Thursday’s installment of The Daily Show on Comedy Central hit the trifecta of current liberal talking points: Donald Trump is like Hitler, Kamala Harris is wonderful, and Tim Walz putting tampons in boys’ bathrooms is no big deal.

Temp host Michael Kosta welcomed MSNBC legal analyst and law professor Barbara McQuade to promote her new book on disinformation and asked her, “What are some of the other tactics? Because, man, as a consumer of news and media, I should know what these are.”

 

 

Part of living in a democracy means the party out of power will portray the current situation in a negative light, but McQuade saw something far more sinister at play, “Yeah, absolutely. One of them is this idea of declinism. Society is going downhill. Everything’s awful. Cities in ruins. American carnage.”

Kosta interrupted, “You sound like a Trump speech right now.”

McQuade continued, “These are some of the same tactics that Hitler talked about in Mein Kampf and used in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. And in fact, if you look at the data, you know, crime rates are down, the economy is up. All of the indicators are on the upswing and yet, if we can talk about the society as being down, then it allows us to say, ‘well these extreme times call for extreme measures.’ And people believe these things. It allows scapegoating of other people in society and demonization of others.”

Earlier, in the program, during his opening monologue, Kosta claimed Republicans have no good lines of attack against vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz. After playing a montage of conservative media personalities and Republican politicians condemning Walz for putting tampons in boys’ school bathrooms and nicknaming him “Tampon Tim,” Kosta quipped, “Tampon Tim? Tampon Tim? That sounds like a fictional character parents tell their daughter about when she gets her first period.”

One would think putting tampons in the boys’ bathroom would be a gold mine of comedic material, but Kosta thought otherwise, “With all due respect to Tampon Tim, I really just don't care about this. You know, best case scenario, a trans kid gets tampons. Worst case, the weird kid in class puts them in his nose and pretends he's a walrus.”

Elsewhere, Charlamagne Tha God joined the show to condemn the idea that Harris is a DEI candidate, “But for the sake of argument, let's suppose Kamala was given a chance because of her identity. She still had to do something with it on her own. “

Since he couldn’t cite the border as a Harris success, Charlamagne unironically argued that Harris’s lack of accomplishments is itself an accomplishment, “Kamala has done a great job as vice president. Remember that one big thing she did? Me neither. Okay, and that's exactly what you want in a VP. Someone who doesn't make the news. A VP is like a carbon monoxide detector. You want to have one, but if it makes any noise, something's gone wrong.”

But if the carbon monoxide detector malfunctions and fails to go off when it should, that is also a problem.

Here is a transcript for the August 7 show:

Comedy Central The Daily Show

8/7/2024

11:04 PM ET

MICHAEL KOSTA: Tampon Tim? Tampon Tim? That sounds like a fictional character parents tell their daughter about when she gets her first period. You know, like, "Look what tampon Tim left under the sink, honey! Super plus overnights! You've got your mom's flow and we couldn't be prouder!" 

But basically, what happened is that Walz passed a law that put free tampons in all public schools, including boys' bathrooms. With all due respect to Tampon Tim, I really just don't care about this. You know, best case scenario, a trans kid gets tampons. Worst case, the weird kid in class puts them in his nose and pretends he's a walrus. Which is also best case scenario. Personally, as someone who was a 13-year-old boy, it doesn't matter what you put in that bathroom, whatever it is, they're going to draw a penis on it, they’re going to rip it off the wall, and try to flush it down the toilet. It’s either that or go to geography and I’m not going to waste my time with that.

…

11:16 PM ET

CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: But for the sake of argument, let's suppose Kamala was given a chance because of her identity. She still had to do something with it on her own. And Kamala has done a great job as vice president. Remember that one big thing she did? Me neither. Okay, and that's exactly what you want in a VP. Someone who doesn't make the news. A VP is like a carbon monoxide detector. You want to have one, but if it makes any noise, something's gone wrong. 

…

11:28

KOSTA: What are some of the other tactics? Because, man, as a consumer of news and media, I should know what these are.

BARBARA MCQUADE: Yeah, absolutely. One of them is this idea of declinism. Society is going downhill. Everything’s awful. Cities in ruins. American carnage.

KOSTA: Yes. Yes. You sound like a Trump speech right now.

MCQUADE: These are some of the same tactics that Hitler talked about in Mein Kampf and used in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. And in fact, if you look at the data, you know, crime rates are down, the economy is up.

KOSTA: Yes. Yes.

MCQUADE: All of the indicators are on the upswing and yet, if we can talk about the society as being down, then it allows us to say, "well these extreme times call for extreme measures."

KOSTA: Right.

MCQUADE: And people believe these things. It allows scapegoating of other people in society and demonization of others.