After Monday’s regularly scheduled episode of The Daily Show, Comedy Central aired a follow-up Jordan Klepper: Fingers the Pulse special where Klepper went around trying to figure out why young people, and especially young men, have drifted right. As part of his solution for liberals, he promoted Twitch streamer Hasan Piker and his love of anime boobs, but not the terrorists who did September 11 and October 7.
As part of Klepper’s anthropological dive into the MAGA youth, he highlighted various influencers ranging from relatively normal activists like Charlie Kirk to the politically hard-to-define Joe Rogan to UFC fighter and actual Hitler apologist Bryce Mitchell and how they have shaped young people. As a counter, Klepper highlighted, “One person who is in the ring is Hasan Piker. Piker has 2.8 million followers on the streaming platform, Twitch. He manages to work out like a bro and have intellectual sit-downs with Bernie and AOC. All this has liberal media asking if he is the connection to the youth.”
Here is a list of just some of Piker’s political positions and personal history that Klepper decided to ignore:
- September 11 and October 7 apologist
- Compared Houthi terrorists and pirates to Anne Frank
- Claimed the United States is a terrorist country while praising Hezbollah
- Posted music videos from terrorists on his Twitch stream
- Has said any "Zionist entity" (i.e. Israel or pro-Israel person or activist group) should treated like neo-Nazis.
- Has said, “I like communism”
- Praised the Taliban, "Didn’t he [Rep. Dan Crenshaw] go to war and, like, literally lose his eye because some mujahideen, a brave fucking soldier, fucked his eyehole with their dick"
- Claimed people who cared about Medicare and Medicaid fraud would "kill" Sen. Rick Scott
- On landlords, he ranted, “Let the streets soak in the red, capitalist blood.”
- Went to a brothel that was later raided for sex trafficking
So, what did Klepper focus on instead? Well, he tried to portray Piker not as proof horseshoe theory has merit by comparing him to Mitchell, but by trying to claim he is just one of the bros, “I'll follow you on Instagram and see you talking about what's happening in the news but also see you working out. You also are communicating to people through working out.”
He then asked, “How do you see the left communicating with young men in this time of the manosphere?”
Piker claimed, “The left could, I don't know, talk to dudes without vilifying them. There's a lot of anger, resentment, not having any hope for a future, never being able to retire, never being able to own a home. All of those things are very much of the core identity for the next generation.”
That all sounds very normal, which is why omitting Piker's radicalness is not only dishonest but dangerous. However, Klepper then continued to try to portray Piker as just a left-wing bro, which is what he claimed liberals need, “The left needs to face the fact that, for the youth of America, what is appealing is not a moral superiority. But it's fun shit like swords, anime, and taking down the billionaire class.”
Piker claimed, “I represent the feelings and opinions of a lot of people that are just like, you can have fun. It's okay to have fun.”
Klepper then asked, “How do you balance being a mature adult and also embrace anime boobs?” Still trying to play up his bro credentials, Piker added, “I mean, anime boobs are awesome.”
After Klepper asked if that is what the left needs, Piker added, “Yeah. I think people should get health care. And also, I like watching anime. Sometimes it has boobs in it, and that's cool.”
Klepper concluded the show with both optimism and a warning, “In the end, young people just want what everybody wants: leaders who connect with them. That's the good news. The bad news is there's a lot of these guys lurking out there.”
By “these guys,” Klepper meant those on the right, but an honest dive into influencer culture would have included those on the left.
Here is a transcript for the May 19 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation
5/20/2025
12:19 AM ET
JORDAN KLEPPER: One person who is in the ring is Hasan Piker. Piker has 2.8 million followers on the streaming platform, Twitch. He manages to work out like a bro and have intellectual sit-downs with Bernie and AOC. All this has liberal media asking if he is the connection to the youth.
I'll follow you on Instagram and see you talking about what's happening in the news but also see you working out. You also are communicating to people through working out.
HASAN PIKER: Yeah, through grunts.
KLEPPER: How do you see the left communicating with young men in this time of the manosphere?
PIKER: The left could, I don't know, talk to dudes without vilifying them. There's a lot of anger, resentment, not having any hope for a future, never being able to retire, never being able to own a home. All of those things are very much of the core identity for the next generation.
KLEPPER: The left needs to face the fact that, for the youth of America, what is appealing is not a moral superiority. But it's fun shit like swords, anime, and taking down the billionaire class.
PIKER: I represent the feelings and opinions of a lot of people that are just like, you can have fun. It's okay to have fun.
KLEPPER: How do you balance being a mature adult--
PIKER: Yeah.
KLEPPER: -- and also embrace anime boobs?
PIKER: I mean, anime boobs are awesome.
KLEPPER: Is that sort of the line that the left needs to walk?
PIKER: Yeah. I think people should get health care. And also, I like watching anime. Sometimes it has boobs in it, and that's cool.
KLEPPER: This is very confusing. How is Cory Booker supposed to navigate this? The Democrats are never going to reach out to a younger generation if they have to understand these nuances.
PIKER: Yeah. Well, you're not wrong.
KLEPPER: In the end, young people just want what everybody wants: leaders who connect with them. That's the good news. The bad news is there's a lot of these guys lurking out there. So while the left searches for ways to reach out to the voters they lost, I’ll do my best to bring peace and harmony.
