Meyers, Lydic, and Kimmel take closer looks at meeting with Canadian Prime Minister on Throwback Thursday

Happy Throwback Thursday! Before I take a look back at last year's blogging, I'm sharing Carney Tells Trump Canada "Not for Sale," Trump Offends Catholics with AI Pope Image: A Closer Look from Seth Meyers.

Seth takes a closer look at Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, telling Donald Trump that Canada will never be the 51st state.

Time for me to repeat my crackpot idea about incorporating Canada into the U.S. from Meyers, The Daily Show, and Kimmel take closer looks at Trump's designs on Greenland and Canada.

I'd only be in favor of that if each Canadian province were admitted as the 53rd through 62nd states after Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. That's only slightly more likely than "a new constitution that replaces the republic with a constitutional monarchy and invite[s] Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor to be Queen." Monkeys will fly out of my butt first.

I amended that with "maybe not Prince Edward Island; they might have to rejoin Nova Scotia first." Also, anyone who thinks Canadians are nice, polite people have never seen them at a hockey game!

The Daily Show examined the meeting in Canada PM Carney Friend-Zones Trump & Real ID Brings Out the Karens the night before.

Desi Lydic recaps Trump's oblivious reaction to getting friend-zoned by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and prepares for a summer of s***ty air travel as the Real ID deadline approaches and Newark Airport spirals into more chaos.

"You never met her, because she lives up in Canada — oh, that excuse doesn't work." That sounds familiar — "my girlfriend goes to another school/was in summer camp with me/lives in Canada, so you don't know her. I resemble that last remark; the ex-girlfriend I write about the most was living in Canada while we were dating." As for the rest of the segment, I'm glad I got Real ID two years ago and the crash in January was only the beginning of problems with air travel.

I close the above the jump part of this post with Jimmy Kimmel's monologue, Trump Makes Hollywood Great Again & Canadian Prime Minister Shuts Down Becoming 51st State.

The stars came out for the annual Met Gala last night and there were many creatively-preposterous outfits on display, Jimmy has thoughts on people using the word “giving,” Trump met with new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House, he is planning to slap a 100% on any movies filmed outside the United States, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent might need to be unplugged and plugged back in, Trump had a press conference to announce that the 2027 NFL Draft will take place on the National Mall in DC, he signed an executive order aimed raising awareness for mental health, Skype is now in internet heaven, and in honor of Teacher Appreciation Day we give Americans the chance to apologize to their teachers.

Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump's proposal to assess 100% tariffs on movies produced overseas will hurt Canada, especially Vancouver, who benefits from American studios shooting films and TV shows there, as I described in Vox explains 'Why your favorite movies fake their locations' plus the Leo Awards. That might not work out the way Hoover Cleveland thinks it will. I might get to that later. In the meantime, follow over the jump for a retrospective of last year's most read comedy posts about the 2024 election where Hoover Cleveland was not the focus, just to remind my readers of the alternative.

Kamala Harris could run for California Governor on Throwback Thursday

Happy Throwback Thursday! I'm looking forwards and backwards today, beginning with Kornacki: Kamala Harris could face 'hiccups' if she enters California gubernatorial race from NBC News.

NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the early state of play in California's gubernatorial race as former Vice President Kamala Harris weighs a run for governor.

Yes, that's a qualified field that could give Kamala Harris a run for her money — on paper. In reality, she's walking away with the contest, as KTLA reported in Kamala Harris enjoys wide lead in hypothetical governor's race.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris would have a wide lead over the rest of the field if she were to enter the 2026 race for California governor, according to an Inside California Politics/Emerson College poll released Thursday. April 17, 2025.

And she hasn't even declared!

NY Pulse, a channel that has only existed for a month, had more in Kamala Harris leads California governor’s race — but 50% say the former VP shouldn’t run: poll.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is the runaway front-runner in the California governor’s race – but voters are split on whether the failed 2024 Democratic presidential candidate should even enter the fray.

Harris has the support of 31% of Californians who plan to vote in the Golden State’s June 2026 gubernatorial primary election, according to an Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill survey released Thursday,

But half of likely voters, 50%, believe that the former vice president, California senator and state attorney general should not run for the governorship.

Harris’s closest competitors are former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who only mustered 8% support, and Republican Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, who garnered a 4% backing.

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a recent entrant into the race, received 2% support.

That's a really good preview image, but I'm suspicious of the channel itself. I wonder who's behind it.

Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the relevant top post plus the most commented posts between March 21, 2024 and March 20, 2025 for today.

Colbert, Stewart, and Kimmel observe January 6th

I anticipated the topic of today's post at the conclusion of PBS Terra explains 'How Scientists Solved the Mystery of a 300-Year-Old Megaquake'.

I expect the late-night talk show hosts will return from holiday break tonight, so stay tuned for their monologues tomorrow. Who knows, they might have something darkly funny to say about the anniversary of January 6th worth sharing.

They did. Watch Your Jan 6th Gift Guide, the cold open to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Every coup begins with Kay.

That definitely counts as "something darkly funny to say about the anniversary of January 6th worth sharing."

Colbert continued in his monologue, Jan 6, Trump's Day Of Love | Jeffries: We Will Fart Hard | Why Does Fun Stuff Cause Cancer?

Congress peacefully certified Donald Trump's electoral victory on January 6, 2025, while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made an embarrassing verbal misstep, and Stephen looks into some alarming news about alcohol.

"A day of love" — yeah, love for convicted criminal Donald Trump. His whitewashing and inversion of the attack on the Capitol is the new Big Lie, and enough people bought it that Trump got re-elected. When I called him "Hoover Cleveland — Hoover because he's the first U.S. President to have a net job loss during his term since Herbert Hoover, Cleveland because he's trying to repeat what Grover Cleveland achieved, earn a second non-consecutive term," I was going for a catchy mocking nickname, not a prediction!

While I'm not looking forward to Hoover Cleveland taking office again, I will miss Justin Trudeau. I'm rooting for Chrystia Freeland to replace him, but I'm not a Canadian. What do my Canadian readers think?

Now for Jon Stewart Unpacks The NOLA and Cybertruck Attacks & An Unusually Civil Jan. 6 | The Daily Show, which my wife and I watched last night.

Jon Stewart kicks off 2025 with an unusually civil Jan. 6 election certification, and right-wing media's desperate attempts to make the Bourbon Street attack about immigration. Plus, Jon unpacks the eerily normal digital footprints of recent terrorists and questions the internet's role in their radicalizations.

"Democracy now has pallbearers" — that also counts as "something darkly funny to say about the anniversary of January 6th worth sharing."

I might have more to say about the truck attacks by lone wolves beyond my sympathies to the victims, my worry that the connections between the two incidents are not just coincidences, and a cybertruck burning in front of a Trump building is just too on the nose for 2025 later. Instead, I'm concluding with Jimmy Kimmel's Trump Win Certified on Insurrection Anniversary, Trudeau Resigns & Guillermo vs Mario Lopez, who saved January 6th for last.

We’re back with a new show after our holiday break, people texting their holiday cards instead of mailing them, a rapper named 2 Low was on a podcast called “One on One with Mike D” and they gave us quiet a moment, Mario Lopez was handing out tequila shots on the Golden Globes red carpet and Jimmy has a bone to pick about it, the Golden Globes put up little facts about each of the presenters as they walked on stage, we have a new winner for tonight’s award for “Excellence in Reporting,” Justin Trudeau announced that he will step down as Prime Minister of Canada, Eric Trump turned 41 and Daddy Donald wrote a very heartfelt post on Truth Social, today is also the fourth anniversary of our Capitol being stormed by the Buffalo Wild Wing of the Republican party, Congress certified Donald Trump’s victory and Kamala Harris had to give the official sign off on Trump’s win as sitting VP, and Jimmy speaks to the “BlueAnon Shaman.”

"The Buffalo Wild Wing of the Republican party" — Ha! It only took four years for that joke, but I like it! On the other hand, the "BlueAnon Shaman" was just silly.

Here's to the comedians keeping us sane in the new year. We need it!

'You're Not Alone' and 'Now What?' Closer looks at Trump's re-election from Colbert, Meyers, 'The Daily Show,' and Kimmel

I closed Jon Stewart's message to his viewers about the election by telling my readers "Michigan still hasn't been called for either President or U.S. Senate as I write this, so stay tuned for those results..." convicted criminal Donald Trump won the Great Lakes State, but Elissa Slotkin won election to the U.S. Senate. Most of the rest of the results were like that, which makes me think that a lot of people voted for Trump and left the rest of the ballot blank or voted for Jill Stein and then Democrats down the ballot. I promise I'll get to that, but I'm not feeling like it today. Instead, I think my readers and I deserve some comfort via comedy, beginning with Stephen Colbert telling his audience You Are Not Alone / The World Reacts To America's Decision.

The Late Show checked in with America's allies and enemies to see how they're reacting to Donald Trump's reelection.

Stephen gauged my mood correctly. I hope he did the same for my readers.

Now on to the monologue, Plunging Back Into The Trump Hole | VP Harris Concedes | We Know What's Coming.

Stephen Colbert delivers his first monologue following Donald Trump's victory over VP Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

I'm tempted to share cute animal videos, too, and it might come to that, but I'm not there yet. Just the same, I understand why Stephen is showing them and his audience appreciates them.

Next, a monologue my wife and I watched last night, Donald Trump Has Won the 2024 Election. Now What?: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump winning the 2024 election, making him the oldest person to take the oath of office and the first person convicted of felony charges to assume the presidency.

What upset me most about this segment was RFK Jr. being in charge of health, which he's bad at, while Trump is keeping him away from energy and the environment, which he's actually good at. It's enough to make me create a label for him, Brainworm. I expect I'll use it a lot during the next four years, although I thought the same of Doctor Pyramid for Ben Carson, who would be better for health than RFK Jr. Instead, I ended up writing "At least you were too boring to write about for the past four [years]" after Carson's service as HUD Secretary. May we be so lucky with RFK Jr.

Next, the first sketch my wife and I watched last night, Desi Lydic Reacts to Trump's Election Win & the Media's Blame Game | The Daily Show.

Desi Lydic unpacks Donald Trump's big presidential election win over Kamala Harris and the subsequent fingerpointing from media pundits. Plus, The Best F**kin' News Team joins Desi to try to muster up some optimism.

We Americans could have elected the first woman as President. Instead, we elected the first convicted criminal. Ugh. The misogyny is real.

I close with Jimmy Kimmel Reacts to Donald Trump Winning the Presidential Election.

Last night we had the choice between a prosecutor and a criminal and we chose the criminal, more than half of the country voted for Donald Trump, it turns out the election wasn’t rigged even though he said it was while people were in line voting, Jimmy’s kids were very upset at the news, Jimmy received a lot of texts from anxious friends and family members, President Biden watched all of the action from the White House and he called Trump today to congratulate him, Kamala Harris also called Donald Trump to concede and she gave a speech at her alma mater Howard University, the voting itself went relatively smoothly despite a number of bomb threats that were sent into heavily democratic precincts, it was a terrible night for so many in America, Jimmy offers some thoughts about how we move forward, Cousin Micki shares something positive, and we head out to Hollywood Blvd to ask people if they voted in the election today (even though it was yesterday).

I think Jimmy is right to be worried. I am, too. I would be surprised if I weren't already on some list, although it gives me cold comfort that I'm probably so far down that list that Trump and his coming administration probably won't get to me in the next four years.* Now I'm wondering if people will protect Jimmy, Stephen, Seth, and the rest of the late-night talk show hosts. If so, it would be another example of the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainm­ent. As I first wrote in 2011, "America is quite clear about its screwed up priorities­." Tuesday night just reinforced that.

*If not a Trump list, then a Russian list, as I posited in A paranoid thought while whining on Dreamwidth last month.

I've had three posts removed from the Crazy Eddie's Motie News Facebook page this month for "spamming." I'm not doing anything different at that page since I created that page years ago. Instead, I think a new follower is reporting me for potentially (too) popular political content. It's likely a U.S. conservative, but Marcy "Emptywheel" Wheeler reported that Russia has compiled a list of over 1,900 “anti-influencers” and I'm wondering if I got on that list. If so, yay, the right enemies, but boo, they might be causing me trouble with Facebook. Either way, it's annoying. Let's hope this stops after the election.

It ended up being five posts, four of which featured either Saturday Night Live or Colbert, before I changed the format of those posts to avoid having them removed.

Jon Stewart's message to his viewers about the election

I closed Meyers, Colbert, and 'The Daily Show' take their last closer looks at the election before the votes are counted by writing "I hope election night doesn't turn into an election month, but I'm not optimistic." I should be careful what I wish for. Donald Trump, who is still a convicted criminal, beat Kamala Harris when he won first Pennsylvania then Wisconsin overnight to be the projected winner of the presidency, duplicating the feat of Grover Cleveland by becoming only the second President elected to non-consecutive terms. My reaction eight years ago was Kunstler said Americans would elect maniacs. That still works eight years later, so I'm not going to repeat it. Instead, I'm sharing Jon Stewart’s Election Night Takeaway | The Daily Show.

Jon Stewart shares his takeaways from Election Night 2024: A glimpse into the fate of the presidency and the mistakes that'll be made all over again.

That's a convincing list of lessons that people hoped would be right, but which ended up being wrong.

So, what are the lessons being learned that could turn out not to be true? MSNBC has one, ‘This will rewrite how the parties approach Latinos’ – Latino support for Trump increases from 2020.

Julián Castro discusses evolving Latino support for Donald Trump.

Latino support for Trump was even more pronounced in Michigan, where exit polling showed 62% of Michigan Latinos voting for Trump. That could be enough to swing the state to him. If the uncommitted movement does it, I'd know what my agenda would be, denounce Jill Stein and the Green Party and support a quality primary opponent to Rashida Tlaib, although if she wins the primary, I'll still vote for her in the general. I'm not going to be like my neighbors, who voted for the Republican nominee. I have limits and standards. For Latinos, there is nothing I can do that Trump and his core supporters would do more effectively except be a positive example. Who knows, Trump might actually overcome his bigotry and cater to his new voters. We should be so lucky.

Michigan still hasn't been called for either President or U.S. Senate as I write this, so stay tuned for those results tomorrow.

Meyers, Colbert, and 'The Daily Show' take their last closer looks at the election before the votes are counted

Today is the last day to vote in this year's election, so it's time for a final round of pre-election monologues from the late-night talk-show hosts, beginning with Late Night with Seth Meyers' Trump's Dark, Weird & Desperate Closing Message: Lies, Threats & Complaints About SNL: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at an exhausted and despondent Donald Trump closing out his campaign with rambling speeches to dwindling crowds, threats of violence, baseless allegations of cheating, vaccine ban possibilities and complaints about Saturday Night Live.

A Prius with a bumper sticker that reads "Science Is Real"? I feel seen! Speaking of science being real, I wish RFK Jr. thought so.

Being frustrated at the polls being tied is one of the themes of all the monologues, which is why the Des Moines Register's Selzer poll came as such a relief to Kamala Harris and her supporters. Stephen Colbert took it that way in Senior Women Back Harris In Iowa | America's Fresh Start | Trump vs. The Microphone.

A respected Iowa pollster predicts VP Kamala Harris will win big among that state's female voters, the Harris-Walz campaign promised a fresh start for the country if they win, and the former president had major trouble with a microphone at one of his rallies.

The other theme was convicted criminal Donald Trump's antics with the microphone. I'm recycling my reaction from Stewart, Meyers, and Colbert take closer looks at Trump 'working' at McDonald's: "I'm not happy about it. I'm sure Standards and Practices wasn't, either."

I close with Harris’s Star-Studded Closer, Trump’s Handsy Mic Moment & RIP Peanut the Squirrel | The Daily Show.

Jordan Klepper recaps the candidates' election closers: Kamala Harris's star-studded message of joy and Trump's "oral" presentation with his mic stand. Plus, Michael Kosta explains how Peanut the Squirrel's death could help Trump target niche undecided voters.

I don't like what happened to Peanut the Squirrel, either, but I don't see what it has to do with national Democrats beyond New York Governor Kathy Hochul being a Democrat. I guess that's enough for MAGA. Still, it's an example of the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with their entertainm­ent.

That's it for today. Stay tuned for election results beginning tomorrow. I hope election night doesn't turn into an election month, but I'm not optimistic.

John Oliver and Bill Maher appeal to last-minute voters

The last day to vote in this year's election is tomorrow, so it's time for last-minute appeals to voters. I have two of them, beginning with Election 2024: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO).

A quick message ahead of Tuesday’s election. And the worst photo that’s ever been taken of anyone. Ever.

As my regular readers know, I live in Michigan — in fact, I live in Rashida Tlaib's district — so I'm quite familiar with the uncommitted movement. John's message is probably the best one for them. It's the one I wish I could make so that convicted criminal Donald Trump would finally become irrelevant, especially after he's sentenced and stands trial for his other crimes.

Bill Maher appealed to other kinds of undecided voters in New Rule: Christmas Eve Voters.

Bill has a message for the undecided voters who like to wait until the eve of an election to make up their minds.

I'm recycling my reaction from Bill Maher says 'Make the Mall Great Again' for Cyber Monday: "In the middle of all the 'Get off my lawn' sentiment and resentment over reactions to the pandemic, Maher makes some good...points," especially about the economy. If the economy is really the issue, then all of the headline measures, employment, economic growth, wages, and even inflation, should be a slam dunk for Kamala Harris and the Democrats. That it's not indicates other issues are important to undecided voters. I have to go to work, so I won't explore them today. Maybe tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Kamala Harris visits 'Saturday Night Live' during its cold open

Do I have a highlights post of last night's Saturday Night Live for you, my readers! As if the title and preview image haven't already spoiled the big surprise, Kamala Harris dropped in to the 2024 Pre-Election Cold Open.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins (Chloe Fineman) checks in with Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) and Donald Trump's (James Austin Johnson) campaigns on the eve of the 2024 election.

Also starring Bowen Yang as JD Vance, Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan as Tim Walz, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, and Vice President Harris as herself. That's an even better trick than the real Nikki Haley crashing the fake Trump town hall, especially since it reused the fake mirror props from 'SNL' plays Family Feud Election Edition as Ariana Grande hosts. I'm an environmentalist, so I approve of reusing and recycling. I'm also a fan of politicians having fun while laughing at themselves, and Harris was certainly doing that.

Convicted criminal Trump's stunt with the trash truck was one of the stories in Weekend Update: 2024 Presidential Election, Trump's MSG Rally.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a comedian at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally calling Puerto Rico a "floating pile of garbage."

As I wrote yesterday, "all the garbage references...came out of Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden. That deserves a post of its own, but I don't know if I will have time before Tuesday." Thanks to Weekend Update, I don't think I have to write it.

I wrote "I'm rooting for a retro Subway Series between the Dodgers and the Yankees" on Sweetest Day and I got the result I was hoping for, Dodgers Win World Series, NYC Legalizes Jaywalking.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Sean "Diddy" Combs facing a new lawsuit.

I take perverse pleasure in Michael Che just skipping over the Dodgers winning the World Series. I also enjoyed Colin Jost turning the tables on Che; usually Jost the butt of the joke.

The news about Disney and Diddy — never thought you'd see those together — qualified this post as the Sunday entertainment feature, but follow over the jump for more entertainment news.*

Randy Rainbow sings 'MAGADU' plus the Marsh Family sings two songs about Trump and Harris

Spooky season is over. It's time to return to election season. Fortunately, Randy Rainbow returned with MAGADU - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody to make it entertaining.

Election drama is in full swing—how are you staying sane?
...
Parody of “Xanadu” (Music/Lyrics by Jeff Lynne)

Parody Lyrics by Randy Rainbow

Song Produced, Orchestrated, Mixed, Mastered by: Michael J Moritz Jr @michaeljmoritz

Vocal Arrangement - Brett Boles @thebrettboles

Lead and Backing Vocals - Randy Rainbow
Piano, Synths - Michael J Moritz Jr
Drums/Engineer - Billy LaGuardia
Sax - Andrew Snapp

I'm going to repeat what I wrote in Stewart, Meyers, and Colbert take closer looks at Trump 'working' at McDonald's.

I don't think convicted criminal Donald Trump learned one useful thing from this experience. He's too old a dog to learn new tricks.

Repeating the fiction of Haitian immigrants eating pets doesn't count as a new trick; it's just another example of his vulnerability to conspiracy theories. Woof.

Project 2025 doesn't count, either. That's someone else's new trick, which prompts Trump to do his best Sergeant Schultz impression, instead claiming Agenda 47 as his own. That's full of old Trump tricks as well. The possible exception is "freedom cities" to solve the housing crisis, one of the "cyberpunk villain ideas straight out of Snow Crash that I examined in Rachel Maddow examines Curtis Yarvin, one of JD Vance's influences. JD Vance can certainly learn new tricks.

As for all the garbage references, those came out of Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden. That deserves a post of its own, but I don't know if I will have time before Tuesday. I'll dispense with it for now by remarking that the one in 1939 was enough.

Follow over the jump for two song parodies by the Marsh Family, who I featured in Randy Rainbow sings 'JD, JD... (Married Lady)'.

Stewart, Meyers, and Colbert take closer looks at Trump 'working' at McDonald's

An early happy National TV Talk Show Host Day! I'm celebrating early because I have the perfect three videos for today that my wife and I watched last night and because I plan on going full spooky season tomorrow for National Horror Movie Day. Priorities.

I begin with Jon Stewart on Trump's McDonald's Shift & His "Enemy Within" Threat | The Daily Show.

With two weeks until the election, Jon Stewart sifts through the increasingly weird and surreal election news: from Trump's ramble about Arnold Palmer's d*ck, to his shift at McDonald's, to Kamala Harris's campaign event with Liz Cheney. Plus, he breaks down the GOP's reaction to Trump's "enemy within" comment.

I'm reacting to Trump's publicity stunt by recycling my remark from 'SNL' lampoons the Fox News interview of Kamala Harris in its cold open.

As for Trump working the fryer at McDonald's, I can say it's tougher than he thinks it is, because I worked in fast food while going to UCLA, first at Jack-in-the-Box, then at Wendy's. To repeat what I wrote in 'SNL' tries to turn a week of unfunny news into comedy and gets saved by Adam Driver and Olivia Rodrigo, "[he] should see what it's like from the other side of the counter!"

I don't think convicted criminal Donald Trump learned one useful thing from this experience. He's too old a dog to learn new tricks.

Trump's planned publicity stunt was the second weirdest thing that happened over the weekend. Seth Meyers examined the other in Trump's Weird Story About Arnold Palmer's Penis Size, McDonald's Stunt: A Closer Look.

Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump staging a photo opportunity at a McDonald's and talking about how well-endowed Arnold Palmer was.

Like Seth, I'm not happy about it. I'm sure Standards and Practices wasn't, either.

I close with Stephen Colbert, who brought some good news in Harris Leads In Early Voting, Deftly Handles MAGA Heckler | Trump Fixates On Arnold Palmer's Manhood.

Stephen Colbert is among the millions of Americans who have already cast their vote for president, VP Kamala Harris deftly handled a MAGA heckler who interrupted her rally, and former president Trump subjected his rally goers to a 12-minute screed about a dead celebrity's genitalia.

May Kamala Harris not only lead in early voting, but in the final popular vote tally and the Electoral College, too.

Stay tuned tomorrow as I go full spooky season.

'SNL' lampoons the Fox News interview of Kamala Harris in its cold open

It's Wester, but I'm postponing my observance until tomorrow because it's election season. Today, I'm sharing another highlights post of last night's Saturday Night Live beginning, like the show, with Fox News Kamala Harris Interview Cold Open.

Bret Baier (Alec Baldwin) welcomes Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) for an interview on Fox News.

Also starring James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, Ego Nwodim as the Fox News host of the women's town hall, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, and Marcello Hernandez as the audience member at the Univision town hall. This sketch captured both Baier's obnoxious interviewing tactics and the contrast between Kamala Harris's seriousness and convicted criminal Donald Trump's silliness, which featured prominently in Weekend Update: Trump Dances for 40 Minutes Straight at Campaign Rally.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Kamala Harris calling out Donald Trump for gaslighting Americans about January 6.

Trump telling his rally audience "Get that fat pig off the couch. Tell him to vote for Trump. He's going to save our country," reminds me of what I wrote in George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel and Trump sells sneakers, that "he has long had a very bad case of 'L'État, c'est moi.' As far as he's concerned, he is the country." That's probably was why he called January 6, 2021 "a day of love." It was, for him, not for the country or anyone else. As for Trump working the fryer at McDonald's, I can say it's tougher than he thinks it is, because I worked in fast food while going to UCLA, first at Jack-in-the-Box, then at Wendy's. To repeat what I wrote in 'SNL' tries to turn a week of unfunny news into comedy and gets saved by Adam Driver and Olivia Rodrigo, "[he] should see what it's like from the other side of the counter!"

Continuing with the election theme, I'm shuffling the order of segments by embedding Weekend Update: Emil Wakim on Voting in the 2024 Election next.

Emil Wakim stops by Weekend Update to discuss voting in the 2024 election as a young person.

Emil is very funny, but he's not kidding about the reaction many Americans have to finding out he's Christian.

Follow over the jump for more clips from last night's episode.

'SNL' plays Family Feud Election Edition as Ariana Grande hosts

Happy Sunday during election season! It's time for another highlights post of last night's Saturday Night Live beginning, like the show, with Family Feud Election 2024 Cold Open.

Host Steve Harvey (Kenan Thompson) welcomes key players in the 2024 election, like Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph), Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg), Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan) and Joe Biden (Dana Carvey), to face off against Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), Donald Trump Jr. (Mikey Day) and JD Vance (Bowen Yang) in a game of Family Feud.

Also Chloe Fineman as Kaitlan Collins, Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, and no one as Melania Trump. Too bad, it could have been Heidi Gardner, but it was probably funnier that she didn't show. Here's to hoping that the election turns out like the game with the Democrats winning.

Now to make fun of the week's news on Weekend Update: Trump Agrees to Fox News Town Hall with All-Women Audience.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like Trump confirming he wouldn't agree to a second debate against Kamala Harris.

On the one hand, congratulations to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on raising one billion dollars. On the other, my wife and I are looking forward to no longer receiving fundraising texts and emails from the campaign.

A possible subway series wasn't the only story covered last night. Watch Weekend Update: LeBron James and Son Bronny Make NBA History.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the Supreme Court declining to hear R. Kelly's appeal in his sex crime case.

The R. Kelly and Diddy news is enough to qualify this as the Sunday entertainment feature, but there will be more over the jump.

The BBC World Service examines 'How the US election could change our climate' plus MSNBC on Project 2025 and climate

Change of plans — instead of "returning to the Emmy Awards with the diversity in Emmy winners posts I've been promising," I'm returning to the intersection of the election and climate change thanks to BBC World Service examining How the US election could change our climate - The Global Story podcast.

In the second of our pre-election series we look at America and... climate change. How could Kamala Harris or Donald Trump shape the global response to the climate crisis?
...
As one of the world’s largest producers of fossil fuels and carbon emissions, the US plays a pivotal role in addressing climate change. The environmental policies of the next president could reshape American industry and the economy, while influencing the global fight against climate change.

Sumi Somaskanda speaks to the BBC’s climate editor Justin Rowlatt and Carl Nasman, who covers US climate issues for the BBC.

Yes, the United States does face a stark choice on a number of issues next month (this month for people who are filling their ballots early and mailing them in, as my wife and I are planning on doing) as I described most recently in CityNerd examines Agenda 47 and cities in 'And You Thought Project 2025 Was Bad', not least of which are climate and energy, which I promised to cover months ago in MSNBC examines Project 2025, part 4. Then, I had two videos from MSNBC to share. Now, I have five, beginning with the most recent, Project 2025 calls for break up of nation's top weather and climate service. That makes this part 8 of MSNBC examines Project 2025.

Project 2025 is calling for the breaking up of the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA). Monica Medina, former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, joins Morning Joe to discuss as Hurricane Milton is set to hit Florida.

FEMA having to debunk rumors on its webpage reminds me of what I wrote in Kamala Harris visits 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'.

As for Trump's lies about FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene, I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I last wrote in 'SNL' returns with Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris after winning six Emmy Awards; "the voices he's listening to aren't reliable sources. This includes JD Vance.' It also includes the voices in his head." Who are he and his supporters going to believe, their narrative or their own eyes and ears? So far, it's their narrative.

That's damage that's already been done and needs to be repaired. I'd rather not imagine the impact of breaking up NOAA, which paid my salary twice. That would make the consequences of extreme weather and other natural disasters worse.

Monica Medina appeared previously in ‘He will weaponize’ and politicize the weather: Trump and Project 2025’s wrecking ball climate plan, one of the videos I have been saving.

This year’s presidential election will determine the fate of our democracy and, with it, hard-won environmental and climate gains. Project 2025, the conservative playbook for another Trump term, promises to completely eviscerate climate policy and empower Big Oil. Activist and author Bill McKibben and Monica Medina, a former top climate official at the State Department, DoD, and NOAA, join Ali Velshi to discuss what’s at stake this November. 'Biden has done more to support clean energy by far than any president before,' says McKibben. Trump “won’t just politicize the weather – he will weaponize it,” warns Medina.

Not only did McKibben imagine what a U.S. without NOAA would be like, he compared it to convicted criminal Donald Trump's response to the pandemic, "if we don't know, then we don't have to talk about it." He also brought up Ron DeSantis forbidding mention of climate change in Florida's official documents, all while the Sunshine State was already facing one of the worst hurricane seasons forecast. So far, that dire prediction is coming true. Speaking of which, Trump weaponizing the weather against his enemies isn't a prediction; it already happened during his time as President.

I have three more MSNBC videos about Project 2025 and climate policy to share, but I have papers to correct and dinner to grill, so I'm saving them for part 9. In the meantime, stay tuned for a highlights post of tonight's Saturday Night Live as the Sunday entertainment feature. Ariana Grande and Stevie Nicks!

Kamala Harris visits 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'

I might just return to this season's big story, the election, tomorrow. That is, if I don't cover hurricane season instead. Stay tuned.

That's how I closed 'Bankrupt - 99 Cents Only Stores' by Bright Sun Films, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and it turns out I get to blog about both today, thanks to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which had a special episode last night with Kamala Harris as its guest. Normally, I'd begin with the monologue and end with the cold open, but I'm shuffling the order by starting with The Late Show Presidential Nominee Interview cold open.



It's a tradition like no other.
LOL, because it's not a tradition for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, although it is one for 60 Minutes. As for Stephen's invitation to convicted criminal Donald Trump to "go fvck himself," I second his emotion.

Now the monologue, Getting To Know VP Kamala Harris | Trump's FEMA Lies Harm Hurricane Victims | Elon Is So Cringe.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is honored to be the only late night television show on Vice President Kamala Harris's media blitz, while her Republican opponent is busy undercutting FEMA's efforts to dig out from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, and his friend Elon Musk is once again the internet’s favorite laughing stock.

I'm glad Stephen returned from break for this episode. Doing so was good for his show, Vice President Harris, and the country.

Now the Vice President herself appears as she asks Trump via Stephen, "Have You No Empathy, Man?" - VP Harris On Trump's Lies About FEMA's Hurricane Helene Relief Work.

The Democratic nominee for president of the United States returns for her seventh visit to The Late Show and sits down for a four-part interview with Stephen Colbert. Watch as she and Stephen discuss the devastation of Hurricane Helene and the crude cynicism of Donald Trump who is spreading misinformation about FEMA's response as the potentially catastrophic Hurricane Milton approaches landfall in Florida. Stick around for three more segments with Vice President Kamala Harris!

I made Funkadelic's "One Nation under a Groove" my personal theme song for Harris's campaign back in 2019 and revived it once she began running again this summer, as shown by this tweet of mine.

#OneNationUnderAGroove
Gettin' down just for the funk of it
One nation and we're on the move
Nothin' can stop us now!#Kamala2024 #KamalaHarris2024 #KamalaHasMyVote #NotGoingBack pic.twitter.com/u3Xdv7x2eL

— Crazy Eddie's Motie News (@pinkusensei) July 26, 2024

I'm thrilled that someone else thought of it, too, and hope it catches on.

As for Trump's lies about FEMA's response to Hurricane Helene, I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling what I last wrote in 'SNL' returns with Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris after winning six Emmy Awards; "the voices he's listening to aren't reliable sources. This includes JD Vance.' It also includes the voices in his head." Who are he and his supporters going to believe, their narrative or their own eyes and ears? So far, it's their narrative.

Stephen has three more clips of Harris, but I have to get ready for work. Watch them on The Late Show's YouTube channel.

'SNL' spoofs the VP debate in its cold open

The 6000th post on this blog, as I promised yesterday, is a highlights post of tonight's Saturday Night Live beginning with the VP Debate 2024 Cold Open.

Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph) and Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg) watch the vice presidential debate between JD Vance (Bowen Yang) and Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan).

Also Dana Carvey as Joe Biden, who stole the skit, Heidi Gardner as Norah O'Donnell, and Chloe Fineman as Margaret Brennan. They gave the vice presidential debate exactly what it deserved, a good razzing. "Honey, we have the soundbite!" Yes, Tim Walz got JD Vance to give "a damning non-answer." Vance has bought the Big Lie.

Weekend Update: Trump Scrolled Twitter During Jan 6 concentrated on other news, including funnier findings from Jack Smith's filing.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like it being released that Trump was scrolling Twitter during January 6, Elon Musk attending a Trump rally and Trump not wanting to release his medical records.

I can tell SNL's writers regret missing out on RFK Jr. this summer when his shenanagans were fresh and took this opportunity to make fun of him before it was way too late. His candidacy has already turned into a pumpkin just in time for Spooky Season, but will rot in November, just like all the other jack-o'-lanterns.

The news about Diddy and Daniel Day Lewis was enough to qualify this post as the Sunday entertainment feature, but I couldn't resist including Weekend Update: Jane Wickline to introduce a new cast member playing and singing about parties, just not the political ones.

Jane Wickline stops by Weekend Update to perform a song about Gen Z partying.

Now I'm wondering if this song is eligible for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics at next year's Emmy Awards. I'll have to wait until July to find out!

Follow over the jump for a classic skit and its sequel.

Dailyshowographies of Tim Walz and JD Vance plus 'The Daily Show's Emmy Awards

I'm looking ahead to tomorrow night's Vice Presidential debate for the final entry of September as well as following through on telling my readers to "Stay tuned for two or three posts about Emmy Award winners, another topic that will be good to share next month" with The Daily Show's Emmy Awards. Nothing like two birds with one stone!

I begin with Tim Walz: Radically Nice | The Daily Showography.

People think vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is nice. But is he... too nice? From his dangerously folksy upbringing, to the National Guard, to teaching America's future enemies in China, Tim Walz's "nice" act isn't fooling anyone. This is the Dailyshowography of Tim Walz.

*Snort* No matter how hard The Daily Show's writers try to make Tim Walz look sinister by imitating a right-wing attack ad, his niceness shines through.

Now it's JD Vance's turn in JD Vance: The Forgettin’ Man | The DailyShowography.

JD Vance grew up in a community of forgotten men and women. He left it behind for an Ivy League education and a career as a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, before leaving that behind for a career as a never-Trump literary success, and then leaving that behind to become Trump's running mate. How did it all happen? This is The DailyShowography of JD Vance: The Forgettin' Man #DailyShow #JDVance #DailyShowography

On the other hand, Vance's opportunism and misogyny shine right through this satirical biography. As for Hillbilly Elegy, it's one of the rare films that earned both Oscar and Razzie nominations. While I'm not sure about Glenn Close's Razzie nomination (fortunately, she didn't win), I am sure about Worst Screenplay, which earned Vanessa Taylor, but not Vance, a nomination. I think leaving Vance off the nomination was an oversight.

I return to the Democratic nominee with Desi Lydic Foxsplains Tim Walz.

Who is Tim Walz, and why is he putting tampons in the boys' bathroom? Desi Lydic has taken a break from watching Fox News in her Cybertruck and is ready to Foxsplain Kamala Harris's running mate.

I'm rolling my eyes at all the Faux Noise scaremongering over China. I think having a Vice President who speaks the language and understands the culture would be a good thing.

May the better man win tomorrow night's debate and I'm pretty sure Walz is the better man.

Follow over the jump for the Daily Show's Emmy Awards, including post-mortems of my predictions from 'Jon Stewart Debunks GOP’s City Crime Narrative' plus 'The Daily Show's Emmy nominations.

'SNL' returns with Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris after winning six Emmy Awards

Saturday Night Live returned last night and the first episode of the new season began with Harris and Trump Rallies Cold Open.

News anchor David Muir (Andrew Dismukes) checks in with Kamala Harris (Maya Rudolph), Tim Walz (Jim Gaffigan), Doug Emhoff (Andy Samberg), Donald Trump (James Austin Johnson), JD Vance (Bowen Yang) and Joe Biden (Dana Carvey) at Harris' and Trump's campaign rallies.

That was a hilarious contrast between the two campaigns portrayed by an all-star cast for the speaking roles! Welcome back! The audience, including me, missed you this summer!

As I usually do, I'm skipping to Weekend Update: Trump Calls Kamala Harris “Mentally Disabled Person”.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like SNL kicking off its 50th season and New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams indictments.

First, convicted criminal Donald Trump calling Kamala Harris a "mentally disabled person" is another example of Projection being the Right's favorite defense mechanism as well as Trump being unable to imagine Harris any other way. As I wrote in Stewart, Colbert, and Kimmel recap last night's debate, "the voices he's listening to aren't reliable sources. This includes JD Vance." It also includes the voices in his head.

Second, I told my readers "I expect NYC Mayor Eric Adams will be the subject of either the cold open or Weekend Update" and he earned two spots on Weekend Update. Here's the second, Weekend Update: New York City Mayor Eric Adams on His Federal Indictments.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Devon Walker) stops by Weekend Update to discuss his mayorship and his federal indictments.

I was right again, as "I also anticipate rat jokes in his (dis)honor" and I was not disappointed. Speaking of being right, I forecast the following in 'SNL' begins 2022 with a message from Biden about the pandemic and movies.

Welcome to being Mayor of New York City, Your Honor. It will be a great four years — for Chris Redd and his fans. I'm not so sure about you.

After the title story, Weekend Update: Meryl Streep Speaks at United Nations featured science, space, and technology stories, so of course I'm embedding it.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like a scientists (sic) saying an asteroid will become earth’s mini moon.

"Space" made a good punchline for the origin of the Chicxulub impactor, but as LiveScience reported Dinosaur-killing asteroid was a rare rock from beyond Jupiter, new study reveals. There, value added.

Weekend Update concluded with a cute animal story, Baby Hippo Moo Deng on Fame.

Moo Deng (Bowen Yang) stops by Weekend Update to discuss her newfound fame.

Here's to hoping bits like this help earn Bowen Yang another Emmy nomination next year.

Follow over the jump for more clips from last night's episode and a celebration of SNL's Emmy Awards.

Project 2025 and Trump on Social Security and Medicare

I posted Musical question for today exactly one year ago. The impulse that made me write that is motivating me to post about something personal related to the anniversary of the same event.* I begin with Verify claiming No, Project 2025 doesn’t propose eliminating Social Security benefits.

Contrary to online claims, Project 2025 doesn’t call for ending Social Security benefits. But the Heritage Foundation has advocated for changes to the program.

By fact-checking for "eliminating Social Security benefits," Verify minimizes the risk to the program and its beneficiaries. To their credit, they do point out that people behind Project 2025 have advocated raising the retirement age and privatizing Social Security. Both of those will weaken Social Security and harm its beneficiaries.

Via KREM 2 News, they do much the same for convicted criminal Donald Trump in VERIFY | Does former President Trump want to cut social security benefits?

The campaign is in full swing and many people have questions about statements Kamala Harris has been making at her rallies.

"Currently" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. He may not favor cutting Social Security now, but he talked out of both sides of his mouth about the issue in the past. Watch and listen to CNN Trump made promises to never touch Social Security. Hear what he thinks about it now to hear that history, including the quote first Joe Biden and now Kamala Harris and Tim Walz seized upon.

CNN's Abby Phillip breaks down what former President Donald Trump has said about federal entitlement programs in the past after Trump suggests he is open to making cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Then, she is joined by former Obama adviser Dan Pfieffer.

Pay attention to what Trump has done, not just what he said. As Phieffer noted, his administration proposed cutting Social Security and Medicare in every budget he proposed. Fortunately, Congress didn't go along then, although the current Speaker of the House favors them. Here's to hoping we don't have to find out if the next Congress would go along with that plan.

Follow over the jump for the latest on Trump's ideas on Social Security and Medicare.

Stewart, Colbert, and Kimmel recap last night's debate

Last year, I wished my readers "A somber Patriot Day, the anniversary of 9/11." That's still the appropriate salutation for today, but I'm not in a particularly somber mood because I'm still enjoying last night's debate performance by Kamala Harris against convicted criminal Donald Trump AKA Hoover Cleveland, which is even better filtered through the late night talk show hosts. I begin with Jon Stewart Tackles Harris & Trump's Debate and What This Means for the Election | The Daily Show.

Jon Stewart goes live after the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Filled with face-offs over abortion access, border control, and for some reason eating cats? Jon breaks down what this all means for the election.

Jon Stewart is taking full advantage of the live show by dropping f-bombs on air. Standards and practices? What's that? Just the same, it's working, or at least not getting in the way. This clip has more than 2 million views!

Stewart's view count and preview image were enough to move Stephen Colbert's LIVE Monologue: Harris Gets Under Trump's Skin | Eating Cats And Dogs | Taylor Swift's Endorsement to second position from the planned first.

Stephen Colbert delivers his LIVE monologue following the first debate between VP Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.

The only fact Harris failed to drop when she attacked Hoover Cleveland over his inviting the Taliban to Camp David to negotiate the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan that eventually resulted in the fall of Kabul was that he planned on doing so on the anniversary of 9/11. Otherwise, *chef's kiss,* which Taylor Swift also deserves for her endorsement.

I close with Jimmy Kimmel Breaks Down the Presidential Debate Between Donald Trump & Kamala Harris.

Jimmy breaks down the debate of the decade between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and it was quite the beating, Trump spent the day posting cat memes after a debunked story that Haitian immigrants are eating pets, VP candidate JD Vance can’t stop bringing attention to these stories, Trump keeps intentionally mispronouncing Kamala Harris’ name, he seems to KNOW and NOT KNOW a lot of things, and Jimmy checks in with our panel of political experts for their thoughts on the debate: Gavin Newsom (Josh Meyers), MyPillow Mike Lindell (James Adomian), and JD Vance (Haley Joel Osment).

While Dick Cheney endorsing Harris made Stewart ill, it made Kimmel recognize his pragmatism. I'm with Kimmel right now. Cheney almost certainly deserved his portrayal in Vice, which is not flattering, but he's a smart political player. Not only is he endorsing Harris because she has the gun that will stop the charging rhino that is Trump, but he also would like his old political party back and stopping Trump is the only way to get it. I think this is necessary but not sufficient, so he and his daughter will be disappointed, but I'll take his support for Harris regardless of his motives.

As for Trump AKA Hoover Cleveland repeating the fiction of Haitian immigrants eating pets, it's another example of his vulnerability to conspiracy theories. He still hasn't learned that the voices he's listening to aren't reliable sources. This includes JD Vance.

That's a wrap for the silly takes on the debate. Stay tuned to see if I return with serious or more silly reactions to the debate tomorrow, or I stick with my plan to cover Fallout's Emmy wins and nominations for National Video Games Day tomorrow.