News Satire Roundup: March 5th-March 9th

Sunday, March 5 – The weekly Trump update covered his congressional address (featuring Paul Ryan’s barely-disguised smirk,) Jeff Sessions and the Russian ambassador (or, as John calls it, “Stupid Watergate,”) and Trump’s unfounded claims that Obama ordered an illegal wiretap on Trump Tower (that surrogate, yeesh) – just another week in America (sigh…)  I found the main story, on Tibet and the Dalai Lama, really interesting.  Like the folks in the man-on-the-street interviews, I couldn’t claim to know much about the Dalai Lama, and John’s thorough, well-presented coverage was super informative.  It’s so twisted that China kidnapped the Panchen Lama and has appointed their own – that’s just horrible.  I loved the footage from John’s interview with the Dalai Lama.  It was fascinating to see how much care and thought he put into his responses, even as he was being warm and funny.

Monday, March 6 – I thought Trevor handled George W. Bush’s current surge in public opinion well; the moment when Jimmy Kimmel set him up for an easy joke and Dubya brought up Iraq said it all.  It’s only been a few days, and I continue to shake my head at Trump’s wiretapping accusations.  I mean, I know we’re here, because why else would we be, but seriously, how are we here?  The montage of “recorded phone calls” was good, especially Trump calling the New York Times tip line to tell them they’re fake news.  Another appearance from Neil Brennan, wondering why any conservatives are actually supporting Trump.  It was a nice piece, with great examples and fun interplay with Trevor.  The guest was Jennifer Lopez, there to talk about Shades of Blue, and Trevor was obviously thrilled to have her.  He reminisced about watching one of her videos on a VCR and tested her to see if she was still “Jenny from the block.”

Tuesday, March 7 – Trevor only talked briefly about the new ban, but I loved his point that it’s essentially the same as Trump’s congressional address:  the same hate in a cleaned-up, more “acceptable” package.  More time was devoted to Ben Carson’s remarks comparing slaves to immigrants.  Trevor rightfully tore these comments apart, especially after Carson’s rebuttal that anyone upset by his words should look up the word “immigrant.”  The whole piece was really sharp, well capped by the as-envisioned-by-Ben-Carson trailer for an “uplifting” movie about a slave “coming” to the States for “the American dream.”  Lewis did a Back in Black on Uber, with pride of place going to their track record on sexual harassment.  I really liked his withering response to the higher-ups who didn’t want to make a harassing supervisor “uncomfortable” by reprimanding him.  Not much to say about the guest, Judd Apatow – just kind of there for me.

Wednesday, March 8 – Trevor quickly touched on the new CIA documents on WikiLeaks (a.k.a. “Is your smart device spying on you?  No, it’s not”) before moving on to the GOP’s healthcare replacement bill.  I loved Trevor side-eying the bill’s slapdash feel in light of Paul Ryan’s 7-year obsession with it, and his comment about not wanting your healthcare bill to be characterized as “not beneficial to sick people” was great.  Also, the Sean Spicer jokes wrote themselves.  Michelle and Trevor talked about Ivanka Trump’s brand of feminism, “brand” being the operative word in Michelle’s opinion.  It was an interesting piece that examined views held and statements made by the woman who has often served to try and make Trump seem more palatable.  The guest was Tressie McMillan Cottom, who spoke both eloquently and passionately about how for-profit colleges take advantage of the unhappy and the desperate.

Thursday, March 9 – Great opening on a white guy showing off his juggling during a traffic stop; amusing, yes, but the disparity of experience was almost obscene.  More on the healthcare bill, showing absurd CSPAN clips of the House committee discussing it.  Trevor (with an assist from Jordan) did a honky-tonk style song juxtaposing the promises Trump made to America’s “forgotten men and women” with what he’s done so far, benefiting corporations instead of working people.  I was meh on Jordan’s field piece on hacktivists working to preserve climate science facts the administration has taken off federal websites.  I’d have preferred a story on the rogue pro-climate-science Twitter accounts that have cropped up for national parks, NASA.  I’d never heard of Hooray for the Riff Raff or their frontwoman, guest Alynda Segarra, but I enjoyed her interview, especially her experiences train-hopping as a teenager.