Donald Trump may be out of office but as long as his supporters are still gathering at rallies dedicated to hateful bigotry and disinformation, Jordan Klepper will be there, calling them out.
For years, the Daily Show correspondent has been attending these rallies and talking to the people who attend them in an attempt to figure out the why of it all. The question of why people turn out for this kind of event is only compounded now that Trump is out of office and rallies are now being headlined by his D-list surrogates. What makes people show up in droves to see Donald Trump is one question, but what makes them turn out for Mike Lindell, the MyPillow guy, is a whole different level.
Klepper started out at the rally doing his trademark routine of lulling Trump supporters into letting their guard down enough to say the quiet parts very loud.
Most of these attendees were at this inexplicably named “MAGA Frank” rally because they like hearing Lindell’s fact-free rants about stolen elections and voter fraud. Never mind that these claims have been debunked by basically every reputable news outlet, as well as Trump’s own Department of Justice–they still believe in the pillow man.
Of course, there’s still plenty of room for some garden variety classic MAGA racism. It wouldn’t be a Trump rally without white people lamenting over how much better things were in the 1960s, when “we knew which drinking fountain to drink from.” (That was Klepper’s line but the MAGA couple enthusiastically agreed, “Exactly, yeah!”) Simpler times.
But Klepper didn’t just talk to the crowd. He also got to confront the headliner himself.
Lindell made his name selling pillows (which were obviously for sale at this Wisconsin rally) but in recent years, he’s become one of Trump’s staunchest supporters. While many Trump surrogates have quieted down recently, likely due to the numerous lawsuits they’re facing, Lindell is still out there insisting Trump is the rightful president and pushing a theory that he’s going to be back in the White House next month.
Klepper makes it clear that he thinks Lindell’s claims are ludicrous and self-aggrandizing but he also calls out the very real harm they’re causing. Lindell yells at Klepper about the need for a “free speech rally”–not a Trump rally, he insists, despite the fact that MAGA is on the sign and Trump was scheduled to appear via jumbotron–because people who “speak out” about things like “machines, vaccine, the border, Jesus” are getting “cancelled.”
That’s a ridiculous statement and entirely mockable but Klepper keeps things serious, telling Lindell that in addition to “perpetuating anger, fear, and attacking our democracy,” this kind of rally and the things Lindell is saying are still leading to death threats against election workers.
Lindell responded by saying some of those who are being harassed and threatened were “in on it,” meaning the nonexistent election fraud.
Ultimately, Lindell couldn’t explain what proof he has that the election was stolen, or how Trump is going to reassume the office of the president in August, but insists it’s coming.
“So there’s a plan,” Klepper summarizes. “It’s like watching that Bigfoot show. They don’t find Bigfoot at the end, but if you tune in next week, maybe it’s going to happen.”
“You guys are horrible,” Lindell replied as he stormed off. What a snowflake.
(image: YouTube)
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Published: Jun 18, 2021 01:33 pm