February 4, 2023

Is is right for The Daily Show's Jordan Kepler to interview idiots at Trump rallies?

 Is is right for The Daily Show's Jordan Kepler to interview idiots at Trump rallies?
By Hal Brown

I caught a rerun of Morning Joe from a few days ago when Joe and Mika interviewed comedian Jordan Kepler. Kepler has been following Trump around the country for years interviewing people attending his rallies.

In this segment of Morning Joe he interviews people like those shown below:

Jordan Klepper crashes Trump's recent 'intimate event' in South Carolina, speaking with MAGA fans who think the former president is still the current president.




Some do dress normally:


You can do a web search for Jordan Kepler YouTube and find "best of compilations" like the following:

Click above to view (aprox. 25 minutes)


He interviews people who think Trump is still president, that he controls the military, and who don't know what happened of Jan. 6th. Some of those who know what happened on Jan. 6th think Nancy Pelosi planned it to blame it on the Republicans.

They think JFK Jr. is still alive having faked his death, one of the QAnon conspiracies, and  he plans to expose people called globalists.

Kepler admits he seeks out people at these event s like those wearing outfits like those shown above because he doesn't have time to interview numerous random people. He told Joe and Mika that "most of the people he interviews you can tell (their views) by the capes that they wear."  He doesn't claim that they represent a statistical sample of the beliefs and opinions of most Trump supports at the rallies. 

Kepler is very good at eliciting what's behind these people's outrageous opinions by engaging them with empathy. He listens and repeats what they have to say as if he takes them seriously. He manages to get them to, by any objective measure, make utter .fools of themselves.

This makes me wonder whether these people know that their appearances will be cringeworthy for those like us. It isn't really the kind of comedy we see on Saturday Night Live, for example, where actors mimic various Republicans. In fact, I am not sure we can call what Kepler does so masterfully as comedy.

What I think would be helpful is having the people interviewed sit down with someone, perhaps a psychologist, and be shown the clips of themselves as used on the show. I'd like to know how they react to seeing themselves as objects of mockery. Do they "get it" or not?

A retired psychotherapist friend said after I talked to her about this that she doesn't like shaming and humiliating people who don't even realize they are so stupid. She said she finds it painful. She said it isn't their fault that they are so stupid and ignorant.

I wonder if any of these people, for example, watched the video above and looked at YouTube comments like these:

Rob Liston
Jordan Klepper is literally mocking all of them in front of their faces and they all don’t realize it. ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚
768
TruthOverFear
The mental gymnastics required to see proof of Trump's crimes and immediately dismissed it is amazing and terrifying at the same time.
862
jay disqus
This man deserves hazard pay.
578
Katharina von Heydekampf
I love Jordan Klepper, how he keeps a straight face in a lot of these interviews is beyond me
538
Tania Rosen
Jordan Klepper is a national treasure! Not just anyone can spend that much time with trumpsters, it has to make a sane person mad.
305
Scapegoat Iscariot
This is quality journalism with a twist of satire and wit.
256
Rachel Joseph
As a Michigander, I am SO proud that Klepper is a native of my state. His intellect is astounding and he’s so well-informed before he goes to to mock these asshats. Keep it going Jordan!!
76
Yourdeadmeat69
Please remember Klepper is literally risking his life to do his shtick.
106
Don McAllister
I’ve never laughed so hard at people’s ignorance and stupidity… and been so extremely terrified … at the same time ! Thank You… social media!
81
Bee Leigh
He never gets through to any of them, but the two women that said “we should go”?! A true win!! I hope they really left and thought about it!!
144
Bthsr71
We laugh so we don't cry and scream.
209
Uthman Baksh
Jordan Klepper is such an under rated correspondent on the Daily Show!
120
Sad to the Bone
Always love Jordan. "2000 Mules." Brought to you by the dude who said climate change doesn't exist because it was snowing in Australia.
77
Dee Leach
Even when they’re shown the proof, they still don’t believe it! Then we have two “airhead” young ladies that don’t even know what January 6 was๐Ÿ˜ซ
60
KATHRYN TAnner
Klepper is such a quick wit, and so calm in the face of nuttiness. I have seen a few guys trying to emulate his approach, but Klepper is by far the best.
25
tom schmitz
never ever ever ever underestimate the human animal's capacity for pathological stubbornness, self absorption and narcissism. "don't you dare tell me i'm wrong, even if I am wrong, and I know i'm wrong and you can prove i'm wrong, don't you dare tell me I am!"....
39
Paul WOLSTENCROFT
Weird thought! I imagine these people watching themselves in these YouTube videos and being proud of themselves. Probably showing them to all their friends and not thinking for one second how insane it all looks.
59
The AJ
Thank you for your service, Mr. Klepper.
34
matt manley
Jordan should be the new host!!
222
Opinions No One Cares About
How has Klepper not lost his mind?

I am a psychotherapist who during the 40 some years before I retired I diagnosed and treated countless people. I am curious about how I, or another mental health professional, would diagnose these Trump supporters, and other adherents of QAnon. 

Do some of them suffer from easily treatable delusional psychotic disorders? If they do it is a shame they don't receive the help that would help them.

I am sure there is a mixture of psychopathologies  manifest in these MAGA cultists, and included among these people are psychologically normal people who just have very low IQ's.

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