News Satire Roundup: September 18th-September 20th

Tuesday, September 18 – No show on Monday, and a clip show tonight (just one, though – the rest of the week is new.)  The theme was Fox News, mostly revisiting longer pieces.  First up was Trump and Sean Hannity talking almost daily on the phone, with the great point about the feedback loop of Hannity’s words on Fox (parroted from Trump) “validating” Trump’s own views in his mind.  Speaking of Hannity, we also saw the news about him being Michael Cohen’s third client.  A couple pieces of the “of course this is Fox News’s take on this subject” variety, looking at both family separation (featuring a Fox & Friends host’s “slam poetry” word salad of buzz words and xenophobia) and the Parkland shooting.  And naturally, we couldn’t leave out Trump calling in “on Melania’s birthday” and rambling so long and incoherently that the hosts had to politely give him the hook – our president, ladies and gentlemen.

Wednesday, September 19 – After quick blurbs on Bert and Ernie’s orientation, pushback against a Texas superintendent’s racist comments, and disturbingly-colorful details from Stormy Daniels’s new book, it was straight to the sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh.  Trevor was on fire in two consecutive stories on the subject.  He had a great response to those “wondering why” the allegations are coming out now, nothing but scorn for how GOP senators are treating Kavanaugh’s accuser, and a wonderful counter to the ever-popular “that’s not the man I know” argument (I especially loved the comparison to a murderer’s neighbors saying “he seemed so normal” and the less-extreme example of “there’s the you other people know, and there’s the you from your Google seach history.”)  Author Eli Saslow and his subject, Derek Black, were the guests, discussing Saslow’s book about Black’s journey out of white supremacy.

Thursday, September 20 – Good bit on Trump recommending Spain build a wall across the Sahara Desert – oh my god.  I also enjoyed the jokes on the guys attempting to leverage a Red Sox championship banner and the woman “covering the fact that her entire kitchen staff smokes weed” in saying she sedates her lobsters with marijuana.  The latest Black person on the wrong end of a 911 call was a Wisconsin political candidate canvassing – after reporting on the story, the show gave us a Minority Report-style skit about a precognitive Roy saving Black people from having the cops called on them.  Desi did a parenting piece on “helicopter parents” shutting down a guy trying to give their kids magic wands at the park.  Not gonna lie – kid me would’ve been all over those wands.  The guest, Tracey Ullman, was fun.  She discussed the origins of some of her impressions and was very sweetly complimentary to Trevor on the show/his success.