During The Daily Show segment “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse” released Tuesday, correspondent Jordan Klepper headed to a Trump rally to ask supporters about presidential candidate Nikki Haley‘s chances at the primary and the possibility of a Trump dictatorship, which the former president has alluded to and then later claimed he was kidding about it. To some Trump supporters, some of whom were dressed in American flag swim trunks and MAGA caps, the answer rolled off their tongue.
One supporter suggested, “that’s what we need,” in reference to the dictatorship.
Another encouraged the president to “get it done,” as Klepper compared the former president to brutal authoritarian rulers Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. “At this point, that’s what America needs,” the supporter added.
The segment references Trump’s response to Fox News’ Sean Hannity who asked about his use of power during a Davenport, Iowa, town hall.
“Under no circumstances, you are promising America tonight, you would never abuse power as retribution against anybody?” Hannity asked. Trump responded: “Except for Day One. I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
This message was further echoed during a Dec. 16 rant on immigration. Trump told a crowd of supporters in Durham, New Hampshire that migrants were “poisoning the blood of our country,” which resembled the rhetoric of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler who incessantly compared Jewish people to a blood poison within German society. More specifically, Hitler’s manifesto Mein Kampf states “all great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning,” and it also blames Jews and “undesirable” groups for widespread contamination.
Trump further clarified his point with a post on Truth Social stating “ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS POISONING THE BLOOD OF OUR NATION.”
Klepper also visited a campaign stop in South Carolina and spoke with supporters of presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who said they believed the runner-up had a fighting chance.
“I have a problem with people insinuating that she might not have been an effective governor,” one supporter said. “Really? Well, they either lived in another state or they’re high as a Georgia pine.”
Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley lost Nevada’s Republican presidential primary to the “none of these candidates” selection on the ballot Feb. 6. Trump was not on the ballot.
Klepper takes on the The Daily Show hosting duties through the rest of the week, followed by Jon Stewart‘s return to the desk Feb. 12. Stewart took over hosting duties from Craig Kilborn in the late Nineties, and left the satire news program in 2015. Comedy Central landed on Stewart as a temporary solution through the election after a long, exhaustive search. Stewart will host every Monday with correspondents and contributors including Ronny Chieng, Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta, Dulcé Sloan, and Lewis Black rotating shifts for the week’s three other episodes. Tonight’s (Feb. 13) guests include Killer Mike.
