Give me an example of a boondoggle in medical research. There are multiple, I mean we're talking about some stuff I shouldn't say in public. You know marbles in the rear ends of cats, tens of millions of dollars. Sometimes I hear about science experiments and I think, God, I am so glad when I was growing up no one was telling women they should be scientists. Really dodged a bullet there. To be fair, they were trying to find out why Garfield hates Mondays. Now they know.

Now they know. Also, anyone who has cats knows that this isn't the weirdest idea ever. I mean, they are constantly showing us their butt holes. At some point, someone's going to be like, alright, let me try something. But in case you're wondering who would fund such a ridiculous study, that would be President Trump himself. In 2020, his Defense Department said it was part of a revolutionary new treatment for spinal cord injuries.

And that's the thing about science. It's easy to make it sound made up and stupid. It's not airtight like the Bible. And someone who just wants to cut funding can trivialize any research because, yeah, trying to make dogs salivate by ringing a bell sounds weird, but it proved an important point that dogs love bells, I think. I don't know, I failed psych. But this is a great example of how anti-science

the Trump administration is. When Pete Hegseth talks about science, he makes it sound stupid. And when RFK Jr. talks about it, he makes it sound like someone dropped a fork in the garbage disposal. Let's move on to the reason your horse's prescriptions are out of stock. Elon Musk. Last week, he got into a fight with Donald Trump that got so ugly, he claimed that Trump

is in the Epstein files. The friendship seemed unsalvageable, but it turns out it wasn't quite a cyber as we thought. The world's richest man is now apologizing to the world's most powerful man mosque backing away from some of his online attacks posting this apology. I regret some of my post about President Trump last week they went too far.

And then you cannot whoopsie daisy your way out of saying someone's in the Epstein files. It's not like saying sorry I slammed the door or sorry I shoved marbles up your cat's butt. I mean, I'm glad he apologized because I guess it showed us exactly how long it takes for ketamine to wear off. Oh, no.

Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. it takes for ketamine to wear off? Let's move on from the worst wing because America is having a hard time right now. The military is invading California, U.S. senators are getting manhandled by federal agents and people are about to be thrown off their Medicaid. And President Trump is hearing everyone's concerns, and he's decided to rush to where he's needed the most. The theater.

President Donald Trump going to see a performance of Les Mes at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. Do you identify more with Jean Valjean or Javert? That's a tough one, that last part of that question. That's tough. You better answer that one, honey, I don't know. I don't know what's worse, that a reporter thought it was a good idea to ask Trump if he's the hero or the villain, or that Trump's response was, oof, that's a tough question.

But while Trump ponders which Les Mis character he is, activists are planning nationwide protests this weekend. For more on those protests, we go live to Michael Costa in Los Angeles and Jordan Klepper in DC. Michael, let's start with you. What's the latest in LA? Desi, protesters here are still fuming about Trump sending Marines into the city.

It was the biggest overreaction since the time that ice cream truck didn't have rainbow sprinkles, so I slashed its tires. Costa, don't do chalk sprinks, okay? The point is, these detention raids are a cruel display of Trump's villainy. He's definitely the Javert of our time. Okay, thank you, Michael. And Jordan, how are protests in D.C. feeling? The protesters in D.C. are equally upset and want to see an end to these cruel raids. And by the way, Trump is not Javert.

Costa is way off. But what do you expect from a guy who only hears Broadway songs if they show up in a Pornhub video? Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I guess Jordan thinks Trump is Jean Valjean, the redeemed Catholic so saintly that he adopts a prostitute's child? Jordan, you're a few Rogers short of a Hammerstein.

Uh, guys, I think we're getting a little distracted here. Let's focus on the protests, not about your musical taste. No problem for Costa. He doesn't have any. The point is, Desi, the protesters see Trump as a godless con artist, much like Tenor DA, the corrupt innkeeper, which Michael would know if he weren't the kind of person who thinks guys and dolls is a strip club in Peoria.

Desi, I'll tell you the only thing protesters fear more than the Marines right now. It's hearing Jordan Klepper bomb another audition trying to nail the riff in Defying Gravity. Hey, hey! It's not about getting the work from the audition. The audition is the work. You're flat on every shark. You're flat on every shark.

Is that right? Is that right? Well, time to drop the bomb. Michael is in the Epstein files. Have a nice day. Whoa. Whoa, what, what? Whoa. Whoa.

No, no, whoa. That's out of line. Okay, okay, okay. Okay, you know what? You know what? You're right. You're right. I regret what I said.

I've been on ketamine this whole time, okay? But I'm better now. Wait, Jordan, is Kosta in the Epstein files? Desi, I said I I said. I've been on ketamine this whole time, OK? I'm better now. Wait, Jordan, is Kosta in the Epstein files? Desi, I said I'm sorry. Let's move on. Yeah, yeah. Desi, let it go. That's from Frozen, Jordan.

I thought a musical for children would be more up your speed. OK. Adina Medzel is a national treasure, Kosta. Thank you very much. Desi, excuse me. Can I interrupt? Oh, yes, Josh Johnson. Woo!

Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Oh my God, where are you? I don't know. I snatched me up at a protest to drop me in the desert.

That's not even protocol, they just doing whatever now. All right? I don't know where I am. I could be in Phoenix. I could be in Yemen.'t know where I am. I could be in Phoenix. I could be in Yemen. Oh, my God, I hope I'm not in Phoenix. Oh, no. No.

No. No. That sounds truly awful. So, Josh, do you think Trump is a Javert? Who? I need help. Yeah, and we're going to get you help, buddy. But first, you got gotta tell us which character

Trump would be in Les Mis. Is that the one with the cats? Are you kidding me? Is that the one with the cats? Come on, man. Jeez. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. I'm sorry I don't spend all my time watching white people sing, okay?

Don't make this about race. Yeah, there's a proud black tradition in theater. I just saw Audra McDonald in Gypsy. Fine, you're an ally. Is someone gonna help me? Yeah, yeah. I'll help you by getting you a rush ticket to Cabaret. Let's start there.

Of course you'd pick Cabaret. Of course it's Cabaret with you, Costa. Okay, okay, that's enough. Josh, Josh Onsen, Michael Koston, Jordan Klemper. What's wrong, Jordan? When we come back, we get the first cake from Stephen A. Smith, so don't go away. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome back to The Daily Show. If you've turned on cable television anytime in the last few months, you may have stumbled across Stephen A. Smith, spouting opinions about, well, everything. But how did he become so ubiquitous? Let's find out in a brand new Daily Show-ography. We live in a world of takes. JJ would have to be a lunatic to take the Lakers. Brace a f***ing pussy.

Hot takes, quick takes, free takes, mistakes. I won't give them a kidney. Absolute f***ing snob. I'm drinking like monster energy drinks sometimes, which are piss magnets. But we all know there's only one king of takes. You can't be the king without a crime You can't be the king without a crime. You cannot be the king without a crime. This is the Daily Showography of Stephen A. Smith, greatest of all take-havers.

Stephen A. had an optimal childhood for his future reign. On the Bronx, raised in Queens, raised by the greatest mom in the world. That's right, every other mom in the world is a scrub. I don't care if you're Mother Teresa or that hot mom from the Brady Bunch. Those moms should be riding the bench behind Janet Smith. Buying a career as an athlete, he enrolled in college at the Fashion Institute of Technology. It's called seeing the Whole Field, People. It was primarily a girls' school,

and the other dudes were homosexual. It left it all to us. FIT might not have the greatest tradition of sports, but it definitely had a player. Eventually, he put down the sewing needle and picked up the rock, transferring to the greatest basketball program in North Carolina, excluding all the other ones. I hit 17 straight three-pointers.

Signed me the scholarship on the spot. That's right, Stephen A. Smith was the king of threes until he started playing actual games and became the king of 1.5s per game. Stephen A., I'm trying to figure out how you average one and a half points. Don't you get two? Unfortunately, Stephen A could not explain the mathematics as he had attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. But if Smith struggled in the paint, he dominated in the prints, joining the student newspaper and immediately proving himself the top college take-haver in the prints, joining the student newspaper, and immediately proving himself the top college take-haver

in the country with the legendary dunk on his own Hall of Fame coach. That earned him a post-college stint in newspapers and radio. And then Stephen A was called up to the big leagues. It was the moment he'd been training for his whole life. I had no television training whatsoever. Okay, that didn't matter.

So I went to the next best plan. Be myself. Say what I feel. Yes, he had the rare ability to open his mouth and let words form into sentences that people could hear on TV. No one had seen anything like it before. Smith was dropping takes from everywhere hot take this man was a bona fide scrub he can't play loud takes Aaron Rodgers is Aaron freaking Rodgers. Louder takes to sign Lamar Odom who was on crack

full on freaking screaming takes. The stench that hovers over me every time my name is associated with this damn franchise. Weirdly quiet takes. LeBron James is the goat. Stephen A was the best ESPN had ever seen. I mean not as good as in the golden age but since then, oh, there he is. The natural, he was poetic. It was Shakespearean, and he never yelled. But the trophy he really needed was his own catchphrase. Every great broadcaster in history has had one. Good night, and good luck. And that's the way it is.

Holy cow! Yes, and soon, Stephen A. Smith hit upon something equally iconic. Stay off the weed! Stay off the weed! Stay off the damn weed! Or, hear me out, maybe try a little weed? Horrible!

It was time for Smith to make his biggest move yet. Coming for the reigning king of takes himself. There are times when I look at you, you should just be flat out ashamed of yourself. Are you on charity? Are you on? Who the hell are you to question me? Zip it. I'm talking. They were the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson of yelling at the top of their lungs. Once Smith ousted his rival, he began breaking take records left and right.

We're talking 300 takes a day with the sentence completion percentage of 93.3% and off the charts decibel levels. The man even had a correct prediction average of, well, that one doesn't matter. In 2025 Smith officially earned his greatest of all takeovers crown a five-year 100 million dollar contract. Now his takes can no longer be contained by the world of

sports. I have always been against woke culture. You know what I'm gonna say? Shaman-da. Because it reminds me of me because of the forehead. I am NOT about to sit here and argue with a grown ass man about the movie Cars. Oh come on now. The Ukrainian's are saying we at war now. We on death's door. We might as well go down swinging. Steven A. What is the correct way to wipe yourself standing in city?

That is a nasty ass question. That's the difference between just talking shit and having a take on shit. But when a man has taken all there is to take, I have spewed an opinion on over 45,000 issues in my career on first take. What takes are left for the taking? Stephen A. Smith, who is floating a potential 2028 presidential run. There is somebody else that's thinking of running president. Stephen A. Smith.

The Democratic Party looks so pathetic after this election. I might entertain. Okay, hold up. Does anyone really think a loud mouth TV personality with endless opinions, no qualifications, and a bad hairline would be a plausible candidate for president of the United States. I've been pretty good at picking people and picking candidates and I will tell you, I'd

love to see them run. Oh right, god damn it. Alright Daily Show, you had your fun, Ike. You had your fun. Well guess what? It still was a sorry-ass take You got some work to do and maybe just maybe you'll do it right if you stay off the week Jeff Hiller will be joining us on this show. So don't go away. Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is an actor, writer, a comedian whose new memoir is called

Actress of a Certain Age. Please welcome Jeff Hiller. ["A Certain Age"] I love having to stand on my tippy toes in heels to hug you. Yeah, I'm a real big monster. You are a tall drink of water. Thank you for being here. I am such a fan of yours and I enjoyed this book so much. Thank you.

Actress of a Certain Age. Yes, Actress of a certain age. Yes, actress of a certain age. It's all about my sort of humiliating experiences in my career. Yes. And I thought, but you know, I've made it. Things are all better now. And then when I opened the book, there's a typo on the cover of my book actress of a sateen age not today sateen not today who judges a book by a cover of a book? Please don't. Listen I grew up in Kentucky public schools. I thought this was how you spell haha.

I see I grew up in Texas where everything's fine. Sure it is. Oh my gosh. I love how each of your chapters in your book is titled for a different actor a different actors memoir exactly yeah because I read a lot of celebrity memoirs yes you talk about it in here and then there's a footnote at the at the bottom of the front page of the chapter that says when that actor has has met mainstream fame exactly got their big break yeah because I always read the celebrity ones and they don't

always say exactly how old they are then I always read the celebrity ones and they don't always say exactly how old they are and I have to go get a calculator. Look at by and he'd be and then check it out and figure out how old they were and then compared to held I am when I'm reading the book and spoiler alert it was never consoling math equation. Haha unique detail what made you want to share that? Well, when I got this opportunity

to write a celebrity memoir with the really loose definition of the word celebrity, I wanted to rely on the fact that I have read all of these memoirs. And I also wanted to write it for other people who maybe committed the cardinal sin of aging past 40 without realizing all of the dreams that they wanted in their life and have a little bit of hope in it. So I talk about how compare invites despair.

Yes. Yeah, and I did come up with that on my own. I didn't. It's a pretty hat cliche, actually. That should go in your next memoir. Yeah. I think that that... Which, but it'll say compare invites depare.

Oh, you're public. Who was your publisher? Oh, you want me to say it out loud? Exactly. It was your publisher? Starbucks? You want me to say it out loud? Exactly. It was some girl at Starbucks. And I said, Jeff, I was like, it doesn't start with an H. What are you doing? Oh my god.

So your IMDB reads like a comedy sizzle reel of all time great comedies. But I think most people know you from your beautiful work on Somebody Somewhere. Oh, thank you. Yes, I love that show. It's such... It is such a beautiful show.

It is such a beautiful show. It is so funny and so heartfelt. Tell me, if people haven't seen it, tell us what it's about. Oh, well, you should see it. You should see it. See it. Yeah, absolutely. Leave now. Go see it.

We'll wait here. Yeah. It's on, you know, Max or HBO. I don't know. What... HBO, Max. And it's about people in Kansas who have found their family.

And it's also about being queer in the Midwest and being someone who isn't giving up on yourself, which is a lot of what the book is about, too. And so, yeah. Yeah, it's good. And it's not like re-watching Grey's Anatomy. It's not like a big commitment. It's only three seasons.

One season is less than an Avatar movie. Seriously. It's not like a big commitment. It's only three seasons. One season is less than an Avatar movie. Seriously. It's food for the soul. It really feels so good to watch it. It is such a joy. I loved your This is Church moment and you talk about it in your book as well. Tell us what's behind what was behind that moment in the show. Well, that was just an improvisation I did that did make it into the final edit. I'm not bragging about it, but I did do that. Um... And it felt right because it was the scene about these friends who were hanging out

and were joyful and were finding each other. And my character is involved in the church, but is having some weirdness with church. And he's saying, this moment is church. This moment where we're hanging out together and being together and having community. That's what my church is. And I think that that's true of me, too,

and beautiful, I think, for all of us, right? Yes. And especially right now. Especially right now. Time's a roll. Yeah, they are. And you talk about growing up in the church in Texas. You grew up Lutheran. Yep. And you talk about growing up in the church in Texas. You grew up Lutheran.

And you have this beautiful chapter in your book that talks about when you came out to your church as a 22-year-old, and you wrote this beautiful speech. It was so moving. There are so many queer youth in this country that are having a hard time under attack right now. What would you say to those 22-year-old younger Jeffs that are out there struggling with that

in, say, Texas or other parts of the country? What would you say to them? Well, I would just say, I'm sorry, and we got your back. And, um... And I think, you know, we're in Pride Month, and it's a time to celebrate, but it's also a time to protest and a time to gather together and lead with compassion

and hope and protection for especially the most vulnerable among us. Yeah, that's absolutely right. That's beautiful. You also have a chapter in your book, kind of off of that, you talk about being bullied in junior high. Can you believe that? Well let me just tell you as a perpetual volunteer hall monitor, I see you.

I see you. I am with you. I thought you were going to say I was a perpetual bully. No, that's just what I became. You talk about how even to this day, you were teased for how you carry your books. And even to this day, you think about how you carry your books.

Right. And who even has books anymore? Although this one's good. But, yeah, I used to carry them like this. And then a bully said, you carry your books like a girl. And so now I always carry things down here. And it sticks with you for the whole life.

And that's why it's important to protect those kids. Yeah. It's a treasure. It's... It's very... And you talked about, like, what helped you get through that time? My mom. Yeah. I had a good mom, and I actually dedicate the book to good parents because everywhere,

not just my mom, because who cares about my mom, right? But I think that providing that safe space, showing your kid that they are loved no matter what, that it really is unconditional, it allows them a foundation that even when the bad things roll in, which they will inevitably do, you're still secure enough to go out there. And I had a great mom, and, you mom, and she had a great Texas accent,

which you can hear me impersonate in the audiobook. Oh! Thank God for good moms out there. Seriously, thank God for good moms. Seriously. Thank God for good moms. So, you mentioned you have read hundreds of celebrity memoirs. So I'm wondering if you would play a little game with me.

If I name a celebrity, could you give me an interesting fact about their life? Okay, I'll try. Okay, here we go. Here we go. Barbara Streisand. Yes, which I listened to 48 hours and 15 minutes. I listen to it all. There's a lot of good ones.

She's really obsessed with food. She will talk about a ravioli. That's a single ravioli. A raviolo. And but the funniest fact is one of her husband's, John, who was a hairdresser, the way that they one of her husbands, John, who was a hairdresser, the way that they like had

their meet cute, he came over to do her hair and as they were walking up the stairs, he goes, nice ass. And that's how they met and fell in love. Wow, he's a keeper. Yeah, then he's done great. Okay, speaking of nice asses, Rosie Perez. You gotta read Rosie Perez's book,

but also you got to listen to that one because her metaphorical voice matches her literal voice and it's muah. She got to do the right thing because she was in a dance club in Bedford-Stuyvesant and it was too crowded, so she got up on the speaker and started dancing and Spike Lee was like, you want to be in my movie?

And she's like, you want to be in my movie? And she's like, I guess. -"Good for her." -"I know." -"Not surprising." -"No, not surprising at all." -"Okay, Brooke Shields." -"Ugh, Brooke Shields. Well, the most surprising thing is, Liam Neeson proposed marriage to her.

Yes! I know! Hold on. Then he was like, I gotta go to LA, you know, we'll come back and we'll get married. And then he never spoke to her again. To America's sweetheart and labor union leader, Brooke Shields. Brooke Shields. Someone ghosted Brooke Shields. I know. Her book is great. You really should read it.

I know I'm here to promote mine, but hers are good. But also get hers. Also get hers. I am so glad you're here to promote this book. It is hilarious. It's heartwarming. It is so beautifully written. Congratulations.

Thank you. You know what? Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. You take this, you hold this book however the f*** you want.

You deserve it. Wow. Wow. Actual Comments 3 Me's is available now. Jeff Hiller everyone. We're gonna take a quick break. We'll be right back after this. Yeah. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back after this. That's our show for tonight.

Now here it is, your moment in power. Chair recognizes this great. Will you commit on the record to subpoenaing Kristi Noem because a US senator was just thrown to the ground and detained in his own table. Democrats can't follow the rules. You're out of order. Can't follow the law. Can't follow the rules.

Shut up. Just shut up. No, you don't. No, you're not going to tell me to shut up. 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 Paramount Plus.

This has been a Comedy Central podcast. This is an iHeart podcast.