AAs President Trump’s MAGA hordes passed the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, photos of a well-known face in the rebel crowd began to appear on social media: Daily show correspondent Jordan Klepper. When I immediately reached out to him to see what kind of piece he was envisioning for viewers, the comedian simply replied: A wild one. ‘
The segment, which has only been posted online since The Daily Show is still interrupted this week, it is indeed even outrageous as the last one that Klepper filmed on the so-called “Million MAGA March”, just two weeks after the election in November last year. Not only did he get close enough to see the mob break into the building, but also spent a short time with a Trump supporter tackling his cameraman.
“Last week we saw one of the darkest days in American history,” Klepper said at the top 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 from January 20th. When one couple told them that they ‘did not agree’ to rule by an ‘illegal, fraudulent election’, he replied: ‘But you have chosen a man who does not give as much about consent either.’
Things got more and more aggressive as Klepper followed the crowd to the Capitol. “The one thing you could not notice is just how many people looked like they were getting ready for a fight,” he remarks. “From the tactical vests to the arrows, this rally feels loaded.”
“You can tell these people really like America by the number of weapons they brought to hurt other Americans,” Klepper says. “This thing was a powder keg. All that was needed was someone to light the fuse, like these human blow torches, ”he adds, pointing to the clippings of Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump jr. And the president himself who virtually orders their supporters to commit treason.
“Is this the last stand ?!” he asks one man walking to the building in a Segway scooter.
Klepper’s previous reports of Trump rallies over the past year have been hilarious throughout, but you can feel the jokes melt away as he takes the seriousness of what’s going to happen. Commenting on footage of the violent clashes that followed, he said: “They attacked our democracy, our police and even our cameraman.”
“Trump’s fake military soldier is literally throwing himself on the ground to perpetuate the victim,” he said before noting that “in the end the crowd did not stop our democracy” as Congress finished the Electoral College later that evening declared.
“This shitty rebellion has failed,” Klepper concludes. “Just like my dry January.”
Listen to more information The Daily Show‘s Jordan Klepper on The last laugh podcast.