Sunday, October 9 – Understandably, we
opened with Trump’s lewd comments about how sexually assault women is totally
okay when you’re a celebrity. I
especially liked John taking Republicans to task for a) jumping ship now when they’ve gone along with all of
Trump’s other ugliness and b) bringing up their wives/sisters/daughters as
though Trump’s words are only a problem because they affect people these
politicians know personally. The main
story was on Guantánamo Bay, Obama’s difficulties in closing it, and the
question of what to do with detainees who aren’t plainly guilty or innocent. I thought it was a good one – one former
detainee comparing Gitmo to Azkaban really struck me, and I liked that John
included clips showing international opinion on the detention camp. At the end, there was just time for a quick
update on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadryov and his new reality show to find a
right-hand man.
Monday, October 10 – I loved Trevor’s
coverage of the disgusting Trump tape.
He tore the “locker-room talk” excuse to shreds, wonderfully emphasizing
the difference between “sex talk” and “sexual assault talk.” I also liked his remarks on how Trump’s use
of the word “pussy” has many people focusing on the term’s crudeness instead of
the acts he’s bragging about being nonconsensual. (On a side note, Trevor’s impression of
Carson doing tai chi was great.) Given
the events of the weekend, the show only had time to touch on the second
debate, promising more to come. Here,
Trevor focused on Trump’s claim that, were he “in charge of the laws of this
country,” Clinton would be in jail, resurrecting his “Trump = African Dictator”
analysis. The guest, Representative
Xavier Becerra, talked about the election, why he believes in Clinton, and how
depressing it is that the phrase “the pussy tape” is an official part of
American politics.
Tuesday, October 11 – Undecided voter
Ken Bone was the first topic of discussion re:
the debate, with Trevor delightfully gushing over Bone’s
adorableness. He then tried to shift
gears to a What the Actual Fact, but Desi threw up her hands at her talents
being wasted on fact-checking Trump.
Next up was a debate-catchall breakdown with Michelle. I loved her comparison between newscasters
trying to say “pussy” and fathers trying to teach their daughters how to use a
tampon, as well as her bit about how anyone who’s ever been on a wedding email
chain would be shocked to hear Clinton managed it in under 33,000. She and Trevor
also threw some very rightful shade at Trump for creepily hovering behind
Clinton when it was her turn to speak.
I’m not familiar with Charlamagne Tha God, the radio-show host who was
the guest, but I enjoyed his interview; obviously sharp and quite engaging.
Wednesday, October 12 –This one was just so-so,
I thought. A few good jokes about the
recent spate of creepy clown sightings, and I liked the segue to Trump. The number of GOP leaders jumping ship
continued, as did Trump’s lashing out at them for it on Twitter, and Trevor
pointed out the incongruous weirdness of a number of Evangelicals still backing
Trump – I appreciated Trevor’s observation that Trump was apparently not to be
trusted with children or the church, but the nation was fair game. Another “Outrage Court” segment, with Jordan
and Desi arguing over university “safe spaces” for minority students and
trigger warnings in classrooms. Surfacy
commentary, and not enough jokes. I did really like the guest, journalist
Bryan Christy, who discussed his new National
Geographic article on rhino poaching.
Even in a brief interview, he was able to get into different angles of
the poaching business that I’d never considered.
Thursday, October 13 – I appreciated Trevor’s
argument against the “he said, she said” defense on Trump’s sexual assault allegations, pointing out that a) it’s more, “he said, she said, she said, she said…” and b) given Trump’s claims on the 2005 tape, the “he
said” agrees with the “she
saids.” As Trump tried to deflect to
allegations against Bill Clinton, Desi discussed how Hillary was probably to blame in a nice bit of satire. Less nice
was Jordan asking Trump supporters about the tape; most used the “that’s just
what guys talk about” excuse, yet none would own to saying such things themselves
or specify men they knew who did. The first
of two guests was Republican strategist Ana Navarro (“the woman who said
‘pussy’ on CNN.”) It was good to see an
interview with a Republican who’s completely anti-Trump, focused on how her
party can repair itself after the election.
Second was the musician Jidenna, who gave a solid performance.
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