News Satire Roundup: November 27th-November 30th

Monday, November 27 – Bunch of short blurbs to start out:  we (of course) covered South Africa winning Miss Universe, Prince Harry getting engaged to Meghan Markle (with Trevor picturing the queen meeting the Black side of her family,) and Trump being as tasteless and tone-deaf as possible when he was supposed to be honoring WWII Navajo code talkers.  Next was more sexual harassment, with Trump doubling down on his support for Roy Moore and the state of affairs in Congress with Al Franken and John Conyers.  I liked Trevor’s observation about how few Republicans have called for Franken or Conyers to step down, likely because they realize their own houses aren’t in.  Trevor also looked at the GOP tax plan.  I loved his proposal for killing it, bombarding Trump with reminders that Obama is really rich and would get lots of tax cuts.  Author Esther Perel was the guest, discussing her new book examining infidelity.

Tuesday, November 28 – More on the code talker ceremony and Trump’s ongoing “Pocahontas” crack at Elizabeth Warren.  This time, though, Trevor went over Warren’s past claims/problematic behavior that led to that nickname.  I liked his point that even though Trump was being racist, a by-product of that racism was calling out Warren’s own uncoolness that she’s never apologized for.  I also liked the joke about it being fashionable among white people to be “just Native American enough.”  Good story on the Washington Post catching Project Veritas attempting to trick them into reporting on a false allegation against Roy Moore, with Trevor looking at how the project’s tactics have shown they’re not interested in “veritas” at all.  The guest, Greta Gerwig, talked Ladybird and the divide between the male Hollywood bigwigs who understood it (those with daughters/sisters) and the ones who didn’t (those without.)

Wednesday, November 29 – More sexual harassment – Matt Lauer this time, with Trevor covering his hidden door-lock button and his female colleagues having to report on the story immediately after learning of it themselves.  Short bit on North Korea’s latest missile launch test before moving onto Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, particularly the British press’s subtly racist jabs about her.  Gina reported on the headlines about her “very non-royal” family, coming from a “broken home” (so does Prince Harry, Gina pointed out,) and being “almost straight outta Compton.”  Gross.  Next was a story on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the latest Trump appointee to hate the department he’s tapped to run.  I liked the absurd campaign montage of Trump’s claims to be so tough on Wall Street.  The guest was rapper TalibKweli, discussing his new album and whether the Brooklyn sound can survive gentrification.

Thursday, November 30 – Good story on Trump’s continued claim that the tax bill will be “so bad” for him despite overwhelming proof that it isn’t.  It led into a larger story about Trump’s total indifference to the truth and the effects that have on real people, the most harrowing example being another country using his frequent “fake news” claims to cast doubt on a CNN story about slave auctions in Libya.  The idea carried into the next segment as well, with Hasan reporting on false, fearmongering, Islamaphobic videos Trump retweeted from a British hate group.  Sarah Huckabee Sanders blithely saying that it doesn’t matter whether or not the videos are true was so slimy.  Really interesting interview with Henry Louis Gates Jr. of Finding Your Roots.  He shared some neat stories from celebrity genealogies and discussed historical racial mixing to refute the idea of some “golden age” when races were entirely “pure” and separate.