The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump Lies in Joint Address & Rep. Al Green Leaves Early | Julien Baker & TORRES

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

Michael Kosta explains why Trump’s joint session speech felt like a theatrical production with appearances by co-star Elon Musk, over-the-top trolling, and blatant lies as the Democrats helplessly wielded their props. Critically acclaimed musicians, Julien Baker & TORRES, sit down with Michael Kosta to discuss their forthcoming album, “Send A Prayer My Way.” They talk about banding together during lockdown to create a country album, navigating a spiritual relationship with the divine, and writing a song about the unconditional love of a dog.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, Michael Kosta! I'm Michael Kosta. Tonight, Donald Trump unites half the country. Democrats keep staples in business and mice finally get their own culture war. So let's get into our ongoing segment, the second coming of Donald J. Trump. -♪ I'm gonna come. I'm gonna come. -♪ I'm gonna come. Last night, Donald Trump gave his first joint address

to Congress of his new term. And I got to tell you, as a kid, who was a bit of a civics nerd, I used to think these were pretty sweet events. You've got the president, the Supreme Court, every member of Congress in the same room. It's basically the Oscars for people with loose skin. But these days, a speech to Congress

is just a theatrical production where everybody has a role, and they slip right into it. So, places everyone! Democrats showed up in full wardrobe dressed in pink as a symbolic protest against people who wanted them to do something meaningful. And they came with props too, holding up little paddles like they were ready to give Mike Johnson a naughty little spanking, huh? Either that or a pickleball match. And you know what?

F*** pickleball, all right? You ever played? Yeah. Yeah. Once you get to the front line, you're not even allowed to move. How stupid is that? I'm edgy. Some Democrats took the signage to the next level. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib had a dry erase board that she updated throughout the night

with protest messages like, stop lying to the American people, or no king, or that's a lie. And she went through a lot of them. She had one that said, who has Luigi's sex tape? She did that cool ass. These markers are getting me high. And she had one message that especially resonated with me. It said, lucky loser by Michael Kosta in stores March 11.

Now, yeah. I know. It's not really appropriate venue for that, but I appreciate it, and I should also mention that Lucky Loser, my book, it's in stores next week starting on Tuesday. You can order it now. Thank you. Thank you. But those were just the bit players of the night.

One Democrat even gave himself a speaking part. Democrats interrupting just four minutes into the speech. Texas Democrat Al Green heckling the president, shaking his cane at him. Members are directed to uphold and maintain the quorum in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson stopping this speech, ordering Green be removed from the chamber. Yeah. You know, there's some kind of badass about shaking a cane at someone, right? Don't f*** with me unless you want to take this very slowly outside, alright?

I will say props to this guy. He got to send a message to President Trump and go home early, you know? I should have... I should have tried that when I wanted to leave my nephew's baptism. You do not have the mandate. I'm out of here. Now, let's not forget about the Republicans. They also played their part in this performance, which was to cheer and hoot for their guy and make sure that everyone knew what country this was.

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! Yeah, USA! USA! Careful, guys. The last time Republicans got this rowdy at the Capitol, Nancy Pelosi had to bleach her desk. Here... Here's a moment that encapsulated the embarrassing theater of the entire night. It's before the speech even started, when Donald Trump is walking down to the podium,

surrounded by hooting Republicans, when a Democrat walks up behind him with a sign that says, this is not normal. OK. Which, first of all, I think it is normal at this point. Trump has been in our lives for a decade now. Sadly, this is our normal in the same way that 20 years ago it wasn't normal to drunkenly jump in the backseat

of a stranger's car, but now it's called Uber and there's only a 50% chance you end up murdered. So yeah, you know, shit changes, okay? But anyway, that Democrat is holding a sign that's wrong and ineffective and then a divorced dad Republican sees the sign, reaches over, and yanks it out of her hand and chucks it onto the floor. And she just stands there and does nothing. She's like, well, that sign was my only idea. But forget the supporting cast.

The star of the night was Donald Trump. And you have to admit, he showed a lot of range last night. Okay. Like when he talked about Doge finding social security fraud, he got to show off his lying skills. We're also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the social security program. shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program. Government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from

people aged 100 to 109 years old. 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. 3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149. And one person is listed at 360 years of age. I can't believe we're paying that many people social security. I can't believe it because it's not true, okay? And I could... It's been debunked.

I could explain why it's false and why Trump's wasting everybody's time over an Excel spreadsheet error, or, in the time it would take to explain it, we could watch this video of my dog, Walter. -♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, performance on the ways to Elon Musk is finding while also showcasing his masterful ability to troll. Just listen to some of the appalling waste. We have already identified 20 million dollars for the Arab sesame Street.

In the Middle East diversity equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma improving learning outcomes in Asia, LGBTQI+, in the African nation of Lesotho, $8 million for making mice transgender. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I remember that children's book. I think it's called If You Give a Mouse a Pussy, right? Is it? No.

Now, to be fair, $8 million to transition you give a mouse a pussy, right? Is it? No. No. Now, to be fair, $8 million to transition mice is a waste of money. You know, just look at Mickey Mouse, right? You put a $6 bow on him and boom, Minnie Mouse. But hey Trump, maybe you shouldn't criticize weird science stuff when your new best friend is the one putting microchips in monkey brains, and when those monkeys die, your other new

best friend is taking them home in a doggie bag. But still, Trump did show his range. When his speech turned to Greenland, he showed off a very singular special talent, reassuring our allies in a bizarrely threatening way. I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security.

And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're gonna get it. Oh! Does Trump listen to himself when he talks? He's sending a lot of mixed messages right now. You hear that, Greenland? It's your choice. But you will be ours. Good. Good. Totally your call. It's inevitable.

Guys, Greenland, it's up to you. We're easy, okay? Give us your minerals now. Of course, part of Trump's role in this performance is also announcing a major new policy, but doing it in the Trumpiest way possible. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn to start using them

against those other countries. And so, on April 2nd, I wanted to make it April 1st, but I didn't want to be accused of April Fool's Day. I'm a very superstitious person. April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in. Yeah, I mean, makes perfect sense. You know, Trump can't make announcements on April Fool's Day.

Otherwise, we would all be like, what? Is this a joke? I mean, you know, as opposed to every other day where that isn't our reaction to the stuff he does? I love the level of reverence Trump shows for April Fool's Day. Juneteenth, that's not even a word. Now, this April Fool's Day, we will honor our ancestors

by playing pranks and overall tomfoolery. It's important. By the way, no one over the age of 14 even celebrates April Fool's Day. That's like saying, I was going to end inflation next Friday, but actually, that's when the kids' choice awards are, so we'll see. But, as always, the most important part

of Trump's performance, needling the Democrats. Joe Biden, the worst president in American history. Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control. Joe Biden's insane and very dangerous open border policies. Look where Biden took us. Very low. The lowest we've ever been. Do you want to keep it going for another five years?

Yeah, yeah, you would say Pocahontas says yes. I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do. I don't get why everyone that I've been bullying for 10 years never smiles at me. Why don't you like me, you limp dick lunatics?

And by the way, how is Trump still obsessed with Biden? Move on, dude. You won, right? You think Mark Zuckerberg is still talking about Tom from MySpace? No. He's busy having a midlife crisis. Look at this. Also, dude, you busted out the Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas line? That is such an old joke.

You might as well have been like, hey, Pocahontas, what the? So all in all, my review of last night's theater production is that it was humiliating in a display of thirst for attention, blind partisan rage, and a total disinterest in doing anything that might benefit the people. In other words, it truly was the state of the union. Now, for more on last night's speech, we go live to the Capitol with Ronny Chieng. Ronny.

Ronny. Ronny. Thank you. Ronny, last night's spectacle... last night's spectacle had to be a new low for America. Oh, oh, yeah, sure, a new low. Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, my God, it was so crazy. People are holding up signs, an old guy like yelled something.

Last night was nothing, Costa. That show was more boring than White Lotus. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait. It's not all about the plot. They're building the character. Look, but what matters here is that our nation's leaders were acting like screaming children. That's embarrassing. Okay, let me give you some international perspective, okay?

Watch what happened in Serbia's parliament yesterday, right? Look at this. There's smoke bombs, okay? This looks like Philadelphia after a Super Bowl or any day. Do you know how many smoke bombs you have to set off to overpower cigarette smoke in Serbia? That is an abandonment of decorum, okay,

especially in Serbia, a country where 80% of the men work as bouncers. Okay, how about Taiwan? Okay, long time democracy, polite Asian country. Look at their parliament last month. Here they are politely barricading each other with chairs in a complete disregard for feng sui. It's like Taiwan, it's like hey, Taiwan parliament, how about you stop fighting and come over

and help me move my apartment, all right? I only have three chairs, it would take no time. All right, you know, I get your point. All right, well too bad, because I'm not done, okay? Look at, look at Italy, okay? Look at this, I don't even know why they're fighting. It's probably because someone voted to add pineapple on pizza, I don't know.

And look up, how about the country of Georgia, all right? Is normal, normal, oh, I was gonna punch your face! So I'm gonna punch in the face! That guy just really snuck up on you coming in from the front like that in a well-lit room. I see what you're saying. You're saying that in America, we're better than that. So you're right.

Thank you, Ronnie. No, I'm saying we should also be doing that, all right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, America, if you're gonna get rowdy, don't half-ass it with, like, a little white board, okay? Congress should have looked like Walmart on Black Friday or Philadelphia on any day. But, Ronnie, Ronnie, if we do that,

Congress won't get anything done. They already don't get anything done. You might as well start a Royal Rumble, which reminds me, I better get out of here, okay? Estonia has an agricultural committee meeting on pay-per-view. I don't want this. All right, Ronnie Chang, everybody. Ronnie Chang, everybody.

When we come back, Julian Baker and Torres will be joining me, so don't go away. Welcome back to Daily Show. My guests tonight are critically acclaimed musicians whose forthcoming album is called Send a Prayer My Way. Please welcome Julian Baker and Torres. -♪ Hello, how are you? Thank you for coming. Wow, look at these outfits. -♪ Hello, how are you? Wow, look at these outfits. Oh! I mean, I thought I looked good. Yeah?

Look at these outfits. These are amazing. Tell me about them. Well, we wanted to do the classic nudie suit thing. Got Union Western to make us these. Those are sweet. Got a little Tennessee flora and fauna. I think I even saw a marijuana leaf, perhaps.

You might have. Yes. For those of you that know your music individually, wouldn't have necessarily thought you were going to get together and make a country album. How did we get here? Tell me what happened. Julien and I have been friends for a little while, and when the pandemic lockdown occurred,

I texted her kind of out of the blue because I'd been thinking about making a country record for a while, but I didn't want to do it alone. And Julian was the first person I thought of because she's from Tennessee. I'm from Georgia. It just made sense. And I want to... I'm from Tennessee. Okay. I'm from Georgia. It just made sense. And I wanted, I...

I wanted... There's one Tennessean here in New York like... Yeah. Boop. I wanted to make something with her. Yes. I thought it sounded fun. Yeah.

And it's been in the works for a little bit, right? Is that? Five years. Five years. Yeah, five years. Wow. A little bit. It's beautiful. I love it. Thank years. Yeah, five years. Wow. It's beautiful.

I love it. Thank you. I played it for my family. I played it for me. I played it for my dog. He now is wearing outfits like yours, which is strange. It's being called a queer country album. Why not call it a queertree album?

Michael Kosta trademark 2025. Or a Lesbentry album. -"Lesbentry." -"Is that good?" No, I guess let's talk about genre for a second. I mean, the title queer country album, does that evoke anything? Do you bother that someone might call it that?

Are you proud of that? -"I'm certainly proud of it. I mean, you know, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We're queer, you know? If it, you know, if it were up to me, it would just be country.

Right. Yes. Yes. But, you know, I'm very proud to have made a queer country album, absolutely. The title, Send a Prayer My Way, evokes religion. Tell me your journey with religion. Is it, am I overthinking it?

No, you're not overthinking it. I don't always think of, you know, Christianity doing such a good job with queer and gay. Absolutely not. I think Mackenzie and I know a little bit about that firsthand. We were both raised in a religious household and social context and culture. But yeah, Mackenzie and I were talking before this, and not to diminish our spirituality is important. You know, I think there's this idea that when you talk about a practice of prayer, you're talking about a dogmatic religious belief, but I feel like organized religion

is not necessarily the same thing. Maybe often gets in the way of pursuit of the divine. I think that's something everybody, every human intuitively yearns for. I think definitely as musicians, as people seeking just justice and fair treatment for ourselves and for, you know, the world and being outraged at everything that's happening around us. I think that's a really normal reaction

is to idealize, like, a more utopian or divine destination. The pursuit of the divine, that's badass. And I can tell you... I feel like... only musicians can pursue the divine. No one is listening to my comedy going, now that guy is in pursuit of the divine. Mackenzie, I want to hear your thoughts

on the religious component, if there is one. Sure. Yeah, it's a little bit loaded. I mean, I grew up in the Baptist Church, like evangelical in Georgia. I struggled with it. When I left Georgia, I left the church proudly. Never went back. And dare I say my relationship to what one might call God,

source energy, the Supreme Being, the Divine, it has only become a more intimate relationship actually as I've aged and I've just surrounded myself with a community of people that love me and that want me to be exactly who I am. Right, totally. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. It doesn't surprise me that you're thoughtful and kind and compassionate in speaking with you

because your music comes across that way. But you're thoughtful and kind and compassionate in speaking with you because your music comes across that way. But you're speaking about things that love you for being you. Dogs. Holy shit. One of your songs, Sylvia, it's about your dog, right? Mackenzie, your dog? That's right. I love having a dog because when I go to comedy at night, I bomb, I succeed, it went well, it went poorly, it doesn't matter. All these thoughts and expectations I have

when I walk through the door, he's happy to see me. Is that the same for music? Is that the same for your dog? What's the name of your dog? My dog is Sylvia. That's what the name of the song is. Yeah. Yeah.

She was born on Sylvia Platt's birthday. She was born on Sylvia Platt's birthday. Let's, yeah, let's state that, because I asked you what your dog's name was after I told you what your dog's name was. He could have been my dog. Could have been your dog, that's true. Yeah.

So what's your relationship with your dog and music and yeah. I mean, it's the same thing. Yeah. Yeah, you have maybe a gig that you're not like super stoked about. Maybe you messed up a gig that you're not super stoked about. Maybe you messed up a little bit and you come home. And for me, it's usually after maybe a more extended thing, like a tour, and then I come home and Sylvia is just,

oh, God, she's just, yeah, always the same. She's so loving. That's great. Precious. What about you, Julian? No, it's the same. She's so loving. That's great. Precious. What about you, Julianna? No, it's the same. I, uh, it's funny. I love dogs because their relationship is, you know,

it's extralingual. There's nothing you can say really to a dog to manipulate them or to reframe a situation. Either you're showing up for them, you put food in the bowl, you take them out, or you don't. But weirdly, there's this capacity for grace that extends, I feel like a human relationship,

or surpasses a human relationship. I got beans when I was going through kind of like a tough time in my life. And I was thinking, you know, man, I don't have my shit together enough to have a dog. And the dog made me get my shit together, you know? Because now there's something else. I have to take care of her when she's just sitting looking at me with the sweetest, most innocent eyes.

I'm like, okay. Yeah. And I brought my asshole dog to the green room. And he was... Is that an asshole like, okay, yeah. And I brought my asshole dog to the green room. And he was... Is that an asshole dog? Well, yeah. Well, he was very warm with you two. He sensed your kindness.

Yeah, he sensed it. He sensed my love. I came home one time and I said hi to my dog before my wife. And she said, why are you saying hi to the dog first? Say hi to your wife first. And I said, I'm you saying hi to the dog first? Say hi to your wife first. And I said, I'm saying hi to who's excited to see me. Laughter.

Applause. How cool is it that you're gonna play for us? I mean, this is... Really cool. Really cool. Amazing. And I love your album. Everyone needs to listen to it. Send a love your album. Everyone needs to listen to it.

Send a prayer my way. Julian Baker and Torres. Now you're going to play Bottom of the Bottle for us. What can you tell us about that song? It's a drinking song. Hell yeah, I had a feeling. I had a feeling. That's the first song you sent me.

I believe it was the first demo that I sent Julian when we were passing ideas back and forth. You sent me an e-mail, and the subject line was pastiche. Yeah. Okay. It was a little nod to some of my, you know, my country boy heroes. Yeah. The George Straits and whatnot.

Right. Yeah. Right. Well, it's a great song. George Straits Right. Well, it's a great song. George Strait is here tonight. It's a great song. We're looking forward to it. Thank you so much for being here and talking with us. Send a Prayer My Way comes out April 18th.

It's available for pre-order now. That's our show for tonight. Now, here it is. Your very own, The George Straits. We're going to be talking about the George Straits and the George Straits and the George Straits and the George Straits and the George Straits and the George Straits and the George Straits and the George That's our show for tonight. Now here it is, your moment of zen. But I think the thing remarkable about it is this was a very, very positive speech. The fact is it was a combination of wonderful poetry, particularly at the end, and about

a substance of a State of the union speech that I've ever heard. 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+. on Paramount Plus.