News Satire Roundup: December 22nd

Sunday, December 22 – Today’s episode was on how American trade is exporting obesity around the globe. We had the usual culprits – McDonald’s, KFC, Coke, etc. – but Hasan dug into a lot of interesting stuff here. His point about China, a country that no one in the world can order around, kowtowing to Coke on promoting “you can maintain a healthy weight through exercise alone!” BS was huge. I was also appalled by the stuff about Samoa, where someone tried to reverse the rampant obesity by banning imports on high-fat offal from the U.S., but the country was forced to get rid of the ban in order to join the WTO. Since it was the last show of 2019, Hasan also gave updates on earlier stories from the year and had some pretty sound words on compassion fatigue. I liked comparing it to having 50 browsers tabs open in our brains, and his advice on giving ourselves permission to “close a few tabs” for our own well-being was good.

Today, I want to look at The Daily Show’s coverage of the Democratic primary. In a way, Trevor and the show had their first crack at this sort of thing back in 2016, when we had such a surfeit of Republicans running, but the Democrats this year are out of control. The show has had some great jokes on the absurd numbers (“please remember to spay or neuter your presidential candidate!”), and I adore the running gag of slipping an extra person into the graphic of all the candidates, from Us’s Red to Tyrion Lannister to Baby Yoda.

But despite the huge juggling act of candidates, I think the show has done a fine job keeping track of them all. The “big three” – Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, and Bernie Sanders – get plenty of attention (Biden doubly so, since his name has often been invoked by Trump and in the impeachment inquiry as well,) understandably so. But Trevor and co. cast a wide net, demonstrating that they have jokes to go around. The Pete Buttigieg jokes are probably my favorite, both the cracks about his youth and, especially, the “kid doing a report on a book he hasn’t read” characterization of his campaign. Really, though, everyone gets in on the action, all the way down to the minor candidates: Marianne Williamson is an obvious one, but I also really liked the John Delaney jokes from (I think?) the first debate, when Trevor thought he should shout his name like DJ Khaled after every applause line to help people remember who he was.

Another highlight of the primary this election cycle has been the focus on the “beefs” at each debate, moments when certain candidates stop being polite and start getting real. There’s been some great stuff in here, like candidates arguing over which of them has the least wealth, and Trevor always relishes “body slams” that seem to come out of nowhere, like Tulsi Gabbard coming for Kamala Harris in the second debate. It’s also a handy way to track where the perceived threats are, seeing who gangs up on whom.

Lastly, I want to look a little at the post-debate guests we’ve had on the show. I always enjoy the analysis that Trevor and the guest talk through together, and the show does a nice job securing pundits who have some good commentary to offer but who also recognize some of the BS. The guests regularly laugh at Trevor’s demands to know who “won” the debate, and they’ve offered some good observations on things like double standards for female candidates and the trap of chasing “electability” instead of policies you believe in.