ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from New York City,
the only city in America, it's The Daily Show!
Tonight, Beyoncé arrives early,
Democrats get a win,
and Leila Mottley.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah!
(applause and cheering)
What's going on, everybody?
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Thank you for coming out in person.
Thank you so much. Good to see you.
Good to see you. Take a seat. Please, take a seat.
Take a seat. Let's get into it.
We have got a jam-packed show for you tonight.
Everybody loves Joe Manchin,
America is a broke-ass bitch,
and if you've heard the new Beyoncé album,
you're going to jail!
So let's do this, people.
Let's jump straight into today's headlines.
-(applause and cheering) -♪ ♪
Okay, all right, before we get into the big stories,
let's catch up on a few other things that are going on.
First up, in business news,
JetBlue has officially announced
that it will buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion.
-Yeah, $3.8 billion. Yeah. -(audience members gasp)
What's crazy is that Spirit still charged them
$30 for a carry-on bag.
(laughter)
But I mean, this is a smart move for JetBlue.
You know, a lot of people are confused.
They're like "Why?" But it makes sense.
As a business, you want to diversify.
You know? Think about it.
Why just be an airline
when you can be both an airline and a flying Porta Potti?
-This is great. -(laughter)
In entertainment news,
the new Beyoncé album officially drops
tonight at midnight, people!
(applause and cheering)
Hey! Hey!
Yeah, but somehow,
the entire thing leaked online yesterday, 36 hours early.
And you know what happens
when someone betrays Beyoncé like this.
She puts out a fire album about it.
Oh, I can't wait. I can't wait.
No, but for real, though,
leaking Beyoncé's album early is an outrage.
It is unforgivable.
And if any of you in this room have it on your phone right now,
you better go ahead and airdrop that to me.
I want to hear what's going on.
All right, and finally, in some really exciting gaming news,
we're finally getting a glimpse into Grand Theft Auto 6.
And there are some really cool shit in it.
Apparently, the game will constantly grow
as you're playing it.
They're just gonna keep adding new areas and new missions.
Yeah. So, whatever job you have right now, finish it up
'cause once that game comes out, you're not leaving your bedroom.
It's over. Oh, what's also cool is that for the first time ever,
GTA is gonna have a female main character in the game.
-Playable. Yeah, finally. -(applause and cheering)
I love this!
This is so cool.
Finally, someone has broken the glass ceiling
by driving through it with a Lamborghini,
like, shooting Uzis. (imitates shooting)
It's going to get a lot of new people playing GTA,
especially the Supreme Court. They're gonna be like,
"I get to control a woman's body? I'm in! I'm in!"
(applause, groaning, booing)
Too soon? Too soon?
All right, anyway, let's move on to the big news of the day,
which is about the economy.
What people in suits blame for why they can't pay you.
"It's the economy. You understand."
For the past year or so,
as America began to emerge from the pandemic,
its economy has been dragged down by soaring inflation.
And today, everybody is debating one key question:
Is America in a recession?
Is the U.S. economy in a recession right now?
Well, not officially, but today,
the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported
that our nation's gross domestic product fell
by .9% from April to June.
Now that follows a 1.6% drop in the first quarter of the year.
For many economists, a falling GDP
for two straight quarters equals a recession.
However, the National Bureau of Economic Research
has not declared a recession.
NEWSMAN: Fed Chairman Powell said that while
consumer spending and production are slowing,
unemployment remains near 50-year lows.
That suggests the U.S. is not currently in a recession.
I do not think the U.S. Is currently in a recession.
Whatever we're in today, whether you want to call it
a recession or not, doesn't feel like a natural recession,
at least a classic recession as we've, uh,
had in previous periods.
Aah! It's a recession!
Possibly.
Bah! Sell everything!
But buy everything.
We're all gonna die!
At some point.
Yeah, America might be in a recession or not.
Some signs say no, but some signs say yes.
Yeah, as we found out today, the gross domestic product
has gone negative for two quarters in a row.
And that's generally a sign that you are in a recession.
You know, it's like when you say "I love you"
to your partner and they respond, "Great."
That's a sign that your relationship is in a recession.
And in case you're wondering why they call it
"gross domestic product,"
it's because most of the economy is pretty gross.
You see, a big chunk of America's GDP
comes from Steve Bannon's OnlyFans account.
A lot of people don't realize this.
And-and what's even more important to know
is that the government
is creating the slowdown in the economy on purpose
to try and combat inflation,
which we all know is out of control.
I mean, Spirit Airlines is $3.8 billion.
The other day it was worth, what, $6.95?
Come on, people.
So, the GDP has fallen, but on the other hand,
the money man, Jerome Powell, he says that
some parts of the economy are actually doing great,
which means maybe we're not in a recession.
That's what makes the economy so weird right now.
It's bad, but it's also good.
You know, basically, the economy is-is-- right now
is-is 90 Day Fiancé. Yeah.
It's like, "You have to watch this show."
"Oh, it's good?"
"No, it's terrible, it's terrible."
"Oh, so it's bad?"
"No it is so good, so good."
All right, that's it for the headlines.
But before we go to break, it's time to check in
on all the latest social media trends
with our very own Ronny Chieng, everybody.
(cheering, applause)
Crazy, day in these streets, Ronny. Crazy, crazy day.
So, uh... what's, uh,
what's happening out there? Is anything trending?
What do you mean-- W-What do you-- Is anything trending?
Are you-are you kidding me? Are people still dumb?
Yeah, yeah. And, yes, things are trending, all right?
That's what the problem is, okay?
We can't think for ourselves anymore because
we can only talk about whatever's trending.
Oh, you-you know, Ronny, I'm starting to feel like
you hate social media.
No, no, no, don't let my tone confuse you.
I love the shit. I love this.
Why-why wouldn't we want to give every idiot in the world
a platform for their stupid opinions?
All right? Let's do it. Let's, uh, find--
Let's find what's trending right now. What is it?
Oh, oh, wait, wait, wait. Hang on, before-before this, uh,
I just want to say a quick shout-out to the recession.
-Love you man, love recessions. Let's go, recession! -No, no.
-Go, recession! Recession! -No, no. No!
-No, don't encourage him. -Recession. Recession. Yeah!
Ronny, no, no. No, you cannot be rooting for a recession.
-Come on, Ronny. -What-- Yeah, I can.
If it's gonna wipe out these crypto (bleep) boys.
Right? With their cartoon monkeys and their doggy coin.
Yo, they had so much money
they made up a thing to lose money on, okay?
They deserve a recession.
This is gonna be like Noah's flood, okay?
Wash everything away and let's rebuild.
All-- You know, what, Ronny, before you start a recession,
can you just tell us what's trending, what's happening,
-what's trending online? -Yeah, oh, oh, what,
what, you don't have a phone? Look,
there's only one thing trending today, okay?
Beyoncé. That's right.
Yeah.
Let me tell you something.
When Beyoncé trends, everything stops, okay?
No one trends harder than Beyoncé.
In fact, if you're celebrity planning to die,
wait until tomorrow, because no one's gonna care today.
No one's gonna care.
And the reason Beyoncé is trending
is because her album "leaked."
Right? I bet it "leaked."
Yeah! It "leaked."
Oh, what a "accidental" leak.
A little leak of the album there.
It's just for publicity, all right?
We all know the game.
And, guess what, it worked. Okay?
So, Trevor, man, why don't we do that?
You know? We should be leaking the show!
-What? -We got to be leaking. Here we are, like idiots,
just releasing it Monday through Thursday
like a-- like a-- like a bunch of boomers, all right?
We should be leaking this shit.
Leak the show. Come on! Leak it!
-(cheering and applause) -Yeah!
Get the kids talking!
Then, hey, maybe, maybe we go platinum.
-Right? -R-Ronny, we can't go platinum.
We're a TV show.
Exactly. Because we don't leak, okay?
Let's leak. Leak. Just try leaking once, okay?
And-and, by the way, everyone,
everyone who's mad that it leaked,
guys, this is a victimless crime, okay?
They probably made, like, a billion dollars anyway
on this leak.
Because it's not about buying albums.
No one buys albums anymore, okay?
Even JetBlue would rather buy Spirit Airlines
than buy an album.
Right?
Beyoncé leaked this album on purpose for the hype.
Which is a great move, but no one will admit it
because you can't say anything bad about Beyoncé
in this country, right?
'Cause we live in this, like, fascism.
Like, no, yo, I-I love Lemonade, all right?
♪ Single, all the single ladies, all the single... ♪
-I love-- I love all that stuff, okay? -(laughing)
But she's human, all right?
You can criticize God in this country,
but you can't criticize Beyoncé?
Ro-Ronny, I'm-- Ronny, I'm gonna stop you there, all right?
This-this is blasphemy, all right?
I do not think Beyoncé leaked the album on purpose.
Don't you say that on my show.
Oh, oh, oh, so you don't think she leaked it on purpose?
So therefore, what, this is what, Beyoncé made a mistake?
She made a mistake? So, what, you're saying
-Beyoncé's incompetent? -No, no, no, no.
-Is that what you're saying? -No, no. Hey, hey, hey. Hey.
-(gasping) -No, no, no. -Is that what you're saying?
-I would never say that! I would never say that. -Yeah, yeah.
-I-I would never say that. -See? See? Even-even you,
-you're-you're part of the problem right now. -No! What?
-You're-- This-this thing, right? -I'm-I'm not scared.
You're-- You-you can't even say something bad about Beyoncé.
-No. -I dug through all your tweets, okay,
-and this is the meanest thing you've ever said... -What?
...about Beyoncé.
"Where does Beyoncé come from?
It's almost like she came-- comes to visit us from heaven."
(cheering, whooping)
-This is you right here, all right? -I mean, yeah, that's...
-Yeah. -(applause)
This is super edgy,
-"speak truth to power" Trevor Noah here... -(protesting)
...kissing some butt. You're like that la--
You're that North Korean news lady.
"Oh, our glorious leader has released a new song. Oh."
-(applause) -That's not fair, man.
That's not f-- Ronny, that is not true.
-Okay? -Oh, yeah? It's not true?
Then say something bad about Beyoncé right now.
-(groaning) -What? -Say something bad about Beyoncé
-right now. Do it. Do it. -I...
-Yo, I-I c-- I-I can... -Prove it. Prove yourself.
-Do it. Do it. -I...
-WOMAN: Oh. -(laughter)
See? You can't even find the words!
You can't even find the words!
All right? And, guess what, you don't have to do it.
I knew you couldn't do it. I'll do it.
Yeah, put that camera on me.
-(gasping) -Camera one. Let's go. I'll do it.
Right now. Hey, I-I'm gonna...
Beyoncé. Beyoncé,
you're too beautiful for your own good.
-Hear that? That's how it's done, all right? -(cheering)
I said it. Yeah, I said it.
-Back to you, Trevor. Come at me, Beyhive. -Wow.
-Come at me. -Wow. Really brave. Ronny Chieng, everybody!
-(cheering and applause) -That was edgy.
All right, when we come back,
we'll be looking at how the Democrats
pulled a fast one on Mitch McConnell,
so don't go away.
-That was edgy. -(cheering and applause)
(cheering, applause)
welcome back to The Daily Show.
You... you might remember this.
Back when Joe Biden was elected,
one of his biggest promises was the Build Back Better Bill,
a plan that promised to make everything in America better.
That's why the "better" was in the name. Yeah.
It was going to rebuild the roads, fix the climate,
reduce inequality,
and it was even going to give you another shot
with your high school crush. Yeah.
Like, "This time, I won't eat prunes before assembly."
Now, all of that depended
on getting every Democrat's vote in the Senate.
But there was always one senator who refused to play ball--
Joe Manchin, West Virginia senator
and man who definitely has a photo on the fridge
of him holding a fish.
No matter what the Democrats offered him,
Joe Manchin was blocking all attempts,
like an Appalachian Mutombo.
"No, no, y'all!"
And so it seemed that Joe Biden's agenda--
very much like Joe Biden himself-- was basically dead.
-(laughter, groaning) -But then, last night, this happened.
SHEPARD SMITH: New tonight--
Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer announcing
a deal on a bill that was all but dead.
You almost never see this in Washington.
You never see Washington surprised
like it is this morning.
Democratic senator Joe Manchin announced he has struck a deal
with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
This is a major piece of legislation
that they say would pay down the national debt,
cut health care costs, fight climate change
and battle inflation.
It is the product of secret negotiations
over a package that, until yesterday, appeared to be dead.
Two weeks after walking away from a climate deal,
West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin embraced one
last night with a compromise dubbed
"The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022."
I can't believe be it.
Joe Manchin agreed to vote for a bill?
Which means Democrats might actually get something done?
Oh! Oh!
What, am I--
am I dreaming?
And if so, what a boring dream.
Also, what a week for Joe Biden, huh?
First, he defeated COVID.
Then he defeated low expectations.
Look at you, Joe! Look at you.
But, yeah, in a surprise announcement,
Joe Manchin released a statement saying that
he is on board with Build Back Better.
Except he's calling it the Inflation Reduction Act.
Yeah. And I'll be honest, I don't think anyone cares
what it's called, as long as it's a good bill.
You know, he can-he can call it the-the
Everyone Except Joe Manchin's Got a Small Dick Act,
and I won't care.
I'll just be like, "Well, at least
my dick's gonna see a better climate."
But I think-- I think this has taught us all
an important lesson.
Everyone was so mad at Joe Manchin,
calling him names, letting their anger take over,
writing him off as a villain.
And it worked. Nice job, everyone. Nice work.
Yeah. It worked.
Now, just to be clear, just to be clear,
this bill isn't everything that Joe Biden once wanted,
but it's still a pretty big deal, right?
It lowers prescription drug prices,
it forces big corporations to pay the taxes that they owe.
But maybe-- but maybe the most important part bill
is what it does to fight climate change.
NANCY CORDES: This would be the largest
U.S. climate-change legislation ever.
The centerpiece: about $370 billion
worth of clean energy tax incentives and grants,
including $7,500 tax credits
for many Americans who buy electric cars.
NEWSWOMAN: It's going to, uh, try to reduce carbon emissions
by 40% by 2030. This was something that
many senate Democrats simply did not think would be included
in any sort of legislation they could get through.
NEWSWOMAN 2: But it's not all green energy.
In a win for Joe Manchin,
the bill also opens millions of acres of public land
for new oil and gas production.
Yeah, that's right.
Tons of money to fight climate change
but also some fossil fuel stuff, too.
You know, just to keep Mother Nature on her toes.
'Ey...
But, overall, overall, this is a huge investment
in alternative forms of energy--
wind, solar,
and they're even gonna be researching
new forms of energy.
Nobody knows what it could be.
Yeah, in ten years, we could be charging our phones
with the power of dance.
Yeah. Yeah. Ah, ah, that's right.
Yeah. Seven percent. Keep going.
Okay, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I got this. I got this. 'Ey.
Ten percent. 'Ey.
(cheering and applause)
Gonna charge all our devices.
(chuckling)
(laughter)
I was just thinking, you know what's funny is
is that if that does happen,
some white people are gonna be un-charging their phones.
(laughter, groaning)
(whooping, applause)
People will be like, "What? What's happening?
"Wait, why am I-- why am I-- why am I losing power?
"What's going on here? What--
"I'm dancing. What's going on?
What's-what's happening here? What's happening?"
But, hey, this is a huge win for the Democrats.
And, now, obviously, obviously, please,
remember, this is the Democratic Party,
so there is still plenty of ways for this thing to fall apart.
You know? Yeah, House Democrats could come out against it.
Kyrsten Sinema could come out against it.
Joe Manchin could come out tomorrow
and oppose the bill just out of habit.
But... if it does get through,
this could be the legislative victory
that the Democrats need to ride into the midterms
and only lose the House by 200 seats.
I believe in you, Democrats!
All right, stay tuned, because when we come back,
Leila Mottley will be joining me on the show,
so don't go away.
(cheering and applause)
(cheers and applause)
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
My guest tonight is poet
and New York Times best-selling author Leila Mottley.
She's here to talk about her debut novel, Nightcrawling.
Please welcome Leila Mottley!
-♪ ♪ -(applause and cheering)
Welcome to the show.
Leila Mottley, welcome to The Daily Show.
-Thanks for having me. -Uh, you... uh, you cannot thank me
when you are, by most people's accounts,
the biggest rock star in the world of books right now.
I mean, you're 20 years old.
But then, I read the book, and I was like,
"This is not possible."
It's one of the most amazing books I've ever read.
And then I realize that Oprah also thinks the same thing,
and you were on your book club at 19.
Youngest book club for Oprah ever.
Like, how are you doing this?
-(applause and cheering) -New York Times best-selling author,
Oprah Winfrey Book Club,
author to watch...
Let's start with that before we get into the book.
I need to understand, how did you write a book like this?
'Cause you started at 17.
-Yeah, 16. -Oh, yeah.
(laughter)
-How? -I'm an overachiever. What can I say?
(laughs) I love it. I love it.
But you really have a beautiful command
of not just the words, but the storytelling in the book.
Uh, what made you think, even begin to think,
that, "You know what? I can write this book
in a way that everyone will connect with"?
I mean, I think really it started with wanting
to tell a story of teenage Black girls
and give it the validity and respect
I think our culture doesn't often give
teenage Black girls.
I wanted Kiara's internal world to be this rich, nuanced place,
and to have the complexity that I think
a lot of people don't expect out of young people.
You did that a thousand times over.
-(applause and cheering) -And just to give perspective...
Yeah. Just to give perspective
to those who don't know the-the plot.
You know, the book is about, um, the main character, Kiara,
and... and you write a story
that is inspired by one of the most harrowing stories
that America saw, and it involved, um,
a young girl in Oakland
-who was victimized by the police department. -Mm-hmm.
And just tell us a little bit more about that,
and then how you thought of turning this into a novel
-that could tell a story for everyone. -Mm-hmm.
I mean, I'm always surprised to hear
how few people know about this case, but
in 2016 in the Bay Area, a case broke
Where a young girl was sexually exploited
by many different Bay Area police officers.
And I was a young teenager at the time.
I'm born and raised in Oakland, um, and I--
-(cheers, applause) -Yes. Um, and I remember
being really struck by the way the media
talked about this case and the disproportionate focus
on how this case might impact the relationship
between the police department and the community,
might damage the trust,
-Mm. -as though it was ever there in the first place.
And I think, um, I was wondering
"What about this girl?" You know, what about
the impact for her and the systemic harm to young girls,
particularly girls of color, um, and-and
this particular iteration of police violence
that I think a lot of us don't often talk about.
Especially when it comes to sex work.
You know, I-I learned things in this book that
I don't think I actually knew. I don't think I concretely knew.
They seem obvious, but I didn't know.
Um, and-and some-some of them are more harrowing than others.
You know, you look at the history of sex work in America
and then you look at the exploitation
of sex workers and non-sex workers alike,
and how often Black women
-Mm-hmm. -experience the worst atrocities
at the hands of law enforcement,
which-which is a strange world, you know, to find yourself in.
The book seems like it's only gonna be painful,
and it really is. You know, in parts you cry, and then--
and then you-you go on this journey.
But it also seems like it's about hope.
It seems like it's about resilience.
Is that something you-you worked to achieve?
I mean, absolutely. I think we dehumanize
Black characters if we don't see them in their entirety,
which means we have to see them in moments of joy,
in moments of grief, in moments of, you know,
mundane things like making pancakes or taking a nap.
Like, we have to be able to see that in order to
see someone as human and invest in them and their world, really.
You see that and you feel that. You know?
It's-it's-- The-the main character, Kiara--
and I don't want to spoil this, 'cause I think everyone
should just read the book--
we see her in a position where the world
is not taking care of her,
and yet she's able to take care of somebody else.
And as we read through her journey, what I appreciated
is how you so aptly encapsulate
the experience of many Black women,
-not just in America but around the world... -Mm-hmm.
...you know, where they are expected to be the protectors,
-the providers, and-and the nurturers... -Mm-hmm.
...and yet nobody seems to be doing that for them.
Yeah, there's this long history of Black women
and Black girls being put into the role of caretaker
and being, um, kind of asked and forced into
taking care of everyone around them,
which-which implicitly makes it
so that Black women can't take care of ourselves.
We don't think about ourselves first.
Um, and I really wanted, in this book,
to show how Black girls are vulnerable
and allow us our fragility,
allow us to be soft,
allow us to-to be whole and complete people.
-(cheering and applause) -It's a beautiful story. Yes.
Definitely.
It's...
I think it's a beautiful story
not just because of how you've written it,
which is truly amazing,
and-and because of the story it tells
but because it makes the character a human being.
It is a bad time and a bad thing that is happening to a human
who has so many more layers to them.
You've written this book.
Everybody loves it.
I mean, you're a poet as well.
It feels like you-you're at the beginning of life
and yet you've conquered everything.
What do you hope to achieve in your storytelling going forward?
I mean, I think I always want to tell stories of Black girlhood
and-and what it means to have our narratives sidelined.
And I want to put those into our-our common idea
of what this country is and who we are to each other.
You've already done that. You're gonna do it even more.
Thank you so much for joining me on the show.
-Thank you for having me. -You're an absolute pleasure.
-Congratulations. -(cheering and applause)
Nightcrawling,
one of the most fascinating rides you will ever take,
is available now.
We're gonna take a quick break, but we'll be right back
-after this. -(cheering and applause)
-(cheering) -Well, that's our show for tonight.
But before we go, before we go,
don't miss the premiere
of Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God.
It's been a week, and he's about to take it down.
And it starts right now, so don't move.
Like, right now. Now. Now. Watch it.
Until next time, stay safe out there.
And, remember, recessions
are a lot like a monster under your bed.
If you just ignore it,
it'll probably kill you in your sleep.
Now here it is, Your Moment of Zen.
(cheering and applause)
The Biden White House waving off recession talk.
NEWSWOMAN: But don't expect anyone
in the Biden administration to start using the R-word.
The bad news is the R-word.
Everyone is hearing the R-word.
The R-word. It's echoing louder and louder.
(distorted): The R-word is on everyone's minds.