As President Trump’s MAGA hordes passed the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday; photos of a well-known face of the insurrectionary crowd began to appear on social media: Daily show correspondent Jordan Klepper. When I contacted him immediately afterwards to see what kind of field piece he had reserved for viewers, the comic simply replied, “A savage.”
The segment, which has only been published online since The daily show it’s still on hiatus this week, it’s actually even more outrageous than the last one Klepper filmed on the so-called “Million MAGA March” just two weeks after last November’s election. Not only did he get close enough to see the mob burst into the building, but he also got into a melee at a time with a Trump supporter attacking his camera.
“Last week we saw one of the darkest days in American history,” Klepper says 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 attendees if they would accept Joe Biden as president starting Jan. 20. When a couple told them they “didn’t consent” to be governed by “illegal and fraudulent elections,” they replied, “But you’ve chosen a guy who doesn’t care so much about consent either.”
Things became more and more aggressive as Klepper followed the crowd toward the Capitol. “The only thing you couldn’t help but notice is how many people seemed to be preparing for battle,” he remarks. “From tactical vests to pitchforks, this rally felt loaded.”
“You can tell these people that they really love the United States for the number of weapons they brought to hurt other Americans,” Klepper says. “It simply came to our notice then. It was only necessary for someone to light the fuse, like these human blowers, “he adds, pointing to the clips of Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump Jr. and the president himself, practically ordering his followers to commit treason.
“Is that the last support ?!” he asks a man moving towards the building with a Segway scooter.
Klepper’s previous reports of Trump rallies over the past year have always been hilarious, but you can hear the jokes fading as he absorbs the gravity of what’s about to happen. On the images of the violent clashes that took place, he says, “They attacked our democracy, our police and even our camera.”
“Trump’s fake military is literally thrown to the ground to perpetuate the victim,” he says before stressing that “in the end, the crowd didn’t stop our democracy” since Congress finished certifying the Electoral College vote. later that night.
“That shitty rebellion failed,” Klepper concludes. “Like my dry January.”
For more information, listen The daily showJordan Klepper activated The last laugh podcast.