The Daily Show wrapped up the month of February on Comedy Central on Thursday by sending correspondent Josh Johnson out into the world to interview the masses and pretend that the Trump Administration getting rid of DEI initiatives means people can no longer say things like “civil rights” or “oppression” when talking about history.
Throughout the segment, certain words were bleeped to give the impression that they could no longer be said in Trump’s America, and Johnson began with some selective use of this rule, “What's up world, it's Josh Johnson, and it's also Black History Month. Except this year Trump is back in the White House, and any mention of anything diverse, equitable, and inclusive, AKA black, is absolutely taboo. So, I'm out here to find people who can celebrate the new [bleep] History Month.
Interviewing his first subject, Johnson asked, “Can you hit me with the story of Martin Luther King Jr. without saying stuff like [civil rights] or [segregation]?
The woman replied, “Okay, so he was a leader of the [oppressed] at the time? Ooh, shy away from that word?
Johnson then pretended that “'[Oppressed]' is going to get people asking questions.”
Moving on to his next interviewees, Johnson asked them to “tell me the story, in a few sentences, of Rosa Parks without saying stuff like [civil rights]?
After one man struggled, a different woman tried, “She was a woman in a time, who needed transportation, and she was unable to take the transportation she deserved in the, can I say ‘seat’? ... In the seat she deserved.”
For his next history lesson, Johnson asked, “Can you tell me about Frederick Douglass without saying [black]?”
One man gave a nonsensical answer, “I know he was, it was Tupac who learned the most out of Frederick Douglass. Who was inspiration to Frederick Douglass and what he did at this time, who informed Tupac to inform himself on the law.”
One of the ideas constantly present in Trump’s mind is to create a “national garden of American heroes,” which explicitly mentions MLK, Rosa Parks, and Frederick Douglass. Still, Johnson wondered, “Why do you think some people are so against [black] History Month?
Another man surmised it was because “some people are just posterior orifices. I don’t understand that concept, but I guess they have some issues. More therapy required.”
The first woman interviewed returned to claim, “So, if the only thing a person has going for them is the fact that they’re white, then they're going to cling to that.”
Johnson agreed, “While I agree with everything you said, it's probably one of the worst things you could have hit on.”
In that case, it is a good thing it isn’t true.
Here is a transcript of the February 27 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
2/27/2025
11:15 PM ET
JOSH JOHNSON: What's up world, it's Josh Johnson, and it's also Black History Month. Except this year Trump is back in the White House, and any mention of anything diverse, equitable, and inclusive, AKA black, is absolutely taboo. So, I'm out here to find people who can celebrate the new [bleep] History Month. [Bleep] settled.
Can you hit me with the story of Martin Luther King Jr? Without saying stuff like [bleep] or [bleep] is a though one.
WOMAN: Okay, so he was a leader of the [bleep] at the time? Ooh, shy away from that word?
JOHNSON: I mean, ‘[bleep]’ is going to get people asking questions.
WOMAN: Okay.
JOHNSON: Tell me the story, in a few sentences, of Rosa Parks without saying stuff like [bleep]?
MAN: Woman who was tired?
WOMAN 2: She was a woman in a time—
JOHNSON: Okay.
WOMAN 2: -- Who needed transportation—
JOHNSON: Yeah, yeah.
WOMAN 2: -- and she was unable to take the transportation she deserved in the, can I say “seat”?
JOHNSON: Yeah, you can say "seat."
WOMAN 2: In the seat she deserved.
JOHNSON: Okay.
Can you tell me about Frederick Douglass without saying [bleep]?
MAN 2: Uh.
MAN 3: I know he was, it was Tupac who learned the most out of Frederick Douglass. Who was inspiration to Frederick Douglass and what he did at this time, who informed Tupac to inform himself on the law.
JOHNSON: Yeah.
MAN 3: People didn’t know that.
JOHNSON: You hit me was something I never thought about before which is that Frederick Douglass gave us Tupac in a sense, which I did not see coming.
Why do you think some people are so against [bleep] History Month?
MAN 4: Some people are just posterior orifices. I don’t understand that concept, but I guess they have some issues. More therapy required.
JOHNSON: Yeah. Alright.
WOMAN: So, if the only thing a person has going for them—
JOHNSON: Yeah.
WOMAN: -- is the fact that they’re white, then they're going to cling to that.
JOHNSON: While. I agree with everything you said, it's probably one of the worst things you could have hit on.
