As Donald Trump began his second term, some Democrats expressed a willingness to work with him on certain issues, which struck radio host Charlamagne Tha God as odd considering they ran on treating Trump as a threat to democracy. However, instead of realizing that maybe all the Hitler and fascist comparisons were hysterical, Charlamagne demanded on Thursday’s episode of The Daily Show on Comedy Central that Democrats stop “frolicking with fascist bullshit” and act like he really is a fascist.
After a montage of Democratic governors claiming they will work with Trump where they can, Charlamagne condemned the idea, “Collaboration, really? Like, you called him Hitler, but now you're saying that "Hitler has some good ideas?" That's the same thing Kanye said, and we don't even let him make sneakers anymore! What are you even gonna collaborate on? Are you gonna make sure the immigrant concentration camps run on solar power?”
Charlamagne then introduced another montage that included CBS’s Jericka Duncan and a trio of GOP politicians, “Listen, man, Donald Trump won this election by a little over two million votes, and Democrats are acting like he's unstoppable. Do you remember how Republicans acted when Biden won by seven million votes?”
The clips included the following:
JERICKA DUNCAN: Republican senators are vowing to use the filibuster to derail President Biden's legislative agenda.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL: One hundred percent of my focus is on stopping this new administration.
SEN. JOHN BARASSO: I want to make Joe Biden a one-half-term president.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: On January 21st, I will be filing articles of impeachment on Joe Biden.
Each one of those four can be rebutted. First, after years of labeling the filibuster a tool of Jim Crow, Democrats are already using it to stop conservative legislation. Second, McConnell was clearly talking about areas where he and Biden would disagree, but not blind contrarianism because he ended up voting for Biden’s infrastructure bill and is still one of the party’s biggest Ukraine supporters. Third, just because The Daily Show is a comedy show does not mean it can get away with hatchet journalism. Here is Barasso’s full quote: "I want to make Joe Biden a one-half-term president. And I want to do that by making sure they no longer have House, Senate, White House.” Does anyone really believe Democrats don’t desire the same thing? Finally, Greene’s impeachment efforts went nowhere, even when the GOP retook the House, a stark contrast to Democrats during Trump’s first term.
Facts may be stubborn things, but they are also things Charlamagne ignores for the sake of his narrative, “You see that? That's what you call being space laser-focused. Okay? Okay? They tried to impeach Biden on day one for the crime of getting elected. I like that energy, though. I like it. They weren't worried about alienating Democrats, they said, ‘[Bleep] Democrats.’ They riled up their base, and it worked. Today, Democrats are patting themselves on the back for allowing a peaceful transfer of power. And I have no problem with conceding the election, but don't concede the Constitution.
Charlamagne then pleaded, “Democrats, I am begging you, for once, treat Republicans the way they treat you. And treat Trump as if you believed everything you said about him is true! The four days we've just seen shows us where all this is going. When there's a train speeding toward a cliff, people don't want you going, ‘I'm gonna work with the conductor to fix the Wi-Fi.’ They want you to stop the damn train!"
Finally, he concluded by expressing that, “I'm mad at the Democrats for acting like they're the ones too high to remember anything they said in the campaign. Democrats better get focused. Midterms are 21 months away. So y'all need to take that frolicking with fascists bullshit and drop it like it's hot.”
Here is a transcript for the January 23 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
1/23/2025
11:17 PM ET
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD: Collaboration, really? Like, you called him Hitler, but now you're saying that "Hitler has some good ideas?" That's the same thing Kanye said, and we don't even let him make sneakers anymore! What are you even gonna collaborate on? Are you gonna make sure the immigrant concentration camps run on solar power?
Listen, man, Donald Trump won this election by a little over two million votes, and Democrats are acting like he's unstoppable. Do you remember how Republicans acted when Biden won by seven million votes?
JERICKA DUNCAN: Republican senators are vowing to use the filibuster to derail President Biden's legislative agenda.
MITCH MCCONNELL: One hundred percent of my focus is on stopping this new administration.
JOHN BARASSO: I want to make Joe Biden a one half term president.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: On January 21st, I will be filing articles of impeachment on Joe Biden.
CHARLAMAGNE: You see that? That's what you call being space laser-focused. Okay? Okay? They tried to impeach Biden on day one for the crime of getting elected. I like that energy, though. I like it. They weren't worried about alienating Democrats, they said, “[Bleep] Democrats.” They riled up their base, and it worked. Today, Democrats are patting themselves on the back for allowing a peaceful transfer of power. And I have no problem with conceding the election, but don't concede the Constitution.
So, Democrats, I am begging you, for once, treat Republicans the way they treat you. And treat Trump as if you believed everything you said about him is true! The four days we've just seen shows us where all this is going. When there's a train speeding toward a cliff, people don't want you going, "I'm gonna work with the conductor to fix the Wi-Fi."
They want you to stop the damn train! So yeah, I'm not wasting my time being mad at Snoop Dogg. I'm mad at the Democrats for acting like they're the ones too high to remember anything they said in the campaign. Democrats better get focused. Midterms are 21 months away. So y'all need to take that frolicking with fascist bullshit, and drop it like it's hot.
