Sunday, August 20 – The picture of Trump
shortly after his inauguration with advisors, of which only Pence is still
standing, was an apt summation of the White House. John celebrated Steve Bannon’s departure but
pointed out that it hasn’t exactly cleared the administration of white
nationalist ideology – cue Trump’s Tuesday remarks on Charlottesville. More than the remarks themselves, John
focused on GOP responses to it, how many avoided specifically calling out Trump
and how many stayed silent altogether.
The main story was on nuclear waste storage. John naturally discussed the health hazards
of living near improperly-stored waste, as well as the potentially-catastrophic
results of accidents, but what he really looked at was how ill-equipped we are
to handle it despite decades of knowing just how dangerous it is – sobering
story (though John brought some levity to it with his fear of American Girl
dolls.)
Monday, August 21 – The show opened with
a fun montage of a Fox News anchor freaking out with excitement over the
eclipse. Then Trevor talked about his
“relaxing” vacation amid protests in South Africa before coming home just in
time for Charlottesville. Obviously,
they’re coming at all this a week late, but I still thought Trevor had some
good stuff to say. He looked at an
alt-right supporter quibbling over the definition of “racist” and pointed out a
disheartening poll that showed two-thirds of Republicans approving Trump’s
statement. Next up was a closer look at
white supremacists and what they believe, with Roy criticizing them for blowing
it when they have a “hook-up” with the president. The guest, author Joshua Green, talked about
his book on Steve Bannon’s role in the administration. He had some good points about why someone
like Trump could be drawn in by someone like Bannon.
Tuesday, August 22 – Odd opening with
Indian and Chinese soldiers fighting by throwing rocks at each on a disputed
border. The big story tonight was
Trump’s plan for Afghanistan. Trevor hit
the highlights of the speech – Trump in “book report” mode, lack of specifics,
and use of his “losers” catchphrase (Trevor’s riff imagining Obama using
“bazinga” was awesome) – and Desi and Ronny donned uniforms to offer their
Afghanistan advice, knowing Trump only listens to generals. Decent story on the Secret Service running
low on funds, although I would’ve preferred a little more on how much money
they’re putting into Trump businesses when the family travels. Senator Amy Klobuchar was the guest. I liked her comments about working across the
aisle, and she had great things to say about protecting voter rights and
lowering the costs of prescription drugs.
Wednesday, August 23 – The big Trump news
of the day was his rally in Phoenix, where he railed against his various enemies
and, as Trevor put it, touted himself as “the real victim” of
Charlottesville. That latter point was
the crux of the piece, with Trump misquoting himself, acting like context doesn’t
matter, and pretending he never equated protestors with Neo-Nazis. Roy also came out to analyze, not the speech
itself, but the supporters standing behind Trump while he gave it. Most particularly, he looked at the self-proclaimed
“Michael the Black man,” a Trump supporter and former cult member with a
race-baiting conspiracy website. I
really liked the interview with Bryan Stevenson and Andra Day of the Lynching
in America project. The comparison between
how America and other countries have dealt with their past atrocities was
excellent, and as a promotion for the project, Day also performed a cover of “Strange Fruit.”
Thursday, August 24 – Opening blurb on
Hillary Clinton’s forthcoming memoir, with Trevor looking forward to the book
but questioning her audiobook game. It
led into a piece on “different Trumps,” similar to what they’ve done before on
Trump’s wildly-divergent personas depending on the occasion. Here, Trevor contrasted the three Trumps we
saw in speeches on three consecutive days, highlighting the importance that it
wasn’t just the performance that
changed, but the entire message. Jordan came on to do a little promotion for
his new show, which seems a lot like The
Colbert Report, only satirizing more of the Alex Jones/Breitbart-type
fringe media. Nnamdi Asomugha of the
film Crown Heights was the guest,
along with Colin Warner, about whom the story is based. It looks like an intense film, and after Atlanta and Get Out, I’m ready to see Lakeith Stanfield in just about anything.
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