The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Let's Talk About Wildfires | Misty Copeland
Episode Date: September 30, 2020Trevor dives into California's wildfire crisis, Ronny Chieng talks to Philippe Reines about portraying Donald Trump in mock debates, and Misty Copeland discusses "Bunheads." Learn more about your ad-...choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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You're listening to Comedy Central.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at, that's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News,
listen to 60 Minutes, a second look,
starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, what's going on everybody?
Welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
I'm Trevor Noah.
Today is Tuesday, the 29th of September, which means we are now just 35 days from Election
Day.
Or to use another number, people will understand, we're just 18 Trump scandals away from
Election Day.
Anyway, on tonight's show, Ronnie Chang learns how to debate Donald Trump, the real reason
wildfires have gotten so crazy, and we'll tell you how to ensure that your mail-in ballot is actually counted. So let's do this, people. Welcome, to to to to to to to to to the daily the daily to the daily the daily to the daily to the daily the daily to the daily to to the daily the de the di- their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thiiiiii. thi. today today's today's today's today's today's today's today's today's today's today.e. thii. thi. thi'll tell you how to ensure that your mail-in ballot is actually counted. So let's do this people. Welcome to the Daily Social
Distancing Show. From Trevor's couch in New York City to your couch somewhere
in the world. This is the Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noa.
Here's Edition. Today we're going to talk about voting.
It's how America chooses which person it'll be mad at for the next four years.
Now even though election day is still weeks away, the election has started in many states,
and that's thanks to mail-in voting.
Now, as you may have heard, there is one individual who is extremely unhappy about that.
Mail in voting, it's going to be the greatest fraud in the history of elections.
There is no way you can go through a mail-in vote without massive cheating.
The ballots are lost. There's fraud, there's theft. It's happening all over the place.
Russia, China, North Korea, Iran.
These countries can grab those ballots or print forgeries of those ballots.
Kids go and they raid the mailboxes and they hand them to people that are signing the ballots
down the end of the street, which is happening.
The mail-in ballots, they mail them to anybody, and they send them out by the millions. Number were sent, I guess two, at least the ballots, the-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ni-a-ni-a-ni-a-ni-a-a-ni-a-a-a-a-a-ni-nate-nate-n'-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, the the thiiiiiiithem out by the millions. Number were sent, I guess, two, at least, two, three, four.
We're sent to dogs.
One was sent to a cat.
Holy shit, guys.
Trump is freaking out.
People are cheating.
Cats and dogs are getting ballots.
Although, if I'm perfectly honest, I don't mind dogs voting,
because they'll vote for whoever their owner votes for. But cats! You can't trust them for shit!
Those assholes will vote for Jill Stein just to mess with us.
Mew!
I will say, though, Trump's stories about kids and foreign countries rigging the election
sound pretty terrifying.
Hey, kid, go and get ballot from mailbox,
and I will reward you with delicious Russian candy.
It's frozen onion. But regardless of how it happens,
clearly Trump's goal here is to stir up fears about fraud.
And if you commit fraud, you're going down.
Unless it's tax fraud, then Trump wants to trade tips.
But voter fraud, you're going down.
But just to be clear, are there sometimes isolated incidents of voter fraud?
Sure, there are. But in the states that have been doing all mail elections for years,
there's been no evidence of anything close to widespread problems that can affect the election.
But, and this is a big but, that doesn't mean that America has no problems with male in voting at all.
In fact, the real danger with mail in voting isn't fraud. It's all the
little things that can get your vote thrown out.
There is evidence of widespread rejection of mail and ballots because of human error. And
this year's primary, more than half a million ballots were reportedly thrown out for
simple mistakes, such as signatures not matching the state's records,
a missing signature, envelope problems, and ballots not matching the state's records, a missing signature,
envelope problems, and ballots arriving after the deadline.
Many voters do not realize they have to sign the back of the ballot envelope they mail-in.
Rather than fill in the bubble, they put an X, or they put a stray mark somewhere,
the ballot is discounted and thrown out. Pennsylvania is one of 16 states requiring that voters receive two envelopes with a mail-in ballot, the outer postmarked envelope, and the inner
one meant to preserve anonymity and protect from tampering. Pennsylvania
State Supreme Court now ordering officials to throw out mail-in ballots
that arrive without inner privacy envelopes known as naked ballots.
As many as 100,000 votes statewide could be invalidated
because of missing privacy envelopes.
President Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016 by just over 44,000 votes.
Oh man, this could be a major disaster.
Hundreds of thousands of votes could get thrown out because of minor human errors,
just from a missing signature to a partially filled bubble.
The more I learn about American democracy, the more I think to myself,
you guys are invading other countries to give them this?
I mean, maybe you guys should figure out this thing before taking it to the global market.
And don't get me wrong.
I see why a lot of these ballot requirements exist. I mean, they were designed to prevent fraud. The only problem is that they
can mean that a perfectly legal vote gets thrown out. You know, it would be like missing one square
with a traffic light, but instead of not getting into your email account, Donald Trump gets a second term. I knew it. I knew it. And yeah, part of the problem the problem the problem was was was was was was was was was was was was was was was was the problem the problem the problem the problem the problem the problem the problem the problem was the problem was a the problem was a the problem was a the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. thrown. thrown. throwne. thrown, thrown, thrown. thrown. thrown. thrown. thrown. thrown. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th! And yeah, part of the problem is that there are a lot of little things you have to do
and you have to get right for your ballot to count.
But the other problem is that most people just don't like reading instructions.
I mean, it's the reason most of us can't cook.
Cooking is literally just reading instructions and doing what they say.
And yet half of us are going rogue in the the the the the the the the the the the the the the they say. And yet half of us are going rogue in the kitchen like, it says a teaspoon of salt,
but my hand is basically a teaspoon, right?
Wait, what do you mean my cookies got thrown out?
Those were perfectly valid cookies.
Now what are people supposed to eat at the orgy?
Oh, and if you're one of those perfect people who never misses a detail and won't ever make a mistake, first of all, kill yourself. And secondly, it turns out the government might make your mistakes for you.
A mailer that was supposed to help district voters confirm their mailing address.
Instead, it is sparking a lot of confusion.
The D.C. Board of Elections sent as many as 500,000 faulty mailers.
If you follow the instructions and you tear the card along the perforated lines before you mail it, vital information will not be included.
Roughly 1,400 voters here in Northern Virginia got duplicate absentee ballots.
What elections officials are telling the Washington Post is that this was a clerical error.
Absentee ballots are arriving in thousands of New York City mailboxes, but we are told there is a major problem with the return envelope stuffed inside.
Voters tell News 4 they were just about to mail in their absentee ballot when they noticed
the name and address on the return envelope wasn't theirs.
Man, can you imagine that?
Your vote doesn't count because the government messed up your ballot.
that's a better government. But you can't, because they messed up your ballot.
It's the perfect crime.
How come this never happens with the IRS?
Huh?
You never get to not pay your taxes because they messed up your name.
Mr. Turver, no hell.
It's time for you to pay your taxes.
Actually, that's not my name.
Man, fuck your name, we're here for the money. And look, I'm not at all surprised that this is happening with these ballots,
because this kind of thing happens with all mail.
I mean, think about everything you know about the people who used to live at your address,
just based on the mail for them that you still get.
Like, I know the guy who lived here before me used to shop at West Elm.
I know that he went to the university Arkansas, and I know that he has terrible credit
because of all the credit cards I fill out in his name.
By the way, thanks for the new TV, Dave, I appreciate it.
Oh, and by the way, your blood came back,
ugh.
Now, the truth is,
mistakes are made with mail in balla. Especially, Donald Trump is preparing to hunt down any mistakes that could get a vote thrown
out, because he knows that Democrats are planning to overwhelmingly vote by mail.
So look, I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea.
The vast majority of mail-in ballots should be fine.
But if you want to be even more sure that your vote will count, you should try to
vote in person if it's safe for you to do so. And if your state offers early voting, that's a good way to avoid crowds and long lines
on election day.
But if you can't vote in person and you want to make sure that your mail in ballot is
counted, well don't worry.
The daily social distancing show has got you covered.
This year, many Americans will be voting by mail for the first time. For some young voters, this will be the first time
they've sent any mail at all.
So, to make sure your ballot is counted,
we put together some simple mail-in voting,
do's and don'ts.
Do remember that unless you live in these nine states,
you can only get a mail-in ballot
after you've applied for one and been approved. It's called consent.
Once you get your ballot, do vote as early as possible.
In fact, I already filled out my ballot for the 2024 election.
Good luck on election night, Steve Bouchemi.
Do follow all the instructions.
Mail-in voting is like building a bookshelf from Ikea.
Skip one step and the whole thing could collapse and fall on your nephew Dennis. and then everybody stops to to to to to to to to to to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote the their their to vote to vote their to vote their to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote their. Do their their to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote to vote their to vote their their their their their their their their their their the the the the the the tho. their tho. their their to their the the whole thing could collapse and fall on your nephew Dennis and then
everybody stops talking to you.
Don't write in a fake address like 69 Doggy Style Lane.
Which actually is pretty good.
I might use that.
Do sign your name before sending your ballot in.
And not that squiggle bullshit you do on the credit card machine at CBS, your real signature. Don't eat cheetos right before you fill
your ballot out. The smuggers won't nullify your vote. It's just gross. Don't use your
ballot to write Fuller House erotica. Even if you have interesting ideas about what
Uncle Jesse and Kimme Gibler could do to each other, it's been done. Do remember that your state might to to th th th their th th their th their their thu th their thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu their thu thu thu. Don't thu. Don't to to to to their to to to to their their to to to their to to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their try. Don't try. Don't try. Don't try. Don't try. Don't try. Don't te. Don't te. Don't te. Don't te. Don't teat. Don't te. Don't that your state might require a witness to sign your ballot too. Don't knock it to you
try it. Sometimes voting can be hotter when someone's watching. Do not send in a
naked ballot and the states that require it make sure to put your ballot
inside the secrecy envelope before sending. Also do not send in a naked photo of
yourself. I've been told by
numerous election officials they are not welcome even if they're extremely sexy.
Don't copy the Asian kids answers. This isn't high school algebra. Roy.
Man ain't nobody looking at you dude. I'm over here waiting for my turn to talk. Oh, William? Yes. Okay. Don't hand your ballot to anyone who introduces himself
as an official ballot taste tester.
He does not work at the post office.
Do take a selfie when you mail your ballot in.
Because we all know,
humble bragging on social media is basically the whole point of voter.
Do not keep your ballot as a souvenir.
What are you, an idiot?
Do, give yourself a pat on the back after turning in your ballot.
Democracy was in your hands, and you did it, the bare minimum.
Well done.
Once you've voted, it's time to prepare for the post-election chaos.
Do, make sure you have enough wood to build yourself a bunker.
And do not f-feek with me at night.
I'm ready, botherf t t to the fa'e'u.
Save some space for me, Roy.
All right, we've got to take a quick break. But when we come back, we'll try and solve the wildfires. th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. to thi thi thi thi to to to to thi. thi. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. to th. th th th th th th th. th th th th th th th th th th th th the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the the the the thean thean thean. thean. thean. to to to to to to to to to to the the then Ronnie Chang prepares to debate Donald Trump. We'll be right back. When 60 Minutes premiered in September
1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine
for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting
September 17.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show. Let's talk about wildfires, aka the coronavirus of the forest.
As you probably know, the West Coast has been devastated by massive fires burning for weeks.
And over the weekend, California saw one of its biggest blazes yet.
Those deadly new fires are raging out of control in northern California among the dozens
now burning across the state and they exploded in size
on Monday.
Those fires destroying homes, damaging popular wineries.
Before sunrise, entire neighborhoods were engulfed in flames, devouring an untold number
of homes.
It was just, you know, a big red ball of fire right next to us.
In the world famous Napa Valley, more than 60 wineries are in the burn zone.
An unknown number have already been damaged or destroyed.
It covered cars with ash and turned the skies above Sonoma County red as the smoke block the sun.
So far this year, California has seen more than 8,000 wildfires, destroying more than 7,000 buildings,
scorching nearly 5,800 square miles.
That's the size of almost 3 million football fields.
God damn, that is terrible.
So many beautiful wineries are being threatened by these wildfires.
And remember, there are a lot of people who rely on these wineries.
You've got the owners, you've got the employees, you've got the economy of entire towns.
And you know who I feel really bad for?
America's book clubs.
Because without wine, they're going to have to discuss books sober.
I mean, that's just English class.
Here's my question, though.
How come wildfires never burn the shit that we want them to? Just once, I want to turn on the news and hear wild, to to to to house, you know, taking out a neo-Nazi recruitment center, then passing by a marshmallow factory
and roasting everything inside to a nice golden brown.
And another reason I hope that these wineries get out of this thing okay
is not just because of how awful it would be for the region,
but because it would mean that we would all have to start getting our wine from New Jersey. Hmm, I detect hints of Adidas track suit and
Gabagoole.
But yes, with yet another wildfire breaking out in California,
a record-setting year continues to get even worse for the West Coast.
And the question many people are asking is, why?
Why have wildfires gotten so out of control?
Well, let's find out why.
In another installment of, if you don't know, now you know.
Well, why have wildfires been so bad in recent years?
Well, if you immediately said, duh, climate change, well, then okay.
You're mostly right.
It's a disastrous new normal.
Catastrophic fires once contained a one season, now a heroine year-round battle.
Gotta go.
A major factor, climate change.
In the last 40 years, fall temperatures in California have increased about two degrees,
while precipitation has dropped about 30 percent.
Longer dry seasons and extreme events like heat waves that synchronize the risk of fire
across enormous landscapes.
Climate change is increasing the area burned by the average wildfire, more than doubling
it since the 1980s.
Since 1930.
Five of the biggest fires so far out of the top 10 have been this year.
California is America fast forward.
In other words, a postcard from the future.
Oh man, are you serious?
California is basically a postcard from the future?
That means the future is also on fire.
I mean, it also means that the post office is still functioning in the future, so I guess, woo, we did it.
And that really is mind-blowing.
Five of the biggest fires have been this year?
That's insane.
Although this is 2020, so I'm kind of shocked that all of the biggest fires haven't been
from this year.
Wildfires might be here to stay, which is awful for humans, but especially bad for trees.
Because they can't move. Humans can just run away from a wildfire, but trees, they're just stuck there.
Can you imagine how terrifying them must be for them?
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Now, there are a number of ways that climate change makes wildfires bigger and more frequent.
For instance, not only does drier wood and leaves make better fuel for fires, but hot weather
is also associated with increasing lightning strikes that ignite them.
In fact, even small things about climate change can have a huge ripple effect that
leads to fires.
And I mean, really small things.
Millions of drought-stressed trees in California forests were low on sap, which is their
natural defense against the bark beetle. These are these little tiny bugs about the size
of a grain of rice. Bark beetle infestation is linked to global warming as the weather
gets warmer. They burrow into the bark of pine trees, they kill the pine
trees, the pine trees then essentially become sticks of kindling ready to burn.
The beetles took down more than 160 million trees, and that's where some of the largest
fires are burning today. Yeah, believe it or not, people, the spread of the tiny bark
beetle is yet another way that climate change is making thiiiiiiiiiiiiiii... th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. the. the. the. Thea. Thea. Thea, thi. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. thea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. tea. thee. the. the. the. tiny bark beetle is yet another way that climate change is making wildfires worse.
It's also a great reminder that even though climate change is really bad for us humans, for
some other creatures it's the best thing that ever happened.
It's like how the Trump administration has been a disaster for most people, but great
for various reptiles.
And I've got to be honest, I never thought the apocalypse would be caused by such a lame villain. I mean, really, guys, beetels, bet beets bet beets bet beets b beets b beets, bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet bet betels, betels, betels, betels, betels, betels, betals, betals, betal, betal, that's that's that's that, that, that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that, that, that, that, that, that that that, that that, that that, that, that that, that, that, that, that, that the apocalypse would be caused by such a lame villain. I mean really guys, Beatles are going to be the reason everything's on fire?
Come on, man. The last season of Game of Thrones was bad enough when
De Nairis was burning everything down with dragons. Now imagine if she had
beetles instead. That shit would make the brand storyline seem exciting. Let's get back to the kid who's like a bird or something. I don't watch these beetles. So, so. So, so. So, th. So, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, the, the, the, the the, the, the, the, the, the, the the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. the. theat, thr-s, thr-s, theat, theat, thr-I. theat, thr-I. theat, theat, the the who's like a bird or something. I don't watch these beetles. So yes, we have to address climate change.
But the truth is, climate change isn't the only reason
that these fires have been getting worse.
There's also at least a century of government stupidity.
Controlled fire or prescribed fire is the method of burning
to reduce wildfire hazards.
This method was developed by Native Americans thousands of years ago. These low-intensity fires called cultural burnings
that built much of California's forests. Without controlled burns, forests
would have become overgrown and unmanageable. Overgrown forests create a lot of
fuel in the form of dry or dead plants. As European colonization grew in
California, native tribes were banned from engaging in cultural burning
and over time, state and federal authorities focused on quickly extinguishing any wildfires.
For example, the U.S. Forest Service's infamous 10 a.m. policy said that any fires that occurred
must be put out by 10 a.m. the next day. This limit on fires did little to reduce the fuel
that was growing on the forest floor. And even with these policies, California still has fuel loads waiting to be burned from centuries ago, making prescribed burning far more tedious and expensive than previously
thought.
Yeah, you heard that right.
One thing that would help out a lot is if California had been doing more controlled burns,
which is basically when you burn a little to prevent a lot from burning
later.
It's the same way you meet your college friend for coffee so that you don't have to have a three-hour dinner with them. And you know
you have to admit it's pretty unbelievable that California is now doing what
they outlawed the native people from doing. I guess it's kind of hard though to
kick somebody off their land and take their advice at the same time. This is my property now you savage. Oh, also before you go tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho thus thus that's that is thate tho the tho tho the their to their that, that, their to to to to to to the. to to to that that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's th. th. th. that. that is their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their toe. their their toe. toeate. the before you go, do you have any landscaping tips,
like any mulching techniques or things that I have to learn?
Now, obviously it's bad enough that wildfires are burning
millions and millions of trees.
But what makes it an especially big problem for people
is that we've been giving the fires a lot more of our stuff to burn.
Since 1990, 60% of all the homes in the United States have been built in the wildland
urban interface.
We've got houses in places.
We didn't used to have houses and that puts people and property at risk.
As more houses are built near wildlands, more of them burn.
Fifty years ago, wildfires destroyed a few hundred structures per year across
across the United States.
Now it's more than 3,000.
In California alone, more than 6 million houses are in wild areas.
Because urban housing is so expensive, instead of avoiding these high-risk zones, Californians
continue to build in a tinder box of grass and trees boxed by Windy Canyon.
Instead of Smoky Bear in the middle of the woods, we need a smoky bear in the middle of suburbia. Uh-uh. You do yourself a favor of
Smoky Bay and you stay out of the suburbs. We don't want Karen calling the
cops on you. Hello 911. There's a bear in my neighborhood and he's brown. he's brown.
But yes, one big problem is that more and more people are building homes in the middle
of the forest.
And let's place the blame where it belongs here.
With the Keebler Alps.
Yeah, these guys made living in the forest look so cool that everyone started doing it.
You get to be in a tree making cookies all day.
But guess what?
Those cookies are covered with beetles. And if we're honest here, guys, one of the bigger issues is human arrogance.
We just think we can build wherever we go.
You know, wherever we build a house, that's our land now.
It's the same way people in Florida are always surprised when alligators show up.
Oh, there's an alligator in my backyard.
No, there's a person in that alligator's house. But the good news is, can fix these problems. Yeah. Believe it or not, the wildfires don't have to
happen the way they have been. We can stop them if we take action to reduce
climate change. We can stop them if we maintain the forests and we can
stop them if we build in environmentally sensitive ways. And as for those Beatles,
You leave them to me.
It's time for a short break, but don't go away because when we come back, Ronnie Chang takes us into the world of debating Donald Trump.
We'll be right back.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look,
starting September 17th, wherever you get your podcasts.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Joe Biden has spent a lot of time preparing for the debate tonight.
But how do you prepare for a 90-minute conversation with Donald Trump?
Well, our very own, Ronnie Chang talked about it with a debate expert who had a personal experience.
Check it out.
It's finally debate night.
Trump versus Biden, the Royal Ramble.
So how is this going to play out?
Philippe Reinus, former advisor to Hillary Clinton has a few ideas.
That's because he played Trump in Clinton's 2016 debate prep. Philippe Reinus, former advisor that Hillary Clinton, has a few ideas.
That's because he played Trump in Clinton's 2016 debate prep.
So what qualified you for this?
Is it a Spider-Man situation where you got bit by one of the Trumps?
And if so, was it Eric?
Someone said to me, you've been practicing for this role, your whole life, you just didn't know it.
I can be tough and I can be not nice, I could be caustic. The point is to help Hillary
Clinton get used to this idiot making a lot of noise, some of which is just
nonsensical. So during the 2016 campaign people basically said look we need to find
the biggest dig available to us right now and that's you. That's me. So how did this big
dig get deep inside Trump's head? The first step was getting into his pants.
I went to my tailor and I said I need to actually look at Donald Trump. He gave
me a suit too baggy, the sleeves were too long. I thought, bring in a quarter inch
lifts in my shoes because you know he's like six six six six six seven. I
didn't wear a wig because it was not S&L I don't want to make a mockery of it.
You didn't want to make a mockery of it but a three-inch lifts and oversized
suit that was just silly enough.
Could I have done as good of a job if I was wearing a blue blazer or a onesie?
Probably this was my process.
I wanted to, it was method acting.
It was, I wanted to be him.
You went method to play a president in debate prep.
You're like a 99 cent store Daniel Day Lewis.
As ridiculous as it sounds, this guy deserves an Oscar for Mark Debating.
And not a pity one like Greenbook.
It's more like a beautiful mind.
It wasn't just a matter of studying how to copy him.
It was kind of thinking through what it is he might do.
I knew he'd be confused.
And I knew that he would walk around on stage and not know where to stand.
So I did that. And in the second debate when Donald
Trump started lurking and creeping around Hillary, she had experienced it already
during our debate prep. Wow. This guy really knows Trump. How do you think
Trump is going to be different in 2020 debates versus 2016? Like is this one going
to be one of those sequels that can live up to original orthis one going to be one of those sequels
that can't live up to original?
Or is Trump going to be like the Fast and Furious movies
where it just keeps getting better and more furious?
While Donald Trump was dangerous in 2016,
he was dangerous because he had nothing to lose.
In 2020, Donald Trump is dangerous,
but for the opposite reason.
He is a wounded animal.
There are some animals that are that that that that that that that th Trump is dangerous, but for the opposite reason. He is a wounded animal.
There are some animals that are inherently mean.
Honey badgers, jackals.
If you kick a jackal, he's gonna be more of a dick
than he is the normal day just walking around the tunder or whatever you call the bush or the.
Have you ever kicked a jackal before?
Uh, actual jackal or have I, you know, I don't think I've ever seen a jackal.
I grew up in Manhattan, so I don't know what the fuck people call the wild.
Wow. If this guy understands Trump as much as he doesn't understand nature, maybe he could
help the Biden campaign. So what strategy should Biden use to defeat Trump in a debate?
Keep in mind that everyone's minds already made up,
and Fox News will say that Trump won anyway,
and American democracy is broken.
But yeah, anyway, how can Biden win?
If Joe Biden is trying to out Trump,
he's going to lose because we already have a Trump.
One of Joe Biden's biggest assets here
is that he does not always sound like a politician.
The craziest, oldest person to ever be president just told me,
I'm crazy and old.
Do I sit there and say, I just took a test,
I have a doctor, I'm perfectly healthy?
Or do you say, are you kidding me?
This guy has fI'm gonna unfit it okay so you're saying that you can't out trump Trump but
everything you're suggesting sounds like Trump so are you saying that you can
trump by being somewhat Trumpy but not over-trumping it or are you saying don't be Trump at all
it's a very it's a very tough bounce.
Got it.
Be Trump, but don't be Trump.
So Joe Biden, for the next debate,
be like a jackal in the bush.
Or the tundra? You know what?
Forget it. I hope you're not watching this.
Thank you so much for that, Ronnie. All right, when we come back, I'll be talking to the ballerina and superstar, Misty Copeland.
So stick around.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
You rolling? But that's all access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling?
But that's all about to change.
Like none of this stuff gets looked at.
That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17.
Welcome back to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
So earlier today, I spoke with Misty Copeland,
the first black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre.
We talked about representation in ballet, her new book for children, and a whole lot more.
Misty Copeland, welcome to the Daily Social Distancing Show.
Thank you so much for having me.
You are one of the most accomplished ballet dancers in the
world. You're also one of the most recognizable faces in the world, not just
because of how good you are, but because of how many boundaries and how many
barriers you broke down in just doing what you do. You know, being the first
black lead in Swan Lake, being the first black principal dancer in a major ballet
company. These are huge, huge, huge achievements.
And now you've written a picture book
that really inspires kids to follow in your footsteps.
But I read this book and I was like,
I don't think anyone can follow in your footsteps.
Aren't you setting me up for failure?
Oh man, you know, something that I wanted to do, that I do and
and everything that I do in my career is really bring to to to to th....... th th th th th th th th th to th th th th, is really thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi that I that I do and carry and and everything that I do in my life and in
my career is is really bring ballet to more people and educate people on what
it is. You know there's there's so many misconceptions and preconceived notions
and troops that come along with being a ballerina and film and television
and in media that just aren't our reality.
You know, we're not living in the Black Swan movie.
We, you know, come into dance to find a way of expressing ourselves,
to find happiness, to find beauty and joy.
And so that's something that I've always wanted to highlight the camaraderie,
the relationships that develop.
And so within Bunheads, you know, we have this misfit group of a diverse group of characters.
There's a police.
There of all ages and backgrounds.
We have myself, a young Misty, her first day in ballet class.
We have my best friend Katalina, which we call her Kat, who's a Mexican-American
girl, who is my actual best friend growing up. And I just wanted to show that we can like
find differences in one another and learn from those differences and grow and support one
another, which I think is such a huge part of the ballet community. Yeah, it's a really
powerful story because so many of the themes that you deal with, not
just in this book but in your life, really relate to what people have been talking more
about it feels like in 2020.
And that is, how do we make spaces more equitable?
How do we give people an equal opportunity to succeed?
You know, for a long time people would say, well, I mean, you can do ballet if you want to do it, thrown, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, they, they, they, they, they, to, to, to, to, they, they, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they.a, they.s.s.s.s. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. to. to. to. the the can do ballet if you want to do it. It doesn't matter what the color of your skin is, but you learned very early on that it
did matter.
People said to you, oh no, your body type is too muscular.
And you know, we've seen a lot of these narratives.
You saw it with the Williams sisters, where they're like, well over and over again. Once you're in those spaces, what have you done to try and change the ideas that exist
within the world of ballet that's seen as a white space?
I mean, you kind of just hit it right there.
I mean, so much of the language I had to like decipher and really understand that it's
code language that you know the ballet world and so much of the white world has been able
to get away with, you know, we're in a visual art form that's about your aesthetic.
So it seems acceptable to say, you know, I'm sorry you just don't have the right body type.
It was like, what does that mean?
Well, I have brown skin.
It means the girls standing next to me have just as big of muscles and breasts, and they
are not being told that.
So much of it has really been just knowing how to navigate in a way that is palatable
for white people in the ballet world, but that's honest and allows people to really understand the underlying narrative that's being, that's been a part of the ballet world, but that's honest and allows people to really understand the underlying narrative
that's been a part of the ballet culture and community from the beginning of time.
You've inspired so many people with your story and you were one of the few people on this
planet who could say that Prince was inspired by you, which still blows my mind
because Prince was an enigma. I mean, I met
him once and he seemed to know everything about everything, and I found it really interesting
that for him, Misty Copeland was a source of inspiration. What do you think it was that connected
you and the late great prince? I'm so happy that you had a chance to meet him, first of all.
You know, he's someone that was just constantly educating himself.
You know, he was so invested and involved in learning about the next generation and what
people were doing, whether it was in politics or art and music. I mean, it was such an
honor to even have an opportunity to share the stage with him and to collaborate, and he
gave me so much confidence and belief
in myself to be able to be a free artist. And as dancers, especially as a black ballet dancer,
we often aren't given that freedom. We're told what to do. We're doing the steps from
you know hundreds of year old ballets and just have the freedom to create and bring our own
selves to it. What I've really enjoyed watching is how now you've been responding to what's happened due to the coronavirus.
One of the biggest areas that's been devastated by the coronavirus has been the arts.
And sometimes people take it for granted, but I mean, the arts is, you know,
it's sometimes the fabric of how we live our lives.
It's the music that's playing in the background. It's the thing we watch to take our minds off how hard life can be. I know that you've got a program where you've set
out to try and keep, you know, dancers just living during this time. What is the program
and why you feel it's so important to keep the world of ballet alive? I know that in times of crisis like this, people congregate towards art and music.
It feels as though it's kind of this frivolous thing
in times like that, but it's not.
And you know, as elite, as ballet seems,
we are not making a lot of money.
Well, I'm not gonna say we,
because I have a lot of other projects going on an endorsement deal, so I'm not going to include myself in
that category, but as professional dancers, they do not make the money they
should be making like professional athletes do and deserve to be making. So, you
know, I really felt that it was my responsibility with a platform and the reach that I have to use this time to bring awareness to the, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you the, you the, you the the, the, you the, you the, you the, the, the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, the, the, the, the the, the the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, thracea, throwne, throwne, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, throwne, throwne, their, their, their awareness to the, you know, what dancers are going through.
So I started, I co-founded Swans for Relief with a co-worker of mine Joseph Phillips, who
is in a company in the Philippines in Manila.
And we decided, you know, I decided to call on all of my ballerina sisters and
forces from around the globe, and I ended up with 32 ballerinas from 22
different professional top companies and from 14 different countries and we
came together and we performed one very iconic variation to raise funds and
bring awareness to each ballerinas respective COVID relief funds. So you can go to go fund me and swans for relief and donate.
Misty Copeland, thank you for inspiring us.
Thank you for the work that you're doing.
And thank you so much for joining on the show.
Thank you so much for having me.
Well, that's our show for tonight.
But before we go, as we talked about earlier in the show, the West Coast is battling is battling is battling is battling is battling is battling is battling is battling the show, the West Coast is battling horrific wildfires that are destroying millions of acres of land and displacing thousands of people. Climate change
has been a key factor in increasing the risk and the extent of these
conditions and one organization that has been working to find practical
solutions for climate change and other environmental threats is the
Environmental Defense Fund. Until tomorrow, stay safe out there, wear a mask, and remember, check your ballots before
you wreck your ballots.
The Daily Show with CoverNoa, Ears Edition.
Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central
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This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.
When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it.
This is 60 Minutes.
It's a kind of a magazine for television.
Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives.
You're rolling?
But that's all about to change.
Like, none of this stuff gets looked at.
That's what's incredible.
I'm Seth Done of CBS News.
Listen to 60 minutes, a second look.