The Daily Show: Ears EditionMichael Kosta Covers Trump's Accusal of Biden Drug Use Ahead of Debate | Paul W. Downs
With Biden and Trump set to face-off in their first presidential debate of 2024, Michael Kosta is taking a look at each candidate’s preparation. While Joe Biden is practicing being insulted at mock debates, Trump is lowering expectations, accusing Biden of doping, and making up some new words, like “refuttal.” Desi Lydic and Troy Iwata weigh in with a debate over the best type of debate prep. And, with a quarter million dollar investment from his parents, a garage to work from, and MC Hammer khakis, Jeff Bezos had everything he needed to start the empire known today as Amazon. From launching Amazon to launching a shuttle into space, Bezos has solidified his place as history’s most powerful nerd. Then, Emmy-winning writer, actor, and co-creator of the hit Max series “Hacks” Paul W. Downs talks about his multi-hyphenate role at the show, what it means in comedy to be a “hack,” how people outside of showbiz can relate to the character of Deborah Vance, and how The Daily Show brought him and his “Broad City” co-star Ilana Glazer into each other’s lives.
You're listening to Comedy Central from the most trusted journalists.
At Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news.
This it's The Daily Show with.
Your host Michael Costa.
Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Michael Costa. We've got so much to talk about tonight. We're just days away from the first presidential debate that will change everything or nothing. So let's get right into our continuing coverage of Indecision twenty twenty four. If you've been tuning out the presidential campaign so far, I get it. It's boring. My grandpa is also a rambling eighty year old man, and let me tell you, I keep half an ear open for the word inheritance and I just ignore everything else. But the presidential campaign won't be boring for long because this week Trump and Biden will be rambling face to face. That's right. Thursday is the first presidential debate, and these men are going toe to toe, and if you've ever met or seen old men's toes, you know that's going to be a dirty fight. Finally, the American people will have something to judge these candidates on aside from the four years that they were both president already, and Joe Biden, for one, he's ready for battle the president.
This morning.
It continues to be hunkered down at Camp David. He is fine tuning his messaging, honing his attack lines. That he's huddling there with over a dozen advisors, and over the coming days his prep is expected to evolve from gaming out questions and answers to holding ninety minute mock debates.
Yeah, that's the most dubious thumbs up I've ever seen. That's the football player as he's being carted off the field. He's gonna be okay, folks. His thumb is working. But that's right. Joe Biden is holding up at Camp David and doing ninety minute mock debates, although most of that is just him walking up to the podium. And if you're wondering who could possibly prepare him for debating Donald Trump, well, Joe Biden has just the guy.
Attorney Bob Bauer would be standing in for Trump during mock debate sessions, yelling insults at Biden and trying to get under his skin.
When you're playing a role, you're trying to make the experience as realistic for the person you're working with as possible. Really, the guy who plays Santa Claus at the Bad Mall this is your Trump. I don't know if he can replicate the unhinged madness of debating Donald Trump. The only Biden staffer who could pull that off as that dog that keeps biting everyone in the face. But but regardless of how he prepares, there's one thing Biden can be sure of, where exactly he's going to be on that stage.
We're getting more details today about how the high stakes debate stage will look. Biden won the coin toss and chose to stand on the right side of the stage. Why the right? There's actually a scientific reason. When there are two people on stage TV, viewers' eyes are drawn to the right side.
Wow, thank you science. I mean, hey, any news on a cancer cure?
No?
Maybe, whenever you're done debating left or right? Possibly? Hey, it may usually be true that viewers' eyes are drawn to the right, but in this case there'll be even more drawn to the neon man ranting about how toilets don't flush anymore thanks to transgender swimmers. But I do like this coin toss thing. You know, why stop with the debate side, Let's have the coin determine who wins the election. Yeah, it would be so much less stressful than five months of campaigning. Just flip the coin heads, it's Trump, tails, it's Biden. If the coin bounces and rolls into the sewer, it's RFK Junior. Anyway, that's what Joe Biden is up to. But preparing for the debate is not the only way to prepare for the debate because Joe Biden's opponent, well, he's taking a different approach.
Almost everything that President Biden is doing, Donald Trump is not. There are no mock debates, there are no rehearse punchlines or pivot points. The poor president also didn't take any time away from the campaign trail.
Tell me a.
Little bit about how you're preparing for the debate, right because we see that President Biden is out of camp.
David, you're on the campaign trail.
What's your strategy for the debate.
Well, this is really the best strategy right here.
We have all these people screaming questions.
Okay, first of all, no one's screaming questions. You're elevated on a platform talking at people the whole time. And how convenient is it that Trump's debate prep is holding rallies the thing he wants to do. Anyway. It's like when finals were coming up and you had that one friend who would say, you know, I retain information better when i'm high. You know. It's like, just to be clear, that was my friend, that wasn't me.
Okay.
Of course, when you don't prepare for a debate, you run the risk of losing the debate, So it helps to lower expectations a little bit.
Trump appears to be lowering expectations and making excuses ahead of the upcoming presidential debate with President Biden.
So I'm not underestimating him.
I'm not underestimating him. I assume he's going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater.
Maybe I'm better of losing the debate. I'll lose the debate on purpose. Maybe I'll do something like that, right, all right, don't lower expectations that far. Maybe I'll lose the debate. Maybe I'll shit my pants and run off stage crying about how much shit is actually in my pants. That's how you'll know I've won. But this brings up an interesting quandary for the Trump campaign. Right now, Trump is saying Biden is a worthy debater. But don't forget for the past three and a half years, he's been saying Biden is a demented moron with the brain power of a Love Island contestant. So how are Republicans going to explain it if a guy they say has jello for brains really does beat Trump, Well, don't worry. They have a plan, the Trump campaign and the Trump allies. They keep floating this conspiracy that Biden is going to be amped up on drugs.
They're going to need to goose him and juice him for a lot of Red bull, a lot of caffeine pills.
He's on adderall, or he's on riddlin.
Etcrin that has caffeine in it, hopped up on B twelve ivy fluids.
Monster Energy train or something or something.
Whatever happened to all that cocaine that was missing a month ago from the way, whatever happened.
Look, look we all know what happened. That dog snorted it before a bit someone's face off. Certainly is conservative media now just wildly speculating that the president is on drugs. Could be cocaine, could be adderall, maybe both. I mean, at this point, Fox News is basically my friend's group chat about justin timberleg so so yes. The Republican talking point is that if Biden does well, it's because he's taking performance enhanching drugs, which is just such a stupid conspiracy theory, because, first off, if Biden's body could handle even half of what they're saying, he's the strongest man alive. You know, he'll win the presidency and the Kentucky Derby. Now, just by the way, Trump isn't really one to talk because in the same speech where he claimed Biden is mentally incapacitated, he was going around saying things.
Like this, and my stupid people, when I wanted to refute it, they should sure don't dignify it with a refuddle, refutal or refunneled.
What the hell word would that be? Refunneled?
Do what they'll say, he didn't know refuddle or refutal, But they don't know either.
It's neither. It's neither of those words. What do you mean they don't know? No, I don't know what fake word you're trying to say. This dude's entire brain is just squiggly red spell check lines, and then his mouth always tries to refuddle every thought he has. That's the big difference between Biden and Trump. When they make a mistake, Biden will correct himself, whereas Trump will deflect and call everyone else an idiot, which, to be honest, is more relatable. And it's like when I get too drunk and then I accuse everyone else of being drunk instead of just focusing on the road. Right, So thank you for laughing. So on one hand, Biden's taking the whole week to prepare it, and on the other hand, Trump's raw dogging it. Two very different approaches, but which one's right. For more on the debate over whether to prepare for a debate or just to wing it, Let's go to Desi Lideck and Troy Awata. Desi, Desi, you're for preparation. Why is that better?
Thank you, Michael.
Preparation is the better approach because it gives you the tools you need to lay out your position, project confidence, and do this thing with your thumb. Because, as Thomas Edison said, genius is one percent inspiration in ninety nine percent perspiration.
Thank you.
The wise Troy. Troy, why are you pro winging it?
Because I'm not a dork? While Desi was in the nerd zone. I was eating a double cheeseburger in a pool, staring at a cloud that looked like a double cheeseburger. And role that's studying do for her. I can also quote Thomas Edison. If you build it, he will come.
He did not say that. That's from Field of Dreams.
You know I did like that movie. I'm gonna give a point to Troy for that. Now do forgo? Does he try again? Try?
Okay, okay, okay.
Preparation gives you the best chance of crafting your answer.
All right, and I will prove it.
If I were prepping Joe Biden to answer a debate question on inflation, here's what I do. I'd arm him with a six point economic plan that addresses rising costs, job creation, affordable housing, tuition costs, abortion rights, and always always landing on a charming story about a factory worker named Jack.
Yeah, this is what I'm talking about.
Blah blah blah blah blah.
Do you do you really want the queen of Library town talking about a plan or do you want someone like me who just says, don't worry, I got this.
Yeah, see DESI it seems like he's got this point to Troy.
You know.
That is not a point for Troy when he's saying is empty. Someone who prepares for debate is someone who prepares for everything, and that's what you want to president.
Look at this cat that I drew. It has swords for arms. It isn't that cool, dude?
That is awesome. I'm not a point for Troy. Cats. Yeah, you're not selling me on preparation right now.
Okay, okay, fine, you know what. I'm nimble.
I can see that.
Being unprepared is winning this debate. So let me tell you this. In my preparation for being prepared, I also prepared a scenario where I am unprepared. Huh okay, look at me. I don't really care about this. I'm an easy, breezy lemon squeeze.
Okay, let me just let me just stop me there. That was so bad. I'm going to give another point to Troy.
I mean three, seriously.
Look, yes, okay, policy is boring, preparation is nerdy, but this country needs people that are prepared to run it. A debate isn't some Bravo reunion. It's where candidates outline their policies and platforms, their belief systems. So yes, running the country is the one test you have to study.
For counterpoint, I'm on the right side of the TV screen.
You know what, try.
Wins, Troy wins, Deasie Line and Troy wana everybody. When we come back, we learn all.
About Jeff Bezos does all the way right. Welcome back to the dailysh Next week will be exactly thirty years since Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, forever changing the way we try to desperately fill the empty hole in our lives while destroying local businesses.
And the earth. But who is the real man behind the Internet mogul. Let's find out in a new, brand new daily show Agraphy.
America has always been home to titans of industry, but only one capitalist in history has ever been this much of a joke.
I'm Jeff Bezos. I'm the founder of Amazon dot Com.
This is the Daily showography of Jeff Bezos, History's most powerful nerd. Born to teenage parents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jeff's identity asserted itself early.
I was a very nerdy and good student.
I like school.
His favorite place in the world was radio Shack, where he developed an appreciation for technology. Cheap garbage from China and underpaying workers. After graduating from high school as valedictorian, Jeff attended Princeton, one of the best colleges for nerds.
Socially, I was a little awkward.
I didn't really date much until like my last year of college.
Actually, I so sort of a formal plan to date.
I'll had all my friends something up on blind dates.
None of them worked out very well. Yes, despite many positive reviews from his friends, women found the actual product wasn't.
What they had been led to believe.
After college, Bezos joined a Wall Street hedge fund. On Wall Street, Bezos also found something almost as good as money, his future ex wife, Mackenzie Scott. She would later tell Vogue magazine it was Jeff's laugh that made her fall in.
Love with him.
Okay, sometimes love is blind and deaf. It was around this time that Jeff noticed that the world was changed.
He came across the startling statistic that web usage was growing a twenty three hundred percent a year. So I decided I would try and find a business plan that made sense in the context of that growth, and I picked books as the first best product to sell online.
With a quarter million dollar investment from his parents, a garage to work from, an mc hammer Kaki's Bezos.
Launched his empire.
Within a few years, Amazon went from online bookseller to Wall Street darling to the so called everything store. Third party vendors could sell literally anything on Amazon's website, from stuff to put in your butt to stuff you shouldn't put in your butt but will anyway because you're not a coward. Amazon was taking the world by storm, and while Bezos was still literally the nerdiest person in the world.
My watch updates itself from the atomic clock thirty six times a day.
If that gives you any indication.
He was driving Amazon into the future, a future of non stop row. How did Jeff Bezos transform himself into a life sized Oscar statue by using his big nerdy brain to devise the perfect growth plan to expand his business and his body. Since starting Amazon, Bezos has amassed a net worth of two hundred billion dollars, money that he's used to make the world a better place. Sure, he spent some of it on a super yacht that has its own yacht in the world's fastest jet, and like a shit ton of mansions, exotic food, a prehistoric bear skeleton and some gigantic clock that only takes once a year, but he also gave back.
Jeff Bezos paid zero federal income taxes for two years.
Maybe not to his country, but he has given nearly one point five percent of his net worth to charity. And while he didn't share much of his wealth with Amazon workers, he definitely helped them to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Amazon workers have to pee into bodels because of Amazon's stringent quotas keep them too easy to go.
To the bath. You know what they say.
Teach a man to fish, he eats for a day. T j a man to piss in a bottle while.
He eats his fish. He only has to take a two minute lunch break.
Jeff's plan was working perfectly, but there was one thing his plan didn't take into account.
That all his success would go to his head.
The National Inquirer obtained nude photos of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The pictures and racy text messages from Bezos to his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez led to the end of his marriage.
With one stupid mistake, Jeff lost the thing.
That was most important to him in all the world thirty eight billion dollars. Jeff had hit rock bottom. He had literally showed the world his dick. But soon he would bounce back by showing the world his bigger, shinier, rocket powered dick and riding it to the Cosmos.
Tonight mission accomplished.
Jeff Bezos launches into space in the first unpiloted fully civilian suborrittle flight. Yes, Bezos accomplished his boyhood dream and same day shipped himself into the stars.
Bezos had finally done it.
He finally made space travels seem uncool.
I also, I want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for.
All of this, and now the world knows the real Jeff Bezos as well as Jeff Bezos knows himself.
I always worked really hard.
I was nerdy, You were nerdy.
Was nerdy.
That hasn't changed, by the way.
Oh, come back, Paul w Bath. I'm a good show Hack. We'll you're joining us. It don't go away. Welcome back to.
The Daily Show.
My guest tonight is an Emmy winning writer, actor, and co creator of the hit Max series Hacks. Please welcome Paul w. Downs. Hello, Welcome, than you. Holy moly, congrats on the success of Hacks.
Thank you so much.
We laugh I laughed so hard at the show.
That's the goal.
So much of this season, So much of this season is about acquiring or attempting to get a late night show. Yes, did you reach out to people in late night? Did you not have my email? And you were nervous and then you got it? But then you still didn't want a cold email? How did it work?
You know, I know you have a lot going on, you have a lot of news to read, you have a lot of things to do. So we did have We had a bunch of consultants on the show that had worked in late night, so we had a.
Peek behind the curtain from our writers.
Because it is I mean, I'm I feel like you're writing about the comedy industry and it's singing to me. But then I'm going, is the rest of the country also understanding and laughing at all this? But it feels like you've really done that?
That's good.
How have you created a show about show business that my friends in Michigan like also? Wow? And they're idiots. I love them, but I.
You know, I think because it's a show about people who have been kind of cast aside by the industry. I think it's really relatable because you know what it's like or a lot of people know what it's like to be on the outside of something and want to break into it. And you know, this woman, debor Vance, played brilliantly by Jeane Smart, you know, is this Vegas stand up and kind of had to carve out her own path outside of show business.
So I think because of that, you.
Know, people who want to do creative work or people who want to do something and have a craving for something really understand that want.
Her drive her ambition, yet her selfishness. That's one thing I also got to ask you about. Does one have to be selfish to be successful? I'm asking basically I'm asking myself that question, but it comes up in Hacks.
Oh yeah, it's a major theme.
I hope not because I'm an angel, so I mean, I hope you don't have to be But you know, I think you have to be selfish to a certain degree in that if you are somebody like the characters in the show, you have to really be married to your work.
You know.
It's like really all about devoting yourself one hundred and fifty percent. So in that way, I think, yeah, you kind of do sacrifice things in your life.
Was it important for you to create a show where women from different generations are interacting, because that's one thing that I when I was looking at Hacks and not just laughing with and I was saying, I was like, holy shit, these are just two totally different age groups interacting, which is pretty rare on TV. Yeah.
I mean, that was the thing for us is we had never seen a show, I mean, other than maybe mother daughter or something where there were two people that were so different that became friends. So that was really one of the most interesting parts of the dynamic. Also, it let us explore different ideas from their frame of reference, which would be so different, and so we can do that over and over again in a way that hopefully is you know, sensitive to both of their points of view.
Nobody's ever one hundred percent.
Right, Yeah, well that is what's fun is you as soon as I'm liking Deborah, she she breaks my heart and I'm and then you know, it's yeah, so you've done that very well.
Thank you, Hacks.
That term and stand up comedy, it's an insult. It is. It means you are telling old jokes, You're not being creative?
Right?
How do you know?
Exactly? Honestly, I know because I'm fearful of it. Yeah, you're you know. The worst thing you can be called is a thief. The second worst thing you can be called as a hack. Yes, So how did this term in the title happen? And sometimes I wonder if it's accurate for the show? Am I right to question that?
No? I mean it is.
It is interesting because we kind of called it that in the beginning. It was sort of like a temporary title. But it is like this thing of and you see people on late night. Actually, a lot of times comedians I find, or I think we can all agree, sometimes go on late night and they still kill and they're so funny because they're in touch with what's going on in culture. And then there are some people that age out and some people that you get are on and you're like, why is this person still doing it?
Or why are they still telling the same joke.
So in the beginning of the show, this young writer interviews for this job with this older stand up and says, I would never want to work for a hack, but what she learns in the course of the show is that a hack is somebody who does the same thing.
Over and over again. But our character learns and.
Grows because of her relationship with this younger person and vice. So I mean the younger person is an entitled gen Z person that earns the value of hard work and gets up earlier.
You know, there's a.
Lot of things that she gets back from Deborah.
You create, co created, there's a lot of you know, you write on it. Yeah, you've directed, right, Yeah, and you're in it.
Yeah.
That's a shitload of stuff. Too much, too much stuff, wearing all the hats. How do you compartmentalize? Is it too many things?
You know?
They all kind of go hand in hand for me.
I mean being able to perform is the most fun, but also having written it just it gives it a little bit more of a freedom and an effortlessness when I am performing. Directing is something that you know, I think when we write, we write visually and we think about the way that the show looks and how it's composed, and so that is also something that feels like it's just integral to the work.
But it is the hardest part directing is hard.
Direct directing is really hard, Yeah, because you have to like thinking about time and you know, there's a whole crew that are making this thing happen, and you're deciding if you can move on or you can.
Get another take.
It's just like that stuff is much less fun than lines.
I mean, you're also dealing with talent, but in yourself, you're dealing with yourself and that's the hard to think about that. Yeah, Like this guy, Paul is such an asshole to the director, absolutely right.
Yeah, I am the most demanding of the director, and I'm the hardest on the actor, Paul.
Yeah, exactly. There's a line in episode one, season three where you're at the JFL Just for Laughs festival, which Rest and Piece is now bankrupt. But there's like young people at the bar and one of them is looking around and he says, God, it feels so eighties in here.
Yeah, and I laughed out loud.
Who wrote that? And what is that?
Does that line?
I have to tell you that that was improvised by that actor? Are you serious?
Yes?
I give credit where credit is doing.
Wow.
Well yeah, shit, he's a co writer. Now he's a co writer. Yeah.
Yeah. Jordan improvised that.
And yet that's the thing we tried because myself, my wife Lucia, and Yellow and Jensaski, who created the show, we all come from improve and sketch comedy, and so when somebody brings something to the role that makes it better, we're like, great, let's use it. So we're constantly adapting on it.
I feel like you and your co star in the scene that showed are improvising a fair amount. Is that accurate or does it just feel so natural? Yes?
But in the scene that you just saw that was completely script it was that was a very very scripted because there were so many you know, that woman who was taping us had like you know, there was a lot of moving parts of that scene.
But we do improvise a fair amount.
That's great that I told you backstage, But that episode would resonated with me because as a comic, it's like get to JFL get to just for laughs and the holy shit, you guys nailed it so well, thank you. But there's also a little bit of a dig there on this show called on the Contrary that Hannah's character plays and it's a man wearing an uncle Sam had and they're talking about how important comedy is, yea, how it changes society. Oh yeah, and I'm watching it and I'm looking around here and I'm seeing the red, white, and the blue. Yeah, And then I was thinking, you know, one of the things I like about Deborah's comedy is that it isn't always important. It isn't always changing the world. And I want to know what your thoughts are on is comedy important?
Is it meant to be? Does it need to be?
Can we just do a joke where we do fart noise.
In our own sometimes my favorite joke, my favorite joke. Yeah, I think that.
I think comedy is important, even if it's not satire and it's not political comedy. I think it's important because I don't know that thing of like getting together with people and laughing. It does bring people closer together. I know that sounds I know, but it's true. I mean, don't you guys feel connected?
Yeah? I just feel like, Yeah, that was fun. Was the Daily Show in the in there when there's DNA and the Daily Oh yeah, there's absolutely Daily Show Actually references and speaking of the Daily Show, tell us quickly you have a little bit of experience in this building.
Well, I met Ilana Glazier from Broad City, who I worked with on Broad City on the street because we both auditioned to be on camera interns on The Daily Show and neither of us got it.
That's why I'm made to bring.
It up, because no, but that's okay, it's okay.
I do love that it worked out.
That's where you met her.
That's what we met on the street.
She had met my wife Lucia and she said, hey, you're Paul and I said yeah, and she said, I know Lucia and I'm just like her, but three years younger. And I was like, I was like, is this a time travel thing? It was very it was great, But you know what, that's very Ilana. It's kind of classic Alana.
That's so funny because this is also part of the reason why everybody I meet on the street I keep in touch with for years. Yeah, because you never know. Thank you for coming. The Hackses is awesome. I liked watching it. Everyone should watch it. Hacks is available to stream on Max. Paul w downs everybody. We're gonna take a quick break the right back after this. Thank you. That's our show for tonight now here. It is your momentum's out.
You got to get out of vote.
Just this time.
I don't care. In four years, you don't have to vote.
Okay, in four years, don't vote.
I don't care about that time.
But we'll have it all straightened out, so it'll be much different.
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