“The Daily Show” co-host Jordan Klepper said Thursday he was a little surprised by the lack of “cruelty” he experienced when meeting with young, male Trump voters.
As part of his upcoming Comedy Central documentary “MAGA: The Next Generation,” Klepper met with several college-aged men to understand the demographic that swung wildly in favor of President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
“I had such a cynical perspective of the youth walking into this thing,” Klepper told Variety. “I expected to be confronted by a bunch of d— — 22-year-olds who want to rail on trans people in sports and kick out all the immigrants. But the cruelty wasn’t there.”
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Despite describing “dicey” experiences during Trump’s first term, Klepper said most of the people he met were “pretty kind” and more interested in the excitement and celebrity surrounding Trump than politics itself.
“MAGA was suddenly framed by pundits in the manosphere as punk rock, as counterculture,” Klepper said, adding, “[T]he algorithms on these social media sites lean toward the aggressive and the hyperbolic, and it’s shaping the conversation.”
Based on his interactions, Klepper felt more confident that the “MAGA movement” could be dissolved politically once it no longer has the “attention and fame” behind it.
In the meantime, “The Daily Show” could be facing its own challenges in the near future as its parent company, Paramount, remains locked in a billion-dollar lawsuit with Trump after the latter accused CBS News of election interference in a “60 Minutes” interview.
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The lawsuit has already resulted in longtime “60 Minutes” producer Bill Owens resigning in April.
Though Klepper insisted his show so far hasn’t been pressured by Paramount to make any changes, he remained uncertain if things would stay that way.
“The future is always a big question mark, industry-wise, administration-wise. Who knows if free speech will be legal six months from now?” Klepper said. “I can’t f—ing control any of that, so I’m going to enjoy what we have right now.”
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