The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump's Nebraska Electoral Vote Play & The 2024 Solar Eclipse | Sebastian Junger & Ken Harbaugh

Episode Date: April 5, 2024

Desi Lydic unpacks Trump's attempt to change Nebraska's electoral vote system, why the New York Marathon is pissed at the MTA, and the upcoming solar eclipse. And Ronny Chieng and Jordan Klepper have a good old fashioned moon versus sun debate. And welcome to Trump elementary, the most prestigious educational institution of all-time, taught by the smartest man alive. From science and geography to math and Spanish, Donald Trump teaches your child everything they need to know. Plus, Sebastian Junger and Ken Harbaugh, executive producers and writers of the award-winning documentary film, “Against All Enemies,” sit down with Desi Lydic to discuss the wave of veterans joining extremist groups. Particularly popular for offering a sense of purpose and mission, they examine the danger of trained veterans participating in January 6th, domestic terrorist groups under the cover of political parties, and Trump’s blatant disrespect for veterans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Survivor 47 is here, which means we're bringing you a brand new season of the only official survivor podcast on fire. And this season we are joined by fan favorite and Survivor 46 runner-up, Charlie, Charlie, I'm excited to do this together. Thanks, Jeff. So excited to be here, and I can't wait to bring you inside the mind of a survivor player for season 47. Listen to On Fire the official Survivor podcast starting September 18th wherever you get your 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 Leidick. Welcome to today's show.

I'm Jesse Leidig. We've got so much to talk about tonight. The presidential race might come down to Nebraska. Donald Trump teaches elementary school and here's an exciting one. The moon is going to eat the sun. So let's get into the headlines. Before we get into the major news, let's start with some news right here in New York City. The New York City Marathon, the best excuse for soiling yourself in public.

Now unfortunately the cost of running the marathon are overwhelming from registration fees to travel to chronic bloody nips. And now the price might go up even higher. It's about a brewing over the New York City marathon now because the MTA wants the New York City roadrunners to cover the cost of lost tolls on that day. So it's $150,000 worth because they have to shut down the Verrazano Bridge. In a statement, the MTA says taxpayers cannot be expected to subsidize a wealthy, non-government organization like the roadrunners. So that could mean steeper fees for those runners to enter the marathon.

If that's what it's going to take to run the marathon,, well, that's kind of frustrating. It's already super high. Yeah. Because New York's one of the most popular on a marathon's run. Come on, you couldn't even wait for her to cool down. Dude, you know that run is the 20 minutes of peace that woman had all day. Now, the marathon does generate a lot of money for New York City. So you might to just to to to to to to just to to to to to just to to to to to just to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the thoomk. 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 maauxxxxxxxxxxxon.. thoxxxon. thoen. thoomoomauxxxxxanananananananananananananananananananananananananan.auxxan.auaunnaunnaunneraunneraun you might be asking, is it fair to charge runners even more money?

Feeh's that is. Yeah, if you're going to take over the city and shove it in our face how fit you are, that you have goals that you achieve, then yeah, you should have to pay for it. In fact, they should pay every time they tell us they ran the marathon. Yeah. Yeah, we know it was three days ago. You can take off the silver blanket. And for anyone who thinks this will make the marathon too expensive, might I interest you in a much cheaper alternative.

It's called Love Island and Three Pints of Hgindolls. I win every time. But let's move on to the presidential race. It's the reason your therapist drives a Porsche. Mine does. As you know, the president is decided by the Electoral College, the incredibly over-complicated system that our founders came up with as a prank on future generations. Most states award all their electoral votes to whoever wins the state, but Nebraska splits theirs up by district. And in 2020, that meant Joe Biden received an electoral vote from Liberal Omaha, because as it turns out, every state has a Brooklyn. But now, Donald Trump has realized that he wants that vote, and that could make all the

difference. Could the election all come down to Nebraska? Donald Trump thinks so. He and his allies convincing Nebraska's Republican governor to support a major change in the way the state has been doling out its electoral college votes for the past 32 years. Governor Jim Pillen says it's time for Nebraska to speak with one unified voice by making the popular vote be the one that counts for all five delegates. Former President Trump applads that effort, but Democrats pushed back. Pathetic worm Donald Trump thinks that he knows what's best for Nebraska and what

Nebraska's want. But this man obviously wants this electoral vote because he's so scared he can't win the presidency without it. Excuse me ma'am, but whatever happened to decorum, that's former president pathetic worm. Yeah, but the implications here are huge. Biden's easiest path to the White House is to win Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, plus that one Nebraska vote. If he gets that, he can lose every other swing state and still win the election. But if Nebraska makes this change, the election could end up in a tie.

And you might be wondering, what happens in that case? Well, it's simple, really. Have you ever seen the Purge movies? Just like that. Nebraska should really truly keep this system though because it's certainly a more fair way to divide up electoral votes than win or take all. In fact, what if every state split up their votes like Nebraska by district or maybe even by person, you know, then whoever wins the most persons would be president. That would be pretty popular. Oh we could call it the popular vote. I don't know, I'm just spit-falling. But let's move on to some exciting science news. Next Monday, a solar eclipse will totally block out the sun over

parts of America. And we're all looking forward to having one brief moment when you can look up into the sky and see something besides the door of a Boeing airplane plummeting towar the ground. But it's not just a moment for humans. An eclipse offers a once in a lifetime opportunity for Rudy Giuliani to come out and feed during the day. Yeah, it's good for him. It's good for him. Now in the old days, a total eclipse would be a time when people would gather together as a community and burn the witches responsible for it. But these days, we commemorate it in the modern, enlightened way by trying to make that money. This eclipse is causing a travel boom for small towns in its path.

Hotels are up about 550% in cities like Jackson, Missouri, where it'll cost on average more than $600 a night. In Erie, Pennsylvania, it's almost 800. Companies are rushing to cash in. Some of the strangest sun-inspired foods, including chips you can only get during the eclipse. Crispy Cream is even teaming up with Oreos for a donut featuring cookie pieces. To catch the eclipse from the sky, Delta offering a flight from Austin to Detroit to give onlookers an out-of-this-world view. Wow, talk about a flight where you do not want to be in the middle seat.

Imagine you end up sitting next to that guy who insists on keeping his window shade down. Although how cool to celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime event of a Delta flight the heavens in their own way. The ancient Incas built Machu Picchu, America put an Oreo on a donut. We're really milking this event for everything it's worth. But look, we can't deny that the eclipse truly is a rare, magical moment. For those lucky enough to be in its path, you'll never forget that you saw that. And nothing, nothing can take that away from you. Weather and clouds might get in the way of perfect eclipse viewing in many parts of

the country. Mother Fnter. For more on how towns across America are celebrating the eclipse, we have our news team live in the Path of Totality, Ronnie Chang in Curville, Texas. Guys, what's the mood like where you are? Guys, what's the mood like where you are? Oh, it's amazing, Desi. I thought this small town will be full of dumb rubes, but it's actually's the mood like where you are? Oh, it's amazing, Desi. I thought this small town will be full of dumb rubes, but it's actually full of the friendliest

and most welcoming roobs I've ever met. So nice to see America stop fighting for one day and watch the sun put on a show. Same here, Desi, knowing how small we are in the vastness of space has brought everyone together in love and friendship to wear repurposed Avatar 3D glasses. So I agree with everything Ronnie said, except for the part about the sun. Everyone knows the moon is the real star here. Oh, I'm sorry, Jordan. Well, the moon is supporting, but the sun is the real star. I mean, it's literally a star. I'm sorry they didn't teach you that in American kindergarten.

Obviously I meant star metaphorically. They must not teach metaphors wherever you went to community college. The sun is not why people are putting aside their differences in coming together, diphthit. They're watching the moon cross over the sun. Unlike you, most people don't stare at the sun differences in coming together, Dipshit. They're watching the moon cross over the sun. Unlike you, most people don't stare at the sun all day. But, okay guys, guys, let's not fall apart over this. The sun and the moon are equally important here. Oh, sure, yeah, equally important. Because if the sun disappears, I mean, all that happens is we all freeze to death. And God forbid the moon goes away, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun. Un. the sun. the sun. the sun. the sun. the sun. Un. the sun. the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, th. Un, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. tho, thoooooooooooom. thoooooooooooooom. thoooooooooooooooooom. the the thoo. Un, the th, I mean, all that happens is we all freeze to death, and God forbid the

moon goes away, then we'll be what? Harder to surf, and Jordan won't get his period anymore. Okay. You put some respect on the moon, all right? It's our cultural touchstone. Good night moon, moon, moonlight sonata. When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a moray. Tell me this. Tell me this. Have you ever gotten a moonburn?

No. Worst thing that happens under the moonlight is that you fall in love. Or turn into a werewolf. Either way, it's f-awsoome. Oh, sorry, did you say moonlight? You mean the light that reflects from the sun? Yo, the moon is nothing! It's a rock! Good thing it has a weak gravitational pull so people can leave it easier. Oh, oh, I thought you'd like the weak gravity because it's the one place in the universe

where you could actually dunk a basketball, smart ass. Okay, guys, guys, guys, I thought this eclipse would bring us together. Shut up, Deszny. You probably, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi-a, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. thi. thi. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi. thi, thi. thi, thi. thi. thi, thi. thi, thi. thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi-a'' thi-a' thi-a. thi-a. th eclipse would bring us together. Shut up, Desi. Yeah, shut up, Desi. You probably like Mars or some stupid shit. Yeah, fuck Mars, all right? Look, the moon doesn't have shit on the sun, okay? You wouldn't even know the moon exists if it wasn't for the sun. So don't act like the sun isn't the most important part of the eclipse. All right. Wait, what are you doing? What are you doing? I'm a clencing you. I'm a classing in front

with the more powers the body can do. Get out of my palms! All hail the sun! I'll hail the sun! Son! A son! A son! The son!

Ronnie Chang and Jordan Clapper, everyone. When we come back, we'll get the together, we'll get the together, the Supreme Court to the Supreme Court sure does suck. We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a super majority of conservative maniacs on the Supreme Court right now, really doing some damage.

I'm Michael. I'm Riannan. And I'm Peter. Our podcast 5-4 is about all of this. Every week we dissect and analyze a different ruling that has made our country a little worse, a little more cruel. And you would not believe how many of them there are. Check out 5 to 4. That's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. th. the th. th. the th. th. the th. the th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the the th. the the the the th. the the th th the the th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th. thu thu thu the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thru five to four. That's the number five, dash the number four, wherever you listen to the Daily Show. The election is well underway and Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail this week talking about the issue that's most important to Americans. I got indicted more than Alphonse Capone. Al Capone. Scarface. You know how bad he was?

You know, I know somebody guys in the front row. They're tough guys. If you ever looked at Alphons Copone, you'd, the, the, the, the, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, the, th, th, th, th, th, the, th, th, th, th, th, th, the front row. They're tough guys. If you ever looked at Alphonse Capone, you wouldn't be tough at all. You'd be dead by the morning, most likely. I got indicted more than Alphonse. Alphonse was a tough man. They did a movie called Scarface.

Check it out. Say what you will about Trump, but when he gives you a history lesson, you remember it. I learned that Al Capone's name was Alphonse. I learned that if you look at him, you'd be dead by morning. Trump is like the world's worst teacher, talking to the world's dumbest third graders. Anyway, it got us thinking, if this politics thing doesn't work out, maybe Trump has a future in education.

It's the most prestigious educational institution of all time. Trump University. And now the children of those Trump-U-Grads have a school all their own. Trump elementary. The only school where every class is taught by the smartest man alive. It's a typical day at Trump Elementary. And it looks like US history class is a the education education the the the the th. th. the future th. th. th is is is theught by the smartest man alive. It's a typical day at Trump Elementary, and it looks like US history class is about to begin. I don't know what it is.

The Civil War was so fascinating, so horrible. If you got hit by a bullet in the leg, you were essentially going to die or lose the leg. That's where you had so many people, no legs, no arms. Next class, science. Think of it it, the the the know about magnets is this. Give me a glass of water. Let me drop it on the magnet. That's the end of the magnet.

Now let's switch to math. Multiply, 4,733. Multiply times, divide, without paper and pencil, by the way. Divided by four, and up another 37 and a half. I want your number. How many people in this is, thi, thi, geography. Puerto Rico is an island sitting in the middle of an ocean. And it's a big ocean. Okay. Time to work on your vocab. The N word. You know what the end word is? It's no, no, no. It's the nuclear word. How about Esplanor? Wettor Rico? We love Puerto Rico. We love Puerto Rico. And we also love Puerto Rico.

Time for PE class. U.S. U.S. And it wouldn't be a well-rounded education from Trump Elementary without a lesson in the birds and the bees. Oh! Bad news, bad things are happening. Uh-huh, Mom. I'm sorry.

And we come back to that's the number of Ken Harvall will be joining me on the show, so don't go away. Have you ever been watching the news and thought to yourself, wow, the Supreme Court sure does suck. We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a supermajority of conservative maniacs on the Supreme Court right now, really doing some damage. I'm Michael.

I'm Riannan. And I'm Peter. Our podcast, 5-4 is about all of this. Every week we dissect and analyze a different ruling that has made our country a little worse, a little more cruel. And you would not believe how many of them there are. Check out 5-4. That's the number 5-4, wherever you listen to the Daily Show. My guest tonight are executive producers and writers of the award-winning documentary film Against All Enemies, which exposes the role of military veterans and extremist groups. Please welcome Sebastian Younger and Ken Harba. Well, hello. Thank you so much for being on the show.

Thank you so much for being on the show. Pleasure. This movie scared the shit out of me. this movie scared the shit out of me. Was that, was that the goal? Yeah, it's a, it's a tough time shit out of me. Was that the goal? Yeah, it's a tough time in America right now. And I think we all have to pay attention to whether we stay in democracy or not. And that's what the point of this film was,

is to get us to think about that. Yeah, it really, really does. Ken, you're a military veteran, a former Navy pilot, you can absolutely say that the vast majority of veterans have not joined these extremist groups, but for those that have, what's so compelling to them to join the oath keepers, the proud boys, three percenters? Well, I'm glad you recognize that the vast majority of my buddies, my

brothers and sisters in arms, don't go join the proud boys or the oath keepers. But the ones that do, in many cases, do it out of a sense of needing to recapture that camaraderie and that sense of belonging that they felt in uniform. When you take the uniform off, that goes away almost overnight. And one of the things these groups do groups thewewew that by giving these veterans that sense of purpose and that sense of mission. The problem is that mission is undermining democracy. Sebastian, you explored, you co-directed an award-winning documentary Restrerepo, that explores the war in Afghanistan, and you've extensively talked about combat veterans reintegrating into civilian life in

your book, Tribe. What is it specifically about the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq that play a role in everything that we're seeing right now? Yeah, I mean, it's complicated. The guys I was with in Afghanistan off and on for a year, you know, they sort of trended conservative, but I can't imagine any one of those guys doing anything like what happened on January 6th. The real combat veterans usually don't have anything to prove. And I think one of the ways that the January 6th crowd is dangerous.

They're dangerous in two different ways. One is that there are some real deal, special forces guys who know what they're doing, who could organize a very serious violent situation in this country. And we have to be very, very careful of those guys. Most of, I would say, most of the guys on January 6 with the beards and the, you know, camo, the tactical pants, etc., etc. might have been in the military. But probably never th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their theou-s theou-s, special their their theou-s, special th. th. th. special their th. special 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 their the. the. the. theateateateateateate. theateateateat. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thea. thea. the. th camo, the tactical pants, etc., etc. Might have been in the military, but probably never saw combat. And I think that makes them extremely dangerous, because they have this sort of fantasy of themselves as a hero, along with probably some psych disorders, and that creates a very, very dangerous mix.

Yeah, well, you bring that up. Would you say that is fair to say that in this country we could have stronger support systems for those veterans who are coming back and reintegrating into society? Yes, I don't think that's the problem here with these guys. I think they're sort of willing dupes of a dishonest ex-president. And they were sort of, they wanted to believe something, and they wanted to act in a s s s s s s s s s s s s s ss, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thoomoomoomoomoomoom. to, thoom-s, to, thoom-s, thoomom-s, thoom-s, tooom-s, to to to to to to to to to to to, to to, to, to, to, to to, to to to to, to, to, to, to to to to, to, to to to thoomereeoomereeouou, to be, to be, to be to be, tooomeou.ea, tooombsea, tooomeauuoom-someaeruoom-someaeroom-someaeroom-someaeroom-someaeroom-somea, tooero they wanted to award a fight and they wanted to be act in a supposedly heroic way at a crucial moment in history and like save the nation except that it's all nonsense right and and but that aside just generally for vets absolutely we live in an amazing but alienating modern

society and vets come back and it's very hard to fit in and frankly it's very hard for all of us to fit in I mean the depression and suicide rate in this country is through the roof like why would that be? Right, right. So extremist groups have been in the US for a long time but what makes this particular moment so is so impactful and so dangerous? We have dealt since our founding as a country with extremist groups but you have to go back a long ways to find a period in American history where a domestic terrorist movement

has the cover of a political party. That is a new situation when you have a former president, name-checking an organization, the proud boys deemed by Canada as a terrorist entity, name-checking them from behind a presidential podium. That is incredibly invigorating for these organizations. And you probably have to go back to the rise of the KKK in the south to find an analog to a terrorist movement

that had major political cover and used it to wreak havoc. You bring up the former president. He has certainly said some controversial things about veterans, somewhat disrespectful. Some might say he's asked wounded vets to not appear at his events. He's called American Service Members who have passed suckers and losers. Why is it that you find that your military brothers and sisters are coming to his side? We all know he has no respect for the military. He disdains the very idea of service. He didn't just call those who serve suckers. He calls those who died

fighting for the country suckers. He called those who put on the uniform to serve their country losers. I think it's thinks th th th th th th th th th th thinks. I's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks it's thinks thinks thinks thinks thi thinks their their their thiants thiants their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their the th. the the th. thi thi thi thi thi their thi their their their their thi their thi thi thi thi the. theeeats. theats. theats. theats. theateateatea. theateateatea. theat died fighting for the country, suckers. He called those who put on the uniform to serve their country losers. I think it's incumbent upon us to make sure that every single veteran knows between now and the election, just how disdainful of the very idea of service the election results upcoming. How do you, how do you see this playing out? It could go a number of ways. I mean I certainly hope that the

the person who tried to end democracy doesn't win a second term. Even if he loses though I think we all know that he's not going to concede he tried to overthrow the results of a free and fair election once. I assume he'll do it again. I know Sebastian has thoughts on this but I think we need to be prepared for the worst. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, I can't think a good reason why there wouldn't be violence if Trump loses. He hasn't, I mean, he's all in now, right? Like if he doesn't get re-elected, he's wide open to criminal prosecution. Now, he's the only thing protecting him, and it shouldn't even protect him, but it seems to be for the moment. So he's got nothing to lose. A lot of these far-right extremists don't trust the government, they don't trust the media, they are untrusting of our intelligence agencies.

Is there, do you see any kind of hopeful time in our future where we're all dealing with the same facts? I think th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th, I th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th............... It, th. It's, th. It's, th. It's, th. It's, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, theateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateatease. It's, theatease. It's, the. It where we're all dealing with the same facts? I think... A glimmer of hope, please. I think it starts with conversations like this. It starts with films like Against All Enemies. But at the end of the day, it's going to come down to one-on-one conversations. It's going to come down to a family member who cares about a veteran who is at that crossroads, between doing something

noble like joining team Rubicon and helping disaster relief victims across the country, or joining the proud boys and oathkeepers and undermining democracy. That decision often comes down to a conversation with someone who cares about that veteran. Well, thank you so much for being on. Thank you for making this incredible film and starting this conversation. Against All Enemies is in Select Theaters and available on VOD, Ken Harba and Sebastian Younger. We're going to pick a quick tribe,

so we'll be right back after thi. Have you ever been watching the news and thought to yourself, wow, the Supreme Court sure does suck. We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a supermajority of conservative maniacs on the Supreme Court right now, really doing some damage. I'm Michael. I'm Riannan.

And I'm Peter. Our podcast, 5 to 4 is about all of this. Every week we dissect and analyze a different ruling that has a thape worse, a little more cruel. And you would not believe how many of them there are. Check out five to four. That's the number five dash the number four wherever you listen to podcast. That's our joke for tonight now here it is your moment it's best. For those of us who are lucky enough to be in the path of the eclipse, let's talk about what you should and should not do. And we do have a visual reference as to what you should not do.

I know you have something, but there you should not do this, apparently. You should not look up at the eclipse. Don't do that. 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 Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Have you ever been watching the news and thought to yourself, wow, the Supreme Court sure

does suck. We made a podcast about that. We sure did. There is a super majority of conservative maniacs on the Supreme Court right now, really doing some damage. I'm Michael. And I'm Peter. Our podcast, five to four is about all of this. Every week, we dissect and analyze a different ruling that has made our country a little

worse, a little more cruel. And you would not believe how many of them there are. Check out 5-4. That's the number 5-4, wherever you listen to podcasts.