The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump Stumped by Worst-Case Iran Scenario & Hegseth Gives Bullying Pep Talk | Erika Alexander

Episode Date: March 5, 2026

It only took five days for America's war on Iran to go off the rails, as Trump ponders the worst-case scenario, a nepo baby emerges as a top candidate to lead Iran, Sen. Markwayne Mullin stumbles over his war semantics, and Michael Kosta challenges Pete Hegseth to rethink his villainous “no mercy” speech. Plus, a s**t-faced Grace Kuhlenschmidt nominates Trump as Iran’s new supreme leader. Josh Johnson breaks down the the messiest awards show ever, after a Tourette's syndrome activist involuntarily shouted the N-word at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo while they presented onstage at the BAFTAs. And while the controversy sparked an internet war between Black Twitter and Neurodivergent TikTok, Josh urges everyone to turn their outrage to the real culprits, the BBC. Award-winning actor and star of the new NBC series, "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins," Erika Alexander, talks with Michael about returning to TV with a star-studded cast in her first mockumentary sitcom. She discusses how facing the discriminatory systems of Hollywood in the 90s after her starring run in "Living Single" led her to create opportunities for herself and marginalized communities through her production company, Color Farm Media, and shares advice for up-and-coming Black actors trying to make it in the entertainment industry: "present your authentic self... and haul ass." --- To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://Hims.com/dailyshow Right now, go to https://quince.com/dailyshow for free shipping and 365-day returns. --- (00:00) Headlines (08:19) S**t-faced Grace Kuhlenschmidt (12:08) Josh Johnson In Too Deep (23:00) Erika Alexander, "The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Costa. I have so much to talk about tonight. Iran posts a new job listing. Chuck Schumer has a nuclear meltdown, and the BAFTA Awards went proper arise up, governor.

So let's kick things off with the latest on America's War with Iran. Nothing bad can happen. only good happen. We're now five days into our war with Iran, and things are looking just a little bit dicey. No one seems to have a clear plan for the war, or even a clear reason why we started it. And apparently America's military is even at risk

of running out of weapons, which is one problem I never thought America would have. I thought we had an unlimited stockpile of those, like spin-offs of Yellowstone. Oh, by the way, tune in to, Paramount Plus for the world premiere of Yellowstone in Space. But despite all those problems, the good news is Donald Trump is in charge. And I'm sure he's diligently thought through all of the wartime scenarios.

What's the worst case scenario that you have a plan for in Iran? Well, I don't know if there's a worst case. I guess the worst case would be we do this and then somebody takes over who's as bad as the previous person, right? That could happen. Yeah! You're just thinking about this now? I do six months of research before I buy a new shampoo. Trump's like, I just realized starting a war in the Middle East could have some downsides, huh?

So it's a little disturbing that he says it as casually as when you realize you've never seen a bird's penis before. Do they even have them? But Trump's right. You don't want a new leader who is just as bad as the old one. So I'm sure the administration has a deep bench of candidates ready to step up, right? Right? President Trump said some Iranian officials his administration was hoping could take over have been killed in the war.

Well, most of the people we had in mind are dead. So, you know, we had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group. They may be dead also. Okay, okay. Well, the good thing is there's a third group. Oh, what's that? They're dead also?

and the fourth group's dead and the fifth group's dead. They're all dead. I cannot believe this. You killed all the candidates. Even the ones who were willing to accept a lower salary because they appreciated the potential for long-term career growth? Now, if I was Iran, I did what my middle school did when my English teacher had a baby and just let a gym teacher be the Ayatollah for a little while.

But apparently they have another plan. So who was running Iran? The late Ayatollah's son. has reportedly emerged as a leading candidate. Boring. Come on, dude. You're not supposed to follow in your dad's footsteps. Where's your rebellious spirit?

I don't want to be the Supreme Leader, Dad. I just want to dance. But you know, the job has a lot of long-term career growth, so I don't see a good reason why he wouldn't take it. Israel's defense minister this morning said anyone Iran appoints will be an unequivocal target for elimination. Damn. An unequivocal target for elimination.

elimination. What a fancy way to say, we're going to kill you. The Ayatollah son is probably like, you know what, now that I think about it, I'm not really a management type. I'm kind of more of a creative guy. Now, my asshole stepbrother, though, he's Ayatollah material for sure. You know what? The plan for succession is not going well. How about the war itself? And I don't need to hear from Donald Trump this time. Surely there must be a more sober voice in this administration. America is winning. Decisively devastating. and without mercy.

Iran cannot outlast us. We control their fate. They are toast, and they know it. This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Come on, dude, not a fair fight? That's not usually something you hear the good guys say,

which, remember, that's us, right? Let's try again, and this time avoid sounding so much like a bully. We are punching them while they're down. which is exactly how it should be. What the fuck, dude? Why does the Secretary of Defense sound like a cheesy movie villain? America is winning, decisively, devastatingly, and without mercy. Mercy is for the weak.

An enemy deserves no mercy. We control their fate. We will decide your fate. We are punching them while they're down. Always kick them when they're down. And President Trump got the last laugh. Looks like it's I who will have the last laugh. Fun fact, that evil Muffet also got a start as a weekend Fox and Friends hosts.

But I guess Secretary Pete's bravado clears one thing up. This is very much a war, which puts him at odds with what senators like Mark Wayne Mullen have been saying. This isn't a war. We haven't declared war. We are not at war with Iran. This isn't a war. This isn't a war with Iran. Yeah. Not a war?

I thought it was obviously a war since, you know, you've been speaking next to a map of all the places we're bombing in the war. Also, all the, you know, in the, in the, in the, ah, and the,

blah, blah, meh. I don't know how it all works, okay? And I'm not the only one who's confused by this, because it seems like Mark Wayne is also getting confused. This is war,

and we're taking out the threat. And if you're, part of the threat than you have a, that you're a target. You can see this is war. We haven't declared war. They declared war on us, but we haven't declared war. We haven't declared. Just now you said, this is war. They called it war.

What I was saying, okay, well, that was a misspoke. Yeah. Did he say that was a misspoke? Hard to believe the guy who said he did a misspoke, did a misspoke. Now, I know it seems like Mark Wayne's contradicting himself, but what you've got to understand is that Mark thinks this is a war. Wayne thinks it's not. It's just a constant bottle.

So, yes, mark this down as a war, but wane this down as not a war. Anyway, thank you. Anyway, with the Republicans tripping all over their words trying to sell this unpopular war-adjacent conflict, it's the perfect opportunity for Democrats to come out with a clear anti-war message. Oh, and here comes the truth hammer.

Look, no one wants a nuclear war. war. No one wants a nuclear Israel, but we certainly don't want an endless war, plain and simple. What did I say? Oh, no, got it. Let me say that again. All right, wow. If you're confused, just know that his full name is Chuck Wayne Schumer. So for more on what comes next for Iran in its leadership succession, let's go live to Grace Kulin-Schmidt. What is the latest? I'm here at the Pentagon, and it is chaos.

We're down to six bullets, and Pete Higsef makes us do shots after every single missile strike. I am wasted right now. I'm sorry that you're trash, Grace, but what about the next steps? Have the Trump administration figured out who can be the next leader of Iran? No, it's a huge problem. We need to fight a leader now, or going to war with no plan whatsoever is going to seem like a bad idea. The problem is the leader needs to be someone Donald Trump respects, and the only person Donald Trump respects is, hold on.

Grace? I say, hold on. Stupid idea, but what if the next leader of Iran is Donald Trump? That's very stupid. I know. I know it's dumb, but maybe. Why would Donald Trump want to be supreme leader of Iran? I don't know.

Maybe I'll like the title. It's kind of an upgrade. Actually, this idea isn't that bad. It's like, president, ew, we let anyone be president. We let Donald Trump be president. Ever been supreme leader, that's special. That's like getting to be a Sheldon on TV. We've only had Sheldon and young Sheldon.

But this, this is Iranian Sheldon. It isn't a bad idea. It's a terrible idea. Donald Trump doesn't even know how the Iranian government works. He doesn't know how the American government works. Grace, it has not worked out fine. Don't be jealous that I had a good idea, Michael, he's going to go for this.

He'll have total immunity. He can imprison all the journalists he wants, and the flowy robes will hide the skin condition that's slowly eating away his plaque. Maybe, maybe this is the dozen shots of Cuervo talking, but I think I'm the smartest girl alive. Grace, Grace. Sorry, Grace, but you're not.

Even if Trump wanted to do all this, he would have to convert to Islam. Oh, no. He would have to abandon the Christian beliefs he's been so faithfully in here. in the history of earth. It works out for everybody. Democrats get rid of him.

Republicans get him out of the way for 2028. And Lee Grinwood gets a second song to sing. And I'm proud to be in a... Grace, that sounds like the same song. That sounds like you pitching anything. What's your genius idea? Okay. I don't know.

Maybe Iran has some sort of interim caretaker government that can maintain order with international help until free and fair elections can be helped. That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard. And why would Lee Greenwood even go to Iran? That doesn't make any sense at all. Great schooling, Schmidt, everybody. Where's the award show? Don't go away.

What are you talking about? Other stories require us to go deeper. And for those, we turn to Josh Johnson in our new segment into Deep. Let's talk about award shows. They honor creative people. They celebrate great art. And they're how we track the migratory pattern of the scars guards. But one recent awarding.

show raised a lot more questions than who are you wearing. It was supposed to be an evening of Hollywood glamour mixed with British royalty. But the British Film Award ceremony known as the BAFTAs is facing outrage. After black actors Michael D. Jordan and Delroy Lindo took the stage only for the N-word to be shouted from the audience. Oh, BAFTA, BAFTA, BAFTA. Don't you miss when nobody knew what you were? when we all thought you were a trade deal or something, you know? I actually once met someone who told me they had a BAFTA, and I was like, I'm so sorry. Is it terminal?

Now, ordinarily, I dismiss this as another story about a racist slur, but let's go a little deeper. The shout came from John Davidson, who lives with Tourette's syndrome, a condition that can cause people to make sudden involuntary ticks. This is a tough one. Because you got to understand, this is hard for me as a black person because every time I've been called the N-word, I was told the white person couldn't help it, you know? No, no, no, they're old, they're from the South, or they bet on Tyson and he lost.

And now I'm confronted with someone who actually couldn't help it. So it's kind of hard to know what to do with your anger here. And the Internet at large made this out to be diversity versus neurodiversity. But I know it's not that. because I asked my neurodivergent friends who are black what they thought, and then a bunch of people came and asked me what I thought. And I was like, wait, what made you... I mean, yeah, I like anime, but...

You know what? Never mind. Never mind. Like I said, I asked those friends, and as soon as we finished talking about Dragon Ball Z, we got into it. So to go a little deeper, the man who shot out the slur was John Davidson, who was at the Bafters because there was an award-winning movie based on his life with Tourette's. So yes, his outburst was involuntary, and he addressed it in a statement afterwards. But right after that, I saw a lot of white people

who don't have Tourette's giving him a pass, which is weird, because white people don't hand out those passes. White people don't give out passes to say the N-Worth the same way I don't give out the passes to Cracker Barrel. I know that's not my place. The Baptist also tried to apologize during the ceremony, and here's how it went. You may have heard some strong and offensive language tonight.

The ticks you've heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette's syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you were offended. If you were offended? I mean, the only two options are being offended or liking it. Saying if ruins a whole apology the same way kind of ruins a whole wedding vow. I vow to kind of be faithful.

Also, maybe the apology shouldn't come from the whole. of the traitors. I honestly don't trust anything that man says anymore. But enough from fluke from spy kids. Let's go even deeper. Because it doesn't begin and end with John. He warned the Baptists that something like this could happen. Back in October, he explained nerves trigger those vocal tics.

Sometimes my tics, I'll shout the N-word. You're in trouble. People misunderstand that, and they see it as being racist. And it's more about tick triggers. Certain things like today. Lots of people around. I'm feeling very, you know, motor techs in case of lash out or whatever, you know, so. This man called his shot.

He basically, Babe Ruth the N-word. Watch this from row 40. Now, BAFTA did make an announcement in the room before the ceremony that there could be outbursts, but they didn't do enough. Well, John Davidson is said to be deeply mortified by the incident on Sunday. He is now said to the BBC, while on earth was I allowed to sit so close to a microphone. It feels like a foul destination movie when they make one of the characters go to a dynamite factory. Like, what are you thinking? And if you're thinking the BBC, the network that broadcast the awards deserve some blame, you have no idea how much blame. The BBC is apologizing. They've come under

a lot of fire because they allowed the racial slur to go out on the broadcast, even though it was pre-recorded. The moment was broadcast without any censoring despite being on a two-hour delay. A two-hour plenty of time to bleep it. And don't tell me you lost track of time. The only thing I know about your country is that you got big ass clocks.

I mean, if they're not bleeping the N-word, they must not bleep anything. The big question this morning, why did these outbursts remain on the broadcast when other parts of the event were cut, like the words of one award winner who said, Free Palestine? Now, whenever I hear something bleeped,

I'm gonna assume they might be saying free Palestine. I'll be listening to music like, oh, wow, I didn't realize Cardi B and Magnostalian wanted a wet-ass free Palestine. How could this possibly happen? The corporation said producers were overseeing the coverage from a truck and simply did not hear the slur. Oh, that makes sense, because most of the times I've been called the N-word that's been hurled from a truck.

Look, I have seen so much anger and hate online. fighting over this, with people rushing to attack anyone they saw as ablest in some ways that were pretty racist. People are pretending to be neurologist while saying things like, don't you say the R word, you N word? Everyone was so mad at each other with all of us, when all of us should be mad at the Bafters. They have failed both groups and the people that overlap at every turn. They sat John next to a microphone. They didn't edit it out, even with a two-hour delay, and they left it up unedited on the BBC streaming service for 15 hours. How are you going to hand out editing awards and you can't edit?

Even worse, you embarrass Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo. No one gets away with that. So please, Black Twitter and neurodivergent TikTok stop firing off at each other and turn that heat onto BAFTA and the BBC, because your heat together is equal to the sun. Roast them, light them up, fry their asses. They're from England. They burn easy. But hey, maybe I'm in too deep.

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Please welcome Erica Alexander. We've got an enthusiastic crowd here. They love some Erica Alexander. Thank you, Michael. I love them. And I appreciate all these years. I've gotten support from beautiful people like that. And that's why I'm here today. It's 43 years in.

What? I'm surprised. But you're only 25. Shh. You've been in some amazing shows. Wow. The Cosby Show, Living Single. Now you star in the Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.

How did you get here? How did you get on this second? I got a call from Tina Faye and Robert Carlock, Sam Means, and Tracy Morgan. And you have to pay attention to that. That's a big deal. I mean, I worked my whole life to get that type of call. And so it's a great thing. It's like being called up to the, I mean, I was in the majors,

but suddenly another major team, won't you? And they know what they're doing. They're masters of the game. And so I was glad to be invited. That's amazing. You may know, but I am in the series for about 10 for about 10 seconds. Oh. And did you feel my presence on set?

I mean, how did? I smelled you. You smelled me. No, he smells good like victory. That's right. Because everybody they brought in were ringers. They don't play. The cast is amazing.

Yeah, they bring in amazing talents. So, yeah, no, you can feel that when you have big, winners on there and you want to rise to the occasion but then guest stars feature player all of that they know what they're doing so yeah i smelled you thank you fellow thank you fellow host ronnie chang you're in a couple scenes with him yes he plays my rival that's right he plays your rival he's there to antagonize me but and be honest how how many takes did it take him to get it right wow you know i'm sorry to say uh one he was great he was great you guys are great together uh but but But let's talk about the cast, because you can carry a show you.

But then how do you also... This is a team sport, this show. It is. It is. What's your strategy when you've got so many stars on screen at the same time? Well, comedy is a full contact sport. You have to be in it to win it. They're going to throw you something, and you've got to be ready to, you know, receive and

throw it back. I'm really gratified that they think that I can be around. you know, fantastic people who have been doing it for years. With each other, they've got a vocabulary and a shorthand that I don't have. I've never done a mockumentary, and that's what this is. And so I think that, you know, many people think that comedy is just, you know, a monologue

and or what you're doing on stage, but comedy lies in this space, in sitcom space, and it's hard to translate, because you'll have no audience to tell you where the joke is. And so you just have to be confident that the people who set you up and who, who have told you this is what you need to do, are going to take the funniest thing that you can do.

But it has to be in context of everything and what everyone is contributing. I was intimidated by the scripts because they were so funny with so many jokes, with so many references I didn't necessarily understand. I didn't know either. And I wanted to ask you. I was hoping to steal from you.

How did you approach those scripts? Dull face, if you get the Rosetta Stone, let me know. I had no idea. I had no idea. Actually, I felt kind of weird. I kept talking to Robert Carlock saying, you know, I really don't know what I'm doing or whether it's hitting. He says, don't worry, Erica, we tell you.

Usually when they say that, they just give you a final notice. We'll tell you. You don't want to be told. You kind of want to know in your bones, but you've got to be okay with discomfort. You don't always need to know. You just need to, you know, let go and let God. There it is. Yeah.

After Living Single, which is a five-year sitcom, iconic sitcom, You, the people love. You talked a little bit about after that, you weren't getting the opportunities you thought you might, which blew me away, because you would have thought you're now a star, you should get all the opportunities. Talk a little about that. It's a tough business, because if you complain about what you're not getting,

people might think that, you know, hey, but look what you got. But the truth is, you're up against things that are inside of systems that exist everywhere else. And there's a system of discrimination, biased, discriminatory, you know, racism, also gender problems that affect Hollywood. And this is the 90s. They don't know where to absorb you. You can do really well somewhere, but doesn't mean that they have some place to put you afterwards. And so you have to, you know, it's a mental game, too.

You've got to be ready to push through and see what else you can offer. I got into creating opportunities for myself to advocate for people, for marginalized people, and to lift the voices of people who did not have the type of platform I had. I learned how to write comic books. I did something called Concrete Park with my ex-partner, but my creative partner, Tony Purrier. That to me is what people don't talk. What does it take to stay in the game?

Because it doesn't mean that you'll always be wanted, but it does mean that you do have a certain skill set and you've got to find out where you can put it. Where can you contribute? You could have been mad and complained, but you formed a production company. I sure did. Color Farm Media.

Color Farm Media. Thank you for mentioning that. I just love the idea. You know, it's easy to sit and go, I'm not getting it. I'm not getting the thing I want. I deserve it. But it sounds like one of the things you did,

but you said, fuck that, let me go create some stuff. Yeah, Michael. And I love that. I'm gonna steal that from you too. You know, deserves got nothing to do with it. Please. Yeah.

Thank you. You know, deserves got nothing to do with it. You just, again, you play the cards you're dealt. Color Farm Media, we call ourselves the Motown of Film, Television, and Tech. We were trying to do what Barry Gordy did. There's a ton of people. It's not just that.

to, you know, the more explicit bias and gender and all that stuff, but also, you know, geography. You may not feel like you're born into a place where they'll accept what you're doing. Where do they find Dali Parton up in Appalach or, you know, those types of places. Where can we find talent? There's ageism. There's all of that. We wanted to affect that and correct that as well as we could. There's other people in the game, Aver Douverne, all of those people.

So, yeah, we did John Lewis Good Trouble, which is a documentary. and also, you know, I actually directed a reparations doc. Yeah, called the Big Payback. Come on. Yeah. And we're still waiting for the payback. Yeah, I'm still waiting for the payback. Yeah, I'm still waiting. You are excellent in the rise and fall of Reggie Dinkins.

It was, I hope, if the show continues, we can somehow work in the same scene together. But you know, we're doing a scene right now. I know! My character is a sports agent manager, so she is most likely to be mixing it up with you. Yeah, that's right. Because you, you know. I'm a nice, divorced, sports anchor. Okay.

I have to ask, because, you know, you have the experience of this industry, but what would you say to a young actor coming up, a young black woman trying to come up and make it and show business? I'd say you, they're looking for you. But make sure that you present your best self, your authentic self. Don't try to bend yourself into pretzels. No one, please do that. It's not necessary.

America's big enough for all of us. We are the true Rosetta Stone for what it looks like to create a more perfect union. It means for us to accept each other and that diversity of each other. And also haul ass. Hall ass. It takes longer than you think. It does. The fall and rise of Reggie Dickens airs Mondays on NBC and is available to see my peacock.

You're the back. Thank you, Derek. You're doing a great job. Bernie, I think you're okay. You want to say something really fast, Bernie? Thank you. He gets my vote. He gets my vote.

I have to go back and look at the war. You know, I have a lot of things happening. 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.