Comedy Central’s Jordan Klepper aired his latest The Daily Show special on Monday that proved why conservatives should stop trying to win the approval of liberal comedy shows and Norwegian socialists as he tried to argue there is a logical disconnect between the idea that President Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize and what the administration has done in cities like Portland, Oregon. Worst of all, Klepper couldn’t even keep his clothes on for the entire episode as he joined Portland’s Naked Bike Ride to try to make his point.
Before traveling to Portland, Klepper jetted off to Norway to interview former Nobel Committee Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Anderson, who claimed the criteria for the award include either having “contributed to fraternity between people or nations, to peace institutions, and/or contributing to reducing standing armies.”
At no point did Klepper press Reiss-Anderson on the Nobel Committee giving an award to Barack Obama before he did anything. Nor did he press them on giving awards to people like Yasser Arafat, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Abiy Ahmed. Instead, a solemn but sarcastic Klepper asked, “Donald Trump has a new ‘no fatties in the army’ policy. Does that count?”
After Reiss-Anderson dodged the question, Klepper tried again, “If you lower the BMI of the army, does that count as lowering the standing army if they get thinner?”
While Reiss-Anderson again avoided the question, she did declare that “all peace research really shows that democracy is a system that promotes peace because democracy includes freedom of speech, inclusion, social justice, and these kinds of values.”
Klepper retorted, “Democracy is a big one. Trump loves democracy. In fact, he might run for a third term” before going to a voiceover, “Okay, I was starting to win her over. If the democratic experiment is on the ballot, it was time to go back home and see just how peaceful our own republic was looking.”
After a brief clip of a liberal protestor yelling “[bleep] you” at law enforcement, Klepper went to commercial. When he returned, he was in Portland, and after interviewing some members of the Naked Bike Ride, he questioned Mayor Keith Wilson, “For a break from all the bouncing and jiggling, I asked the mayor of Portland why the president keeps describing it as the ninth circle of hell?”
According to Wilson, “They want to create this idea that Portland is on fire so they can bring additional forces.”
Klepper then wondered, “Are Portlanders taking the bait?” To which Wilson replied, “No, no, no, they've really done well. The protests have been really great. The absurdity that's being created on our streets, as if we're on fire, is then met with the absurdity of our city showing up saying, ‘Don't try and match Portland with crazy because we show up.’”
Eventually, Klepper returned to the Naked Bike Ride and, after disrobing, joined the proceedings, “This is what the resistance looks like, apparently. Hi, there. Apparently, ANTIFA is staging a full frontal assault on the ICE headquarters.”
In a voiceover, Klepper continued mocking the idea that anything in Portland was amiss, “Yes. The ice building was under siege from a rain-soaked army of deflated butts and inflated animals. Or as Trump called them—”
Klepper’s sentence was punctuated with a clip of Trump saying “Antifa thugs,” but try as he might, Klepper cannot wish away the fact that Portland was not just naked people or dinosaur costumes. As for the larger point, nobody ever cared to explain why ICE’s Portland presence is a threat to democracy.
Here is a transcript for the December 8 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers The Pulse: Give the Man a Prize
12/9/2025
12:06 AM ET
JORDAN KLEPPER: She laid out the criteria by which every Nobel Peace Prize candidate is judged.
BERIT REISS-ANDERSEN: Either contributed to fraternity between people or nations, to peace institutions, and/or contributing to reducing standing armies.
KLEPPER: Donald Trump has a new “no fatties in the army” policy. Does that count?
REISS-ANDERSEN: I couldn't tell you what single elements count.
KLEPPER: If you lower the BMI of the army, does that count as lowering the standing army if they get thinner?
REISS-ANDERSEN: Your questions are impossible to answer in that—
KLEPPER: Come on.
[Voiceover]
There was one more important factor when it comes to recognizing peace.
REISS-ANDERSEN: All peace research really shows that democracy is a system that promotes peace because democracy includes freedom of speech, inclusion, social justice, and these kinds of values.
KLEPPER: Democracy is a big one. Trump loves democracy. In fact, he might run for a third term.
[voiceover]
Okay, I was starting to win her over. If the democratic experiment is on the ballot, it was time to go back home and see just how peaceful our own republic was looking.
PROTESTOR: [bleep] you.
…
KLEPPER: For a break from all the bouncing and jiggling, I asked the mayor of Portland why the president keeps describing it as the ninth circle of hell?
KEITH WILSON: They want to create this idea that Portland is on fire so they can bring additional forces.
KLEPPER: Are Portlanders taking the bait?
WILSON: No, no, no, they've really done well. The protests have been really great. The absurdity that's being created on our streets, as if we're on fire, is then met with the absurdity of our city showing up saying, “Don't try and match Portland with crazy because we show up.”
KLEPPER: You're going to try to get into crazy-off with Donald Trump?
WILSON: Yes.
KLEPPER: He wanted to shoot a nuclear weapon at a hurricane.
WILSON: Yeah. I don't know where his advisors are helping him at all.
KLEPPER: Indeed. So to better understand this moment, I needed to embed in the naked bike protest.
This is what the resistance looks like, apparently. Hi, there. Apparently, ANTIFA is staging a full frontal assault on the ICE headquarters.
Yes. The ice building was under siege from a rain-soaked army of deflated butts and inflated animals. Or as Trump called them—
DONALD TRUMP: Antifa thugs.
