ANs President Trump’s MAGA hordes were taking over the United States Capitol last Wednesday, photos began to appear on social media of a familiar face in the insurrectional crowd: Daily Show correspondent Jordan Klepper. When I spoke to him immediately afterwards to see what kind of field play he had in store for the spectators, the comedian simply replied: “A savage”.
The segment, which has only been posted online since The Daily Show it is still on a hiatus this week, it is in fact even more outrageous than the last one that Klepper filmed in the so-called “March of the Million MAGA” just two weeks after the election last November. Not only did he get close enough to see the crowd storming the building, he also got into momentary confusion with a Trump supporter who attacked his cameraman.
“Last week, we saw one of the darkest days in American history,” says Klepper at the beginning of the video. “And for better or worse, I was there.” At the Trump rally that preceded the act of domestic terrorism, he asked participants whether they would accept Joe Biden as their president starting January 20. When a couple told them that they “do not consent” to being governed by an “illegal and fraudulent election”, he replied, “But you elected a guy who also doesn’t care much about consent.”
Things got more and more aggressive as Klepper followed the crowd towards the Capitol. “The only thing you can’t help but notice is how many people seemed to be preparing for battle,” he says. “From tactical vests to pitchforks, this rally seemed loaded.”
“You can say that these people really love America for the number of weapons they brought in to hurt other Americans,” says Klepper. “This thing was a powder keg. It only took one person to light the fuse, like these human torches, ”he adds, pointing to clips of Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump Jr. and the president himself practically ordering his supporters to commit treason.
“Is this the last position ?!” he asks a man running towards the building on a Segway scooter.
Klepper’s previous reports on Trump’s rallies last year were consistently hilarious, but you can feel the jokes dissipating as he takes in the seriousness of what is about to happen. Through images of the violent clashes that followed, he says: “They attacked our democracy, our police and even our cameraman”.
“Trump’s fake tough military men are literally throwing themselves on the ground to perpetuate victimization,” he says before noting that “in the end, the crowd hasn’t stopped our democracy” since Congress finished certifying the Electoral College vote that night .
“This shit-spot rebellion has failed,” concludes Klepper. “Just like my dry January.”
For more, listen The Daily ShowJordan Klepper’s The last laugh podcast.