News Satire Roundup: October 16th-October 20th

Sunday, October 16 – It has to be painful for these shows to keep ringing comedy out of this depressing election, but bless them for trying.  I appreciate John’s weekly update on how far we are below rock bottom.  This week, we were in a coffin and buried alive as Trump went all scorched earth on his own party, the media, and the women who say he sexually assaulted them.  In response to those who say neither Clinton nor Trump is worth voting for, the main story was on third-party candidates Gary Johnson and Jill Stein.  John did a nice job showing the problems with casting a “conscious vote” against both major candidates by picking either Johnson or Stein misses their ill-thought-out policies and problematic behavior, like Stein’s tendency to make nice with conspiracy theorists by noncommittally fanning the flames.  We also got a couple montages of my favorite recurring bit, The Most Patient Man on Earth listening to C-SPAN callers.

Monday, October 17 – A couple of quick blurbs to start – redubbed Jurassic Park footage reflecting the new scientific understanding that dinosaurs likely quacked instead of roared, and likening the way the U.S. treats conflict with Middle Eastern countries (Yemen, in this case) like casual dating.  Next up was Trump’s continuing insistence that the election is rigged.  Trevor very satisfying tore apart Trump’s coy “you know what I’m talking about” re:  the idea that “certain parts” of Philadelphia will have to be watched to make sure Black voters aren’t cheating.  He also looked at the similarities between Trump’s campaign and the strategies of many polarizing-but-popular reality-show contestants.  I had no idea that Russell Simmons was working on a collaborative unity project between Jewish and Muslim communities, so his interview was a nice surprise, talking about doing his part as an ally to combat Islamaphobia.

Tuesday, October 18 – After a quick montage of Black children recoiling as Trump tried to embrace them, it was onto to Melania’s defense of her husband re: the Access Hollywood tape.  Her extreme adherence to her talking points didn’t bother me, but I thought it was ridiculous that she questioned whether or not Trump knew the mic was on (so not the point.)  Trevor covered the irony of her wanting to fight cyber-bullying if she becomes First Lady, and Desi was spliced in with an escape plan for Melania.  Interesting story on WikiLeaks’s recent Clinton acquisitions.  I laughed at the “emailing recipes = dick pics for old folks” bit, and I appreciated the point about how the big secret email reveals pale in comparison to things Trump says/does in public.  Loved Uzo Aduba as the guest.  She was promoting her new film American Pastoral, but Trevor had to get some Orange is the New Black questions in as well, and she was happy to oblige.

Wednesday, October 19 – Live post-debate episode.  This might be my favorite live show of the election cycle; the commentary felt pretty sharp, more put together than initial reactions.  I loved Trevor’s remarks on a) Trump trying to pander to Latinos as he’s talking deportation, b) Clinton, despite her valid point about the Russian hacks, using Putin to evade questions about the WikiLeaks emails, and of course c) Trump refusing to state that he’ll accept the election results – shudder.  Roy had a piece on disillusionment among young Black voters.  Although it’s obviously true, I hadn’t really thought about how people under 30 have never had only white presidential candidates to choose from.  The interview with journalist Matt Taibbi was so-so.  I liked what he said about Trump’s reality TV campaign, but I can’t really buy that this is what U.S. elections will be like from here on out.

Thursday, October 20 – Jordan filled in for Trevor, who was out sick.  Personally, I’d have liked to see Hasan or Ronny take a crack at it, but Jordan was fine.  There were plenty of jokes about it – comparing Trump’s issues with the peaceful transition of power to Jordan “taking out” his fellow correspondents to get the job, admitting that Africa jokes work better when Trevor says them re: discussing Kenya’s post-election unrest – and overall, the commentary on the debate felt written for Jordan instead of just him reading Trevor’s lines.  Roy had a good field piece on the racist crap that Black journalists have to put up with on camera, swallowing their disgust so as not to be painted as “angry Black men/women.”  Some of the comments were just horrendous.  I’d been looking forward to the interview with Mike Colter, but I think it would’ve been way better with Trevor.  Jordan’s interview was pretty surfacy and felt ill-informed.