The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump Takes a Victory Lap After Kavanaugh Is Sworn In | Mark Leibovich

Episode Date: October 10, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh joins the Supreme Court with a partisan ceremony, Taylor Swift's Democratic endorsements irk conservatives, and author Mark Leibovich discusses "Big Game." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast. The Weekly Show is going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday we're going to be talking about. All the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about

ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance, it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Thank you so much. Thank you everybody. Welcome to the Dalym. Thank you for tuning in. I'm Trevor Noah. Our guest tonight. Our guest tonight is New York Times reporter.

Mark Lieberovich. Mark Lieberich is here everybody. And he's a fascinating guy. We'll be discussing his new book on professional football, or as I call it, Times reporter Mark Lieberich is here everybody and he's a fascinating guy we'll be discussing his new book on professional football or as I call it reverse soccer but first let's catch up on today's headlines. You know those crazy people you see in the streets shouting that the world is ending well it

turns out they're all actually climate scientists. A new report by the UN carries a stark warning the world has little more than a decade to reduce the amount of carbon the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the of of the of of of the of of the of of. the of. the of. of. of. of. of. of. of. the the times times times times times of the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the times the the times times times times times times times times times times times times times times times times times times. times. times. times. ti. ti. times. ti. times. ti. ti. times. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. A new report by the UN carries a stark warning. The world has little more than a decade to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere or it may be too late to reverse the worst effects of climate change. All this will happen sooner than previously feared by the year 2030, the report says. The world is doomed in 12 years. You know, it's so bizarre that the Marvel movies have a better long-term plan than the Earth? Because they're like, okay, we'll have Black Panther 2, and then we'll have another Spider-Man movie.

Uh, then the Earth will be over, and then, Aetman 3 drops. And you know what, it's sad? The sad part is we knew this was coming. Captain Planet told us. Yeah. We didn't listen to the poor bastard. Past couple decades have been hard on him. Last anyone heard, he'd been arrested in New Mexico for robbing a gas station. Tough times. Tough times. Moving on. The artist Banksy is getting a lot of attention this week for a piece that is either a rebuke of contemporary materialism or a cross-promotion with OfficeMax. Going once, going twice, gone forever.

A painting by the mysterious artist Banksy shredded itself moments after it was sold at auction for $1.4 million. The piece, called Girl with Balloon, suddenly descended into a trick frame. Banksy later posted video on Instagram, showing him making the frame himself. The auction house won't say whether the buyer has the option to cancel the purchase or if the artwork is actually more valuable now that it's in shreds. That's right. An elaborate hoax was successfully pulled off by me. I mean, Banksy.

But seriously though, that was pretty cool. But I love how people are saying they feel bad for the buyer of the painting. I mean, that person had $1.4 million to spend on a stencil drawing. They will be just fine. Okay, they'll be fine. I just hope that they kept the receipt. Then they'll be fine. Yeah.

No, Banksy, no! In other news, First Lady Melania Trump just got back from spending the last week in shitholes throughout Africa. And say what you want about Melania, but wherever she goes, she goes in style. Maybe too much style. New this morning, First Lady Melania Trump has returned to the U.S. after her trip to Africa. The trip focused on children and her anti-bullying campaign, Be Best. The first lady once again criticized over her fashion choices,

sporting a White Pith helmet, while on Safari in Kenya Friday, a style associated with the painful colonial period of Africa. We just completed an amazing tree. I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear. Yeah, you know what, I agree with Melania. If she wants to dress like a smooth criminal, that's her business. And people should be focusing more on what she does than on what she wears.

And I'll be honest, I don't know what she actually does, but that's not the point. The point is you should focus on it. Seriously, though, I think it's cool that Melania chose Africa for her first solo trip, you know. The only thing that would make it cooler is if she did that thing where people pick up accents from the place they just traveled to. Like, I wish she got back to the White House with an African accent and Trump was like, how is the trip, Melania? And she was like, it was so much fun. No! All right, let's move on to our main story.

Brett Kavanaugh. Don't boo, vote. Until recently, until recently, Brett Kavanaugh was just some guy without an inside voice. But over the weekend, after weeks of controversy, soul-searching and a national conversation about sexual assault, the Senate said, fuck it, and made him the newest justice on the Supreme Court. Brett Kavanaugh will hear his first arguments this morning as the newest Supreme Court.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh will take his seat as the ninth justice on the high court. He's going to take his seat on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the far on the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their the th. the the the th. th. th. th. th. tooice. tooom. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. the. the. their. tea. tea. te. te. te. te. their. te. their. their, the ninth justice on the high court. He's going to take his seat on the far right side of the bench. That's where the junior most justice sits. That's right, Brett Kavanaugh has officially taken his seat as the junior justice on the Supreme Court. And I'm going to say, it must be so weird to be 53 years old and the most junior person in your job. Supreme Court Justice and Walmart greeter. You realize that's it? Now, they don't allow cameras into the Supreme Court, but luckily, they have released some audio and courtroom sketches that gave us a glimpse into Kavanaugh's first day.

The identification of the habitat is not just in terms of triggering Section 7 of the Act. I liked beer. I still liked beer. I still like beer. So inspiring, man. So inspiring. Usually when a Supreme Court justice is sworn in, it's a relatively low-profile thing in the middle of the day. You know, it's a small, intimate affair.

But President Trump was like, I don't do small. I don't do intimate. I do affairs. I do affairs But when I have an affair, everybody knows it And so in a prime time televised event President Trump took to the stage to congratulate his newest draft pick. It was a swearing in fit for prime time a dramatic Entrance by the president and his Supreme Court pick the other eight justices they're looking on the applause from supporters roaring. On behalf of our nation, I want to apologize to Brett and the entire Kavarov family for the terrible pain and suffering you have been forced to endure.

You, sir, under historic scrutiny were proven innocent. Proven innocent? Proven innocent? Okay, that's obviously not what happened. You can't just replace what actually happened with what you wish happened, Mr. President. He's like, Judge Kavanaugh was proven innocent after they found found the real assaulter of Dr. Ford, Robert Mueller. What a twist, folks! What a twist!

So twisty. Now, Kavanaugh's confirmation process was a bitter partisan mess. And many people were wondering whether a confirmed Kavanaugh would make an impartial judge. Fortunately, the new justice believes bygones should be bygones. The Senate confirmation process was contentious and emotional. That process is over. My focus now is to be the best justice I can be. I take this office with gratitude and no bitterness. Every American can be assured that I'll be an independent and impartial justice, devoted to equal justice under law.

Ooh, Democrats, you're going to jail. No, because something tells me that this is a guy who doesn't forget. Okay? Yeah, I mean, except for when it comes to drinking, then he forget everything. But I'm saying other things he does not forget He will not forget Because I mean because I mean he's saying nice things but in the same way that a waiter is nice to picky customers. It's like oh no, we can have this redone with slightly less mail. Yeah, yeah, I'm happy to do it. Yeah Yeah We can have this redone with slightly less mayo. Yeah, yeah. I'm happy to do it, yeah. So it's official. Brett Kavanaugh is now justice, Brett Kavanaugh,

which is a major win for cocaine Mitch and the GOP. And by the looks of it, this whole Kavanaugh thing has Republicans fired up. A new poll finds that when it comes to voters saying that the midterms are very important. Republicans have been virtually able to erase the gap with Democrats. We're seeing what is being called the Brett Bounce. Majority leader, Ms. McConnell, said earlier in the day that Kavanaugh's confirmation united the Republican base ahead of the midterm elections. What I think this has done for us is provide the kind of adrenaline shot that we had not been able to figure out how to achieve in any other way..... that. that. that. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the, the, the, the, the, the, the the the the to, we, we' to, we' to the the the to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, we the, the, the. Wea. theatea. thea. theatea. toea. toea. toea. toea' toea' to to to to the had not been able to figure out how to achieve in any other way.

That's right. Can you feel the adrenaline? Can you feel it? I can feel the adrenaline searching through me right now. Yeah, before I was like, ma'er, but now, now I'm like, barr. So, if you are a Republican, right now, you are living your best pro-life. But if you're not, things might seem pretty bleak right now, because the newest member of a conservative majority on the Supreme Court just got a lifetime appointment. But there is a bright side.

If that climate change report is right, a lifetime appointment might be shorter than we think. We'll be right back. Welcome back to the day show. The midterm elections are in full swing. Today was the last day to register in many states, but don't worry, if you haven't registered yet, you can still vote illegally. Now, one thing we've come to expect around elections is a lifetime.. We'll thiiiii. We'll to to to to to a lifetime, we'll to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to to to to thi, we'll thi, to thi, we'll to thi, we'll thi, we'll thi, we'll thime, we'll thime, we'll thime, we'll thime, we'll thime, we'll thime, we'll thime, we'll thi. We'll thi. We'll to be a to be a to be a to be a life, to be a lifetime, to be a lifetime, to to a lifetime, to a lifetime, to a lifetime, thi, thi, thi, a lifetime, a lifetime, a lifetime if you haven't registered yet, you can still vote illegally. Now, one thing we've come to expect around elections

is celebrities getting involved. And these days, a celebrity voicing political opinion is like climate change. It's happening every day, and most people ignore it. But there are still some celebrities who simply cannot be ignored. Congay West added, again, sparking controversy on Twitter. The pro-Trump rapper posted a photo of him wearing a red Make America Great Again hat. He's the brave one, going out into liberal Lala Land and getting booed because he likes Trump.

What I love Kanye West is he has been blazing this trail saying it's okay to think freely. Thank you Connie West for standing up for what is right. Yes, the right has a new favorite rapper. So step aside, nobody. Yeah, that's a slot that's never been filled before. So Republicans have been celebrating the second coming of Jesus as one of their own. But yesterday, Democrats said, hey, Republicans, I'm gonna let you finish, but we just got one of the best endorsements of all time. Taylor Swift got a huge response after announcing yesterday she's voting for Democrat Phil

Brettison over Republican, Marsha Blackburn in the US Senate race in Tennessee. The pop star has always made it a point of keeping silent on politics, but shocked her fans last night. Swift wrote, I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. Wow. Wow. Wow. This is a big deal because you realize until now Taylor Swift has stayed as far away from politics as she does from rhythm

Right and no like don't get me wrong don't get wrong. I love I love Taites music But let's be honest. Have you seen her dancing like Taylor Srift? Taylor Swift dances like she's making fun of how white people dance. That's how she dances. And just like Kanye fired up Republicans, Taylor also seems to be having an impact. Her post apparently caused a huge surge in voter registration. So you can't deny that she has influence with voters. Yeah. You just can't deny that Taylor's script has that influence.

The same way you can't deny that while reputation might have lacked the momentum and sales records of 1989, it's still an impressive brooding departure portraying Taylor as a woman coming into her own and solidifying her power and range as an artist. So I've been told. And I get it. If anyone can convince young people to vote, it's the woman who somehow got young people people to young people to young people to young people to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the young people young people young people to to to to to to to to to the the to the their, their, told, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the toe, toe, toe, toe.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e. Ie.e. I'm toe. Wea, toe. Wea, to it. If anyone can convince young people to vote, it's the woman who somehow got young people to buy physical CDs because she wasn't on Spotify. I mean, like, who even owns a CD player? Like, people were probably popping the dist into the toaster

trying to play them. There was like... And since Taylor has been so quiet about politics, there was actually a pro-Trump conservative, right? But now by endorsing a Democrat, she blew that the theory up, which is news that the president took surprisingly well. What do you have to say it's Taylor Swift now that she's in politics? Taylor's Swift jumped in the politics, what do you say? And what did she say? She said you want people to vote the Democrat.

Let's say that I like like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that I like that that that that that that that that I like Taylor's music about 25% less now, okay? That's a weird way to express displeasure. He likes her music 25% less? Like, what does that even mean? Is he now just going to cut off 25% of his tailor merchandise? Is that what he's going to do? Oh, and by the way, I love of his tailor merchandise? Is that what he's going to do? Oh, and by the way, I love how Trump turned back when he heard Taylor Swift. Do you see that?

Like, because he was leaving. He was leaving, right? And then he had Taylor Swift, and he's like, what? Yeah, because normally a reporter shalt questions. He's like, Mr. President, the United Nations Global Warming, Mr. President, your policy and husband, and Mr. President, what do you think about Taylor Swift? He's like, what's that? What's that? Taylor Swift, let me tell you something. I know all about this issue from my briefings that I read in United States Weekly. And look, I know right now there are conservatives out there who are pro Taylor Swift and are feeling conflicted at this moment because she has endorsed the Democrats.

And to them I say, if you're a real Taylor Swift fan, you know what you've got to do. Shake it off. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, it's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting, you'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me, the election, economics, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches.

And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance, it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is the chief national correspondent

for the New York Times magazine and best-selling author of The New Book, Big Game, the NFL in Dangerous Times. Please welcome Mark Liebervich. Welcome back to the show. Great to be back. So great to have you back after such a long time. The last time you were here it was when Hillary Clinton had just won the nomination. It was the night that she, yeah, we were in Philadelphia and I think we were like, I think we probably said she didn't, she was going to win, right? Right, everyone was like she's going to be president of the United States.

Yeah, brilliant political commentary. That's why I turned to football. It is quite a departure for you. It is, your work is synonymous with, the to'n'nighs, thr-to the work, the work, thr many ways, the NFL is a swamp of its own. In many ways it is, and I actually wanted to take this on because I needed a break from politics because football affords you such a great and easy break from politics, right?

I mean, that was sort of the dirty little secret here. I mean, it's all a swamp, but, you know, the NFL has gone from being one of the most mostifying institutions in this country to probably the most divisive sports brand we have, one of the reasons is politics. Right, and you look at how Trump has been an influential person in shaping how politics is discussed in the NFL. In the book, what I really enjoyed is you delve into subjects and people that we don't necessarily always engage with in a way that you, you know, we're not used to.

You speak to the owners, they gave you access that many people don't have access to you. I mean, you got drunk with one of the owners of the team on a bus and like he just told you things, which is great. He did. I mean, I was it was Jerry Jones, you know Dallas Cowboys. It was not one of my finest moments, but it actually makes for a pretty good chapter. I would have loved it if it was a drunk tap or who was like, whoa, no, really, say, that's what it sounded like when I first like put on the sound.

What would you say is the most surprising thing I mean that in the most respectful way, but I mean these are billionaires almost every single one of them. A lot of them just sort of lucked into their team, inherited the team, just sort of wound up with football teams. These are people who own probably the most, some of the most powerful entertainment companies in their various markets. And I just found them to be kind of a motley crew with a few exceptions. It's it's interesting that you say that because you know you see the NFL as this giant organization that is worth billions and billions of dollars. All of the owners are billionaires. Right. You have this club that in the book I think one of the owners likened to a, it was like a high school fri. What did you say it was like a high school fri, what th. th. the th. th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. thian, thian, thian, thian, thian, thian, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the of the New York Giants, called the Junior High School for Billionaires.

Which I think is probably a little bit unfair to junior high school students. But yeah, no, I mean, it is really, these are smaller than life characters and yet they have outsized. I mean that in a very respectful way. Yet they have outsized influence on how we spend our Sundays and how we spend our tax dollars and so forth. I didn't know some of the numbers that you talk about in this book. Is the NFL as predominantly white in its viewership as you say it is? It is by reader surveys and by viewer surveys. Yes, absolutely.

And every single owner is white except for one. It's like 80%? It's pretty high. I think it varies from between, you know, between 65 and maybe 80, depending on what survey you look at it. But about maybe 75 percent of the players, the workforcers, African-American. Much of the fan base is predominantly Republican. It's traditionally been the most conservative sport, and it does create a dynamic of great imbalance, one between the owners who own it, the players who play it and who are damaging themselves, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, and, and, and, and, the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thewers, the thewers, theeru. th who are damaging themselves, you know, all likelihood in the long term, and not having guaranteed contracts and the viewership that is predominantly conservative. When you look at the players who are, as you say, damaging themselves, there's been so many

conflicting messages around this. You know, the NFL on one hand is saying, hey, we're doing our best to make the sport as safe as possible. Are the NFL owners, and you have some of this in the book, I won't give it all away, but they talk about how, hey, this is part and parcel, this is what the sports is about, people are going to get hurt. Right. Where do you think the throwns, the throwne is is, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, throwne, their, their, their, their, throwne, throwne, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tho, throwne, throwne, throwne, is, is, is, is escape in some ways from the rules of society. And yet, I'm not one of these doomsayers that thinks that football is going to die in 20 years. But the planet's going to end anyway.

Right, right, right. It'll be gone by that. But no, but I mean, there is, look, football, I mean, Donald Trump before he even started going after the protest, the football, th......... And, I, th, th, th. And, th, th. And, to, to, to, to, to, to, th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, I, I's, I's, I's, I'm, I's, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I's, I.. And, I. And, I. And, I. And, I. And, I. th. the, I. th. th. the, I's, I's, I's, I'm, I'm not. the, I'm not. the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th th th th th th th th the thin. th the th the the thinks, I'm not. going after the protest, was talking about football as sort of a template for why America has gone soft. He said football has gone soft and America has gone soft. And this was before, this is during his campaign, it was at a rally I think in Nevada. When he was saying you can't tackle, yes, and he was like, everything is a penalty, it's a penalty, you can't, yeah. political political political political political political political political political penalty, you can't, yeah. Political correctness had overtaken football, and penalty flags are like, you know, the

PC police and so forth. So in some ways, I think a lot of the same tensions that have existed in football for many years have been mimicked in many ways by Donald Trump, and in a sense it's inevitable that these reality shows would collide. Let me ask you think Donald Trump would be president of the United States if they had allowed him into the owner's club? Well he could be owning the Buffalo Bills right now. So if he would have to trade, he would have to, I guess, be the owner of the United States if you wanted an even-up trade. But hey, it could be like one of these great thought exercises where in 2014 we could say,

you know, look, Buffalo Bills or White House, you've got to choose. I think I know what he's going with. I don't know what he do. I mean, he's wanted into this club for many, many decades. It's an exciting book, man, fascinating story. Thanks for being on the show. Thanks for having me throw. Great. Big game is available now if you love football, you want to read this. Mark Lievich everybody. Thank you very much. The Daily Show with CoverNoa, Ears Edition.

Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11.10 on Comedy Central and the comedy central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me.

The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.