♪ ♪
ANNOUNCER: Coming to you from New York City,
the only city in America, it's The Daily Show.
Tonight:
the plot thickens.
To infinity and beyond.
And Alex Wagner.
This is The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
-♪ ♪ -(cheering, applause)
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 for being here, everybody.
We have got a wild show for you tonight.
Take a seat.
Spiders are having nightmares about you,
Ronny Chieng is gonna join Space Force,
and President Trump has a perfectly good explanation
for everything. Plus, here to talk about
her brand-new show for MSNBC,
Alex Wagner is our guest tonight, everybody.
-(cheering, applause) -So let's do this, people.
Let's jump straight into today's headlines.
♪ ♪
All right, before we get into the big stories,
let's catch up on a few other things going on in the world.
First up, Toyota has announced that it is recalling
its brand-new electric SUV after discovering
that the wheels could fall off at any time.
Yeah.
And I know people always say,
"We gonna do this till the wheels fall off,"
but I don't think we actually meant it.
Also, you would think wheels falling off a car
would be a problem that was solved long ago,
like, when they invented cars?
Meanwhile, in international news,
as heat waves and wildfires sweep across Europe,
Spain has started using sheep and goats
to help clear flammable vegetation quickly and cheaply.
Yeah. If you ask me,
sending sheep and goats to fight fires is a great idea.
Yeah, I mean, e-even the absolute worst-case scenario
is just, like, kebabs, which is pretty good, you know?
Well, I mean, the goats are a great idea,
I'm not sure about the sheep.
I just think that's risky, you know? Yeah.
'Cause the foreman is gonna be like,
"Okay, how many sheep are we sending out today?
"One, two, three, four--
Aah! Aah! I missed the fire! I slept through the fire."
I also don't know why the U.S. doesn't do this.
I mean, we have so many goats.
LeBron, Serena, Tom Brady, Simone Biles.
Yeah. Yeah. All of those people love being called the GOAT.
They love being called the GOAT. Let's see if they're willing
to step up when it's time to eat 600 acres of grass.
"I mean, LeBron might be able to eat grass,
"but back in the day, Jordan-- he could put away
"an entire shrubbery before the shot clock ran out--
that's the GOAT."
Oh, and here's some surprising science news.
This one blew my mind.
According to a new study,
spiders may have dreams.
Yeah, I do-I don't mean, like,
"one day having a cute little web by the beach."
I mean that when spiders sleep,
they also dream.
Which blew my mind.
'Cause what do-what do they dream about?
Wouldn't-wouldn't it be crazy if they have the same dreams
that we do? Like, there's a spider
that wakes up in the middle of the night, he's like,
"(gasps) Oh! Oh, my God. I dreamt that I was
"covered in spiders. Oh. Oh.
"It was so hot. Oh.
"I actually shot off a web in my dream.
Total web dream, total web dream,
All right, enough of that, enough of that.
Let's move on to the story that is still
dominating the headlines, and it's about
Donald "Joyride" Trump.
Maybe he wasn't the greatest president,
if you go by jobs created or problems solved or hands washed,
but if you go by the number of criminal investigations
launched against him,
then my man is the GOAT.
Except he's allergic to green.
So, let's catch up on all his latest persecutions
in our ongoing segment,
America's Most Tremendously Wanted.
♪ ♪
You know, we created that as a joke, but every day,
Trump getting in a shootout with the cops
gets closer and closer to reality. It feels--
Anyway, remember how last week the FBI
took an eight-hour vacation to Mar-a-Lago
and went home with a bunch of souvenirs?
Well, we all had the same question.
What were they looking for at Donald Trump's house?
This weekend, we all found out.
NEWSWOMAN: This morning, the newly-unsealed search warrant
shedding light on what exactly FBI agents were looking for
at Mar-a-Lago and what they seized.
According to the documents made public by a federal judge,
agents were searching for evidence
of three potential crimes:
violations of the Espionage Act,
unlawful removal of public records
and obstruction of justice by concealing,
altering or destroying records to impede an investigation.
They found 27 boxes of government records
including 11 sets of classifieds documents.
Four sets of documents were marked "top secret."
And one marked "top secret/SCI," a classification reserved
for some of the most sensitive intelligence
and national security information.
Typically only viewed in a highly-secure location.
Yeah, that's right.
Turns out Trump didn't just have top secret documents.
They were top secret/SCI.
What does SCI stand for you ask?
That is also top secret, you dumbass.
(laughter)
I'll be honest, I didn't even know
you could have a level of secret above top.
Did you know this?
Yeah. I also don't think it makes sense. Right?
That's the point of top.
If there is something above top, then top is middle.
You know, yeah, top is top, people.
Like top gun, he the best fighter pilot.
If someone else comes in and they are topper gun,
I want my money back, that's not what I was promised.
Not to mention, if something is top
but then we find out that there's something above that,
then how do we know that that's not the final thing?
Then there could be something above that.
And then how do we know that there's not something
above that, because there's no top, like top has to be the top.
Then there's no end, and then, like, space-time
is, what, infinite and then do we even exist?
Like, wh-what does this mean? W-Who are we?
-(applause and cheering) -And I'm having...
I'm having a panic attack right now.
Stop the show. Stop the...
♪ ♪
So... it turns out Donald Trump was in possession
of top secret documents he wasn't supposed to have.
And, look, I'm not victim blaming here
but if you ask me,
the government is partly responsible.
Partly responsible for labeling the files "top secret."
Yeah, because think about it.
Nobody wants to read boxes of government documents, all right?
But if it says "top secret" on it, now everyone's interested.
So same way you don't label your porn folder "porn."
(laughter)
All right, the government should do what we do.
Just put secrets in a folder called "Taxes 2012 to 2017."
Yeah, I've done that my whole life.
My only screw up was I did this when I was 12 years old
and then my mother was like,
"What taxes are you paying when you're 12?"
And then she busted me for porn and tax evasion.
Anyway the point is,
no matter what they're labeled, Donald Trump wasn't supposed
to have these documents at his house.
And in case you are wondering why these documents
are top, top, top, top secret,
well, hold on to your butts because what Trump took home
could blow them right off.
NEWSMAN: The Washington Post has reported
that among the materials sought by federal agents
was related to nuclear weapons programs.
If you get into nuclear related documents,
that is the highest level.
It does not get any more serious than that.
Some of this could be information about adversaries,
some of this could be about nuclear weapon design.
Some of this could be about our nuclear arsenals,
uh, or our launch procedures.
(laughter)
Are you shitting me?
Donald Trump might have kept
the world's nuclear secrets in his basement at Mar-a-Lago?
The same place Rudy Giuliani sleeps to avoid the sunlight?
That is so irresponsible!
Because-- you realize-- the worst-case scenario
with these documents is that Trump sold them
to, like, Saudi Arabia.
The best-case scenario
is that he just lay in bed with them
and rubbed 'em all over his naked body.
Actually, you know what, I'm gonna flip that.
The worst-case scenario is that he rubbed them naked
on his body. Hopefully he just sold them to the Saudis.
Hopefully. Hopefully.
Oh, and, by the way, just today,
to add to this whole saga,
Trump posted that "in the raid by the FBI of Mar-a-Lago,
"they stole my three passports--
"one expired--
along with everything else."
(chuckles)
And I can see why Trump is pissed
if they took his passport.
I mean, he's the guy who wanted to build the wall
and now he's gonna need to sneak into Mexico.
Karma's a bitch.
-He's just... -(cheering and applause)
Also...
also...
...why does Donald Trump even need a passport?
There is no one on Earth
that looks or sounds like this man.
No one.
He could land on a distant planet and the aliens,
they would be... (trilling) "We've seen TV.
Welcome, Donald Trump."
He'd just be like, "Thank you. Now please take me
to your three-boobed woman."
And, by the way, you do realize there's a 15% chance
Trump just misplaced his passport, right?
It's possible.
It happens all the time.
You think the FBI took something
and you find it in your sock drawer.
Yeah, like, for all you know, maybe Melania moved them.
You know? Just like, "Oh, no.
"I guess now I have to go back to Slovenia by myself.
"Bye, Donald.
Bye."
(applause)
You know,
you know what's been the most fun,
the most fun in all of this?
Is how Trump and the red caps are working so hard
to invent new excuses for why this crime wasn't a crime.
'Cause y-you remember when-when the story first broke.
Right? They were saying things like
"There's nothing at Mar-a-Lago
"except a bunch of notes from Eric.
"And-and if they did find something,
the FBI must have planted it."
Well, forget all that. Forget all of it.
That was, like, two days ago. Right?
They got a fresh shipment of excuses today,
starting with "It was homework."
The former president is offering a new line of defense
for taking these documents to his Mar-a-Lago home.
A statement released by Trump's office Friday night contends
that everyone takes work home sometimes.
Yeah. No, no, you know what, that's true.
Everyone does take work home sometimes.
But not Donald Trump!
The man barely took work to work!
And, also, by the way,
it's not "taking work home with you"
if you no longer have the job.
Right? Can we agree on that? Right?
-(applause) -You don't have the job.
You can't take work home with you.
Like, if you get fired from your babysitting job
but you still go pick up the kid from school...
...that's just kidnapping.
But if you don't like that excuse,
that's fine, that's fine.
Trump's got another one.
Like "How about Obama?"
President Trump has been making the baseless and false claim
that former President Obama
took more than 30 million classified documents
when he left the White House.
NEWSWOMAN: Donald Trump tweeted that...
(laughter)
All right.
Okay.
First of all, uh, this is just completely made-up.
In fact, the National Archives came out
and said it is not true.
But, also, for the sake of the argument,
let's say it was true.
These people are the same people who have spent 15 years saying
Obama is basically the devil.
But then, when they get into trouble, they're like,
"It's fine. We just did the same thing as the devil!"
And, also, uh, did-did you pick up that, uh,
"Barack Hussein Obama"?
That was a nice little touch. Yeah.
Just to remind the people who he really is. Yeah.
I know what Trump is doing.
He's trying to drum up old Islamophobia.
But everybody knows that that's Barack's middle name.
It doesn't sound nefarious anymore.
You know? It just sounds like you're his mom.
"Barack Hussein Obama,
you get down here and clean up this mess right now!"
"Uh, coming, Mom."
-But... -(laughter)
(applause)
But...
...if you don't like that excuse,
it's cool, baby. It's cool.
Trump's got another one for you.
It's about how he declassified these documents
-in his mind. -(gasping)
NEWSMAN: And a new defense emerged overnight
from a conservative journalist tied to Trump
who read a statement from the former president's office.
He had a standing order that documents removed
from the Oval Office and taken to the residence
were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them.
Oh, that's an interesting excuse.
Anything Trump took home with him
was automatically declassified
because he had a standing order.
It's also super convenient that no one has ever heard
about this rule until he got busted
for having top secret documents at his house.
But whatever.
I've actually heard this defense before. Yeah.
Usually it's when people get busted for having an affair.
You know? They'll be like, "No, actually, I didn't cheat on you.
"I'd already broken up with you in my mind
"on the way to their house.
"And then, on the way home,
"I decided to give us another chance. Come here, baby.
"I forgive you. I forgive you.
I forgive you."
So there you have it.
Three brand-new, fresh excuses.
Oh, what? Oh, that's still not enough for you?
Oh, you're-you're particular. Okay, I see you.
Then maybe what you need is a little bit of this.
NEWSWOMAN: NBC has a piece out,
quoting sources that say the chaotic nature
of Donald Trump's exit from the White House contributed
to sensitive documents being taken to Mar-a-Lago.
NEWSWOMAN 2: Then there were reports
that Trump packed in a rush.
"When it finally dawned on Donald Trump
"in the twilight of his presidency
"that he wouldn't be living at the White House
"for another four years, he had a problem.
He had barely packed and had to move out quickly."
(laughter)
Oh, my God.
Oh, this is the greatest excuse of all time.
Trump's people are saying, because he didn't think
he was leaving the White House,
he packed in a hurry when he left.
Yeah. Yeah, he was so busy planning the coup,
he didn't even think about packing? Is that what happened?
It's like, "Guys, I wasn't trying to steal these documents.
"I was trying to steal the election!
"Why would I pack when I thought I'd have another ten
"or 20 years in the White House?
-It makes no sense! Hello?!" -(laughter)
So, those are just a sample of the excuses
Trump has been coming up with over the past few days.
And it doesn't matter that they conflict
with each other. That's not the point.
The point is to flood the zone with so many explanations
that people just get lost in all the arguments
and lose interest. Yeah.
A few days from now, I wouldn't be shocked
if they're like, "Donald Trump was laminating those documents
"to help preserve them as a favor to the American people.
"And also, there were no documents.
And also, it was his evil twin. Mm-waw. Ha, ha, ha."
We'll see what it is.
All right, that's it for the headlines,
but before we go to a break, it is time to check in
on all the latest social media trends
with our very own Ronny Chieng, everybody!
-(applause and cheering) -(retching)
-Ronny Chieng!
-(retching) -Oh, man.
-(coughing) Yeah. Sorry. Trevor, sorry. -Good to see you.
It's just that this social media shit makes me puke.
-All right. -All right, let me just dive
into this cesspool of social media garbage.
And what's trending today?
Oh, it's #NationalRelaxationDay.
-On a Monday. -(laughter)
Yeah, I can't wait to kick my feet up
and go to work for an entire week.
And of course this is trending on social media
because what's more relaxing than going on social media?
Oh, wow. So many relaxing things happening today.
Wow. I mean, you've got a former president leaking nuclear codes?
I can feel the tension in my shoulders just melting away
-as we... talk about this. -(laughter)
Also, on that whole Trump thing,
why would you take a bunch of boxes
you're not supposed to take when you're leaving the White House?
What kind of insane person looks at moving day and goes,
-"How do I make this even longer?" -(laughter)
I mean, I would throw my family in the garbage
if it made moving day easier, all right?
But, yeah, anyways, social media in a nutshell, right?
Because over here, we got #NationalRelaxationDay.
Meanwhile, Toyota's making cars where the wheels fall off?
Hey, Toyota, maybe you should relax a little less, all right?
Like, take a spa day, but maybe not on the day
you attach the wheels to the car
because that's kind of a pretty important day.
All right. You know what? You know what?
Let's just see what random idiots
on social media are saying about #NationalRelaxatioDay.
All right? I'm just gonna find one of these random people
and just see what... what people are saying about this.
All right, so, this-this idiot here.
-(laughter) -Right?
"Don't worry, be happy. #NationalRelaxationDay."
Uh, otter swimming on water.
Clearly, this person doesn't know
what the (bleep) is going on in the world right now.
-(applause) -Yeah. -Otherwise, he wouldn't be saying asinine
shit like this.
Another great tweet, Trevor.
I can see why you have so many followers.
'Cause your tweets just really make us think.
No. You know what, Ronny? No. You know what, Ronny?
Enough of this, man! Stop roasting my tweets!
-You're always roasting my tweets. -Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Hey, hey, it's National Relaxation Day, okay?
Have some respect.
-Oh! Ronny Chieng, everybody. -(applause and cheering)
I'll relax. All right, when we come back,
Ronny is going to figure out what Space Force is all about
so don't go away.
(applause and cheering)
(cheering, applause)
Welcome back to The Daily Show.
The U.S. government is so big that it's easy
to lose track of all the departments and agencies.
Luckily, though, Ronny Chieng is here
to figure out what the government actually does.
One department at a time.
-♪ ♪ -CHIENG: Space Force.
The latest branch of the armed forces that,
after 30 years of planning, finally sprung into existence
thanks to the support of our last military genius.
We are going to have the Space Force.
But after a rocky launch, most Americans
still don't know what Space Force actually does.
Until now.
♪ ♪
I'm here at the Pentagon to find out what Space Force,
the sixth and coolest branch of the U.S. military, does.
I'm talking spaceships, lasers-- it's the military in space.
(imitates weapons firing) Let's go check it out.
Don't ask me how I got clearance.
I'm not even an American citizen.
Somehow, I scored an interview with the very first
head of Space Force,
four-star general Jay Raymond
at the geometry-themed headquarters
of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Obviously, a space military is cool as hell.
But I wasn't sure what they actually do.
So I made sure to prepare
for this exclusive one-on-one interview.
-General Raymond, thank you so much for -Oh, thanks, Ronny.
sitting in on this. Um, why
is it called the Pentagon?
Have you ever seen a pentagon shape?
-Wait, you're saying pentagon's a shape? -Right.
-Like what? -Pentagon.
Take a look at the building.
You obviously studied hard in school.
Okay, General, Space Force-- we're talking
lasers, spaceships, rockets,
-fighting aliens. -Absolutely not.
The mission of the Space Force is really, uh,
to protect and defend the capabilities that we have
in space and to deter conflict from beginning in space
or extending into space.
-What does Space Force do? -Let me give you an example.
Uh, we operate for the world, free of charge,
the GPS constellation that provides you navigation
and provides the world a timing signal for everybody to use.
Most people don't know that that's provided free of charge
by the United States Space Force.
-Space Force gives GPS for free to the world? -Yes, sir.
Well, why don't you open with that?
Call yourselves the GPS Force.
'Cause we do a lot more than that.
Yeah, but you go with the thing
-that people know. -We do a-- we do a lot more than that.
Communication satellites.
We have missile warning satellites
that detect any kind of launch around the globe
and provide warning of that.
And so it's very critical to us.
And our competitors or our adversaries
have-have watched us
and have seen us integrate space into everything that we do.
Who-who are our adversaries?
Specifically Russia and China.
They're building space capabilities for their own use.
So, for example, they have a satellite
that they launched in 2017--
I call it a nesting doll satellite--
it's a satellite that opens up and another satellite comes out
-and it opens up and a projectile comes out. -Uh-huh.
-Oh, my God. -Designed to kill a satellite.
Do all these nations' satellites adopt their countries' cultures?
Like, does the Chinese satellite come out
and chopsticks come out and, like,
pick on the other satellite?
China has a satellite that has a robotic arm.
-With chopsticks on it? -A robotic arm that can reach out
and, in the future, grab another satellite.
And satellites don't like to be grabbed.
What is the plan to stop that?
I won't go into all the details of what we can do,
but let's just say I'm very comfortable
that we can protect and defend our satellites.
-♪ ♪ -CHIENG: That's ominous as hell.
But I still wasn't sure
why America's already bloated military
needed a whole new military
when we already have five other militaries.
General, why did Space Force
become its own branch of the military?
The Air Force has a lot of responsibilities that it does.
-Mm. -It's primarily focused on the air domain.
And the thought was, because space was so critical to us,
um, we had to stand up a separate service
to be able to focus on it.
So, atmosphere-wise,
where does the Air Force end and Space Force begin?
There's really not a-a firm, you know...
-dedicated, recognized... -Clouds.
But what we-- what-what happens is...
Above clouds, Space Force. Below clouds, Air Force.
You can think of it above where airplanes work,
wings work, and where orbital dynamics takes over--
roughly about 100 kilometers.
So, above 100 kilometers,
that's where the Space Force people are?
No. Uh, in fact,
our force is, uh... is on the ground.
So they come in every day and sit behind a computer?
Largely, a lot of their work is done i-- behind computers.
-Mm. -Uh, in-in terminals, operating capabilities,
or on-- in optical telescopes looking out in-in space.
CHIENG: So Space Force is less Starship Troopers
and more Office Space.
But are these keyboard warriors even ready to protect us
from the real threat facing mankind?
Have you considered maybe... looking a little outwards
and looking at the threats that are external
that might be coming to Earth?
For example,
aliens that might be coming?
So again, our mission is a little bit closer to home.
NASA's mission is more exploratory and more science,
and so, they have gone out and...
I-I get it, General.
Space Force, GPS, NASA, nerd shit.
But we need some dudes
who look as scary as you with guns
pointing outwards in case aliens come.
I'm not naive or-or... or closed-minded
to think that, uh, there might be something
that would be out there, but we're not focused on aliens.
All right, well, it just seems like it's a big hole
in the national defense... (clears throat) plan.
And if no one's going to plug that hole,
I just feel like maybe Space Force would step up,
and, you know, maybe provide some orbital defense
against aliens.
Thanks for your advice.
Okay, well, General, uh,
thank you for taking the time to speak to me,
even though Space Force has nothing do with lasers
or aliens and spaceships, and I wish it was cooler.
I do appreciate the need for a GPS system that works.
Thank you for the opportunity.
I couldn't be more proud of the guardians,
and I appreciate the opportunity to tell their story.
Because most Americans don't understand what they do.
I agree.
So even though I'm still not sure what it does,
Space Force represents what the American government
does best-- find new ways to give billions of dollars
to the military-industrial complex.
But, hey, if they're going to offer free GPS, than I say,
"Live long and prosper, Space Force."
Thank you so much for that, Ronny Chieng.
All right, stay tuned because when we come back,
Alex Wagner will be joining me right here on the show.
Don't go away.
(applause and cheering)
(cheering)
Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight
is MSNBC host Alex Wagner. Her new prime time show
Alex Wagner Tonight premieres August 16th
and will air Tuesday through Friday at 9:00 p.m.
Please welcome Alex Wagner.
-♪ ♪ -(cheering, applause)
-Welcome back. -Hello again.
Welcome back to The Daily Show, Alex Wagner.
-Oh, it's a thrill and an honor, as always. -It is-it is an honor
for me, this is your sixth time. You might hold the record.
-Congratulations. Yeah? -I feel very positive about that.
I actually got you a monkeypox vaccine as a gift. Uh...
I want my photo in the hallway.
-I'll keep saying it over and over again. -I-- I kn--
-And I-and I will make sure that I have one of you. -I see
2 Chainz, I see Oprah, I need to see Alex Wagner
in the hallway, and then I can stop coming on to the show.
(cheering, applause)
I mean...
you put me on the spot now, fine. 'Cause I do
have the photo of us, and it's in my office.
-Oh. -It's, like, a, like, a beautiful framed picture.
-That's in the Tiffany frame. -It's-it's perfect,
-Yes. -and no one walks past it, but it's fine.
-That's for you and me Trevor. -This is a really exciting time
for everybody, because, um, your show kicks off tomorrow.
-Yes. -Right? I love-- Your-your Instagram bio reads, um,
"Anchor at MSNBC plus person worried about the future."
But don't you think that sounds a little melodramatic?
What do you have to worry about the future?
-What, like, the droughts? -What could go wrong?
-What, the climate change? -Arctic ice caps
melting faster than expected,
president shuffling off classified nuclear secrets
-to a Palm Beach resort, -What are you worried about?
you know, Republican election deniers being elected
across the country-- what could go wrong?
What are you worried-- But, you re-- you know,
because you travel so much and because you've
talked to so many people on the ground,
I've always felt like I should listen to you
when you're worried, 'cause you talk to, like,
-America. -Yeah. Yeah.
-What's the biggest of your worries? -I-I do, and I will
say, on this show I'm gonna keep talking to America.
I just went down to Florida.
Um, which is a place I vow never to return to
each time I go, and yet I keep going down to Florida.
-That's what makes it great. -Exactly.
It was 107 degre-- 107 degrees down there,
-and what Governor DeSantis is doing in that state -Uh-huh.
is worthy of a very close examination.
So, we went down there and looked specifically
at the ways in which, uh, Christian nationalism
has worked its way into Florida public schools,
and we're gonna be talking about that this week
and some of the very alarming things that teachers
-are being trained to teach public school students on. -Wow.
Um, you know, I-I will say you should be worried, Trevor.
Because, um, not just this happening in Florida,
but this is very much seen as a model
for what's happening across the rest of the country.
-Ron DeSantis may be the Republican nominee -Yes.
for president in 2024.
Which, people think of as, like, a good thing,
because they go, like, "Oh, he's calm, you know,
he has a demeanor about him." Trump is crazy,
but it seems like Trump's crazy was also the reason
-he couldn't get things done. -Yes.
Ron DeSantis, everyone says, he's like,
"Oh, he's-he's got all his cards. He's ready to play them."
And he has a network of conservative activists
and donors and power players in his corner.
I mean, this is the result. This is the harvest
of multiple years of trying to figure out
how to re-indoctrinate students into a certain line
of conservative ideology.
And DeSantis has made it happen,
but he has a lot of people behind him.
And there are other governors--
Kari Lake in Arizona is the Republican nominee in Arizona,
and she was on the stump-- I think it was yesterday--
praising DeSantis and saying--
-am I allowed to say this on this family program? -Yeah.
...that he had "big dick en-energy,"
-just like Donald Trump. -Oh.
Like, not even kidding. She said,
"BDE. If you know, you know.
Big DeSantis energy."
But really saying that what we needed
was more big dick energy,
the kind that Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump have.
-Huh. -So that's where we are as a country, Trevor,
and I'm here to tell you I'm alarmed.
You-you are gonna be the person who is informing so many people
about what's going on in the country.
You know, as-as an anchor on a show like yours,
you're in an interesting position, because,
on the one hand,
you want people to understand the state of the country.
On the other hand, you don't want people
-to exist in a perpetual state of panic. -Yeah.
Because then what happens is people start getting tired
and they're like, "I-I don't care anymore.
Nothing is actually happening."
H-How do you find that balance?
Well, I think...
You know, I don't want to be Pollyannaish about things.
Right? When things are bad, I'm gonna tell you they're bad.
-Mm-hmm. -But I also think we-we haven't given up on democracy.
And the reality is, if you don't like
what Governor Ron DeSantis is doing-- I mean,
I spent ten hours in a Brevard County school board meeting--
you can run for school board
and stop some of this stuff from happening.
You can participate in midterm elections.
You can call your senators and congressmen.
I mean, that stuff, as cliché as it sounds,
-as small ball as it sounds, it matters. -Right. Right.
Because the decision that the Brevard County school board
makes about whether or not kids can have book fairs again...
-Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. -...and read certain books
and talk about being homosexual or transgender,
that means something.
And those decisions are discreet,
but they are part of our larger system of governance.
And I don't want people to ever lose the hope
that the project of America is a fait accompli
and i-it's a wrap, because it's not.
I mean, and-and you can swing the pendulum back.
I still believe
that we generally take two steps forward
and maybe one-and-three-quarter steps back.
Oh, that's a lot of-- One and-- That's a lot of steps back.
But I h-- I-I'm-- I mean, I ho--
Look at-- look at you and me, Trevor.
You know, I'm hosting the 9:00 p.m. hour
-of-of a very important cable network. -Yes.
You are the voice of a generation.
Our stories are unlikely.
We're two brown people that weren't ever supposed
to be in these positions of power.
-And look at us, you know? And-and that's... -That is true.
-That is true. That's wonderful, but, like... -(cheering)
It's-it's true.
Sometimes I go...
Th-The fact that it is the exception
-is what makes it scary a little bit sometimes. -Sure.
And so what-what's interesting about America
when-when you look at it as a whole is
it feels like, sometimes-- like in the run-up to Donald Trump--
it feels like the country knew this was happening.
And then people on the coasts were like,
"Oh, that'll never happen. Trump could never ha..."
It feels like there's a certain complacency now as people relax.
You know? They want to watch Succession.
-Well... -They want to read what's happening, you know?
I mean, I want to watch Succession, too.
Yeah. No. But people enjoy themselves.
But it seems like conservatives are being told
constantly that they are under assault,
that this is the end of the world,
they need to run for school boards.
And so, they believe it, and they do it.
And so, I'd love to know, as somebody
-who's gonna be on MSNBC... -Mm-hmm.
You're are in a position where you have part
of your audience which is in a bubble.
Many of us do, you know? How do you...?
Or do you even think it's possible at this stage
to just pop out of that bubble?
Is there a way you can see, as Alex Wagner,
as the journalist who's gone around the country
talking to Trump supporters and, you know,
Biden supporters alike, do you think there's a way
you can get through to people who maybe don't agree with you?
I'm gonna damn well try. I mean,
-you can't just say we're only... -(applause and cheering)
...we're only going to talk to, like, liberals...
-Right, right, right. -...and this for the Acela Corridor.
You know? Like, this is...
I'm a journalist.
And you are going to hear from some Republicans sometimes.
-Mm-hmm. -Sometimes they may be critical of Donald Trump.
Sometimes, they may not be.
But I think it is my job to show people
what's happening in the world
and not just what they want to see.
I mean, listen, the future of the Republican Party matters
not just to Republicans, but to Democrats and Independents, too.
-Interesting. -If one of the two parties in this country
is forever broken or populated by clowns or worse,
like, we're not going to get anything done as a country.
-Yeah. -We are, for better or worse, in a marriage,
and we got to figure out a way to make it work
because we know what divorce kind of looks like.
We tried it in 1860, and,
-like, we can't... -It did not go well.
It didn't go so well, so...
So your first episode is tomorrow?
-It is tomorrow. -If you were on the show today...
Don't give anything away,
'cause you obviously will tease and everything.
But if you were on the show today, what would you..?
What would be the number one story you'd be talking about?
Well, listen, I think for sure
-we're gonna be talking about Trump and Mar-a-Lago... -Yes.
...and what exactly he was doing with those papers.
-Uh-huh. -And the degree to which this is part
of a very serious investigation at the DOJ.
But I don't think... I mean, I... The other thing
that I want everyone to focus on is the fact
that we have two significant primaries tomorrow happening.
-Mm-hmm. -Liz Cheney and Sarah Palin.
And what we very well could see this week is the exit
of Liz Cheney, probably the standard-bearer
for integrity inside the GOP, be escorted off the stage,
stage right, and for Sarah Palin,
who in many ways is the proto-Trump,
reentering American politics
-as a Republican congresswoman from Alaska. -Oh, boy.
And I think as we take stock of where the country is at,
we need to take stock of where the Republican Party is at.
And those two entrances and...
That entrance and exit tell us a lot
about where we're headed in the GOP.
And I think it's deeply problematic,
and I think it warrants further investigation and analysis.
This is why you're the best person to host the show
because you know a lot, you travel a lot,
you meet the people, um, and you don't...
-I hang out with you. -You don't get overwhelmed.
No, you don't get... Thanks for that.
I'll take it, but no.
You don't get overwhelmed.
Really, one thing I've always admired about you is
the fact that you don't get overwhelmed by the deluge
of information that's coming at you.
Rather, you find a way to process all of it
in one of the most fantastic ways that I've ever seen.
-Congratulations on the show. -Thank you, my friend.
-Thank you for joining me again. -Thank you.
We're all going to be watching.
Everybody, don't forget.
Tuesday to Friday, 9:00 p.m., Alex Wagner.
We're gonna take a quick break,
but we'll be right back after this.
For real.
(applause and cheering)
Well, that's our show for tonight, but before we go,
before we go, I wanted to remind you
that August 16 is Poll Worker Recruitment Day.
And it's especially important this year
where poll worker shortages are already leading
to closures and long lines.
So if you would like to be a poll worker,
sign up at the link below, and you can do your part
to ensure a fair election for all voters.
Until next time, stay safe out there and remember.
If you find top secret documents,
give them back to the government.
But make sure you screen shot that shit first.
Now here it is-- Your Moment of Zen.
♪ ♪
Ontario Premier Doug Ford may have been hoping
to create a buzz when he made an announcement today,
but not quite this way.
Not coming from the... not coming from the, uh,
government, per se, from the premier.
It's coming from the health sector.
(coughs) Holy Christ.
-MAN: What was that? -I just swallowed a bee.
♪ ♪