The Big Picture
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The Daily Show
slams mass media for exaggerating ordinary aspects of the Trump trial to make it seem extraordinary. - Jessica Williams makes a cameo to joke about the importance of covering the Trump trial.
- Salman Rushdie discusses freedom of speech, his memoir and the correlation between fundamentalism and violence.
“The trial of the century” has finally started, and even though this might be an excessive way of referring to it, The Daily Show makes the case that mass media is sure making it look like early days of the Donald Trump trial are the stuff of legend. Since nothing much will happen until we get closer to the verdict, Jon Stewart suggested mass media find something else to cover — especially after he realized the lengths that reporters went to in order to find something to say about it.
Eyewitnesses at the trials, former jurors, sketch artists, photographs… you’d think that scrutinizing every move from Trump is essential to understanding what is going on inside the former President’s mind. However, this isn’t exactly Anatomy of a Fall, and all of those accounts are being used to inform viewers about absolutely ordinary things, like Trump falling asleep during the trial, squinting, and generally moving his eyes around. Not the stuff of edge-of-your-seat courtroom dramas.
The good thing from all of of the exaggeration is that it earned The Daily Show a cameo by Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore). The “correspondant” underscored all the reasons why mass media actually should be covering and scrutinizing every aspect of the Trump trial. Williams reminded us that a very powerful and influential white man being held accountable for his actions is kind of the stuff of legend — not to mention that some details from the trial are just too funny to ignore. You can watch the full main segment below:
Salman Rushdie Suffered A Murder Attempt And Had His Prostate Checked
During the interview segment, Stewart invited author and activist Salman Rushdie to talk a bit about freedom of speech and algorithms. Rushdie is publishing a new memoir called Knife: Meditations After An Attempted Murder. The author revealed he’s “pretty much recovered” from the assassination attempt that he suffered in Chautauqua and talked a little bit about his thought process and why he eventually decided to visit the jail in which his attacker was being held. Rushdie also extrapolated to how fundamentalism played a part in his attacker’s state of mind and how it can shape a person’s attitude and actions.
As the conversation progresses, Stewart and Rushdie correlate the author’s attempted murder situation with the numerous mass shootings in schools that have taken place all over the country throughout the years. Naturally, the interview evolved to talking about artistic expression, getting their prostates checked, dancing parties, death, The Satanic Verses and Taylor Swift‘s new album.
You can watch the full interview below:
The Daily Show
A comedy news show featuring humorous takes on top stories.
- Release Date
- July 22, 1996
- Creator
- Madeleine Smithberg, Lizz Winstead
- Cast
- Jon Stewart , john oliver , Lewis Black , Desi Lydic , Jordan Klepper , Ronny Chieng , Roy Wood Jr.
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 28
- Studio
- Comedy Central
