Over the past 5 years, nobody has proven as adept at trolling Trump supporters as Jordan Klepper. The Daily Show correspondent forged a career out of confounding right-wingers by simply flipping their own inane logic back at them. What sets Klepper apart is that his interviews are never nasty or condescending. He simply pulls at the threads of ignorance and disinformation, causing his interview subjects to completely unravel over finally being challenged.
In his latest segment, Klepper interviewed anti-vaccine and anti-mandate protesters who had gathered outside New York Mayor Bill de Blasio’s residence. The crowd was filled with anti-maskers, Trump supporters, and weirdos in American flag cosplay who were protesting the mayor’s executive order requiring proof of vaccination for movie theaters, museums, entertainment venues, indoor dining, and gyms.
Naturally, there were folks comparing the loss of these privileges to Nazi Germany, which Klepper kept challenging by saying, “Do you think that’s what it was like in Nazi Germany? People were bitching about not going to a gym?” Klepper’s genius is that he keeps repeating his subject’s claims, forcing them to sit with their absurdity.
Most of these protesters spend their days in the echo chamber of fake Facebook news and like-minded friends who parrot the same inane talking points. All Klepper has to do is hold up a mirror to these folks, who are unable to articulate and defend their point of view without crumbling.
The comedian also spoke to Edwin De La Cruz, a Republican running for New York City Council. De La Cruz claimed that he opposed vaccines and mandates because “the science is still new. We still have question marks. We rushed the science.” Klepper then responded by reminding him that it was Trump’s Operation Warp Speed that “rushed the science.” De La Cruz quickly crumbled and attempted to pivot, saying “How about we switch places and I start attacking you?”
Klepper was also joined by pro-vaccine and pro-mandate New Yorkers who yelled at the protesters for spreading misinformation and COVID-19. “This is why I love doing interviews in New York,” Klepper quipped after a woman screamed “you’re so full of sh*t” at a protester.
Klepper also chatted with Viswanag B. Burra, the vice president of the New York Young Republican Club, who said that the Founding Fathers would not have supported vaccine mandates. Klepper corrects him, noting that George Washington did in fact mandate smallpox inoculation for his troops.
Burra dodges the correction, saying, “I love the lore, but at the end of the day we are the ones who have to deal with what is going on in America today.” He then complained about being unable to get Thai food.
The group’s ignorance and inability to think critically is spotlighted when Klepper asks a protester if the vaccine mandate is fascism or communism, based on competing signs at the rally. She replies, “It’s both.”
Bless Jordan Klepper for having the patience to deal with these folks, as most of us would rather tell them to f-ck off.
(image: screencap/Comedy Centrail)
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