The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Elon Musk's Gov't Purge, Trump's J6 Revenge, Is Any of This Legal? | Nicole Avant
Wed, 05 Feb 2025
Desi Lydic covers Elon Musk's purge of USAID, Lousiana Senator John Kennedy's lust for omelets, and Trump's January 6 revenge on top FBI officials. Troy Iwata checks in to answer the burning question: Is any of this legal? How to Un-DEI Your Workplace: The Daily Show has you covered with this HR training video to help workers unlearn all those "woke" teachings. Acclaimed producer and best-selling author Nicole Avant talks to Desi about the true story behind the Netflix movie “The Six Triple Eight” of an all-Black, all-female battalion that contributed to a victory in WWII and describes what she learned about the Coast Guard in her former role as Ambassador to the Bahamas. She also discusses her book “Think You’ll Be Happy,” which tells the story of her grief and path to healing after the tragic loss of her mother, and how her mother’s last words to her serve as both the title of the book and her mantra in life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: What is Elon Musk's role in the government purge?
I'm Desi Lydic. We've got so much to talk about tonight. We say RIP to DEI. A senator wants to fertilize the wrong kind of egg. And the inventor of the Cybertruck thinks our government looks stupid. So let's get into the latest in another installment of the second coming of Donald J. Trump.
I've been a cop.
We all know Donald Trump isn't a details kind of guy. We elected him to come up with big brilliant ideas like renaming the Gulf of Mexico. No one else could have thought of that or should have thought of that. But it's okay that he's not big on details because during the campaign he promised us that he knew a guy.
I'm going to appoint Elon Musk, who's a fantastic guy, to lead a government efficiency commission tasked with saving trillions of dollars in fraud, waste, and abuse. We have tremendous fat. Tremendous fat.
Don't take the bait, Desi. Don't take the bait. Be the bigger person. Be the bigger person. That's right, Elon Musk, the world's richest man and guy who cheers in the wrong parts of Saving Private Ryan. Trump promised us that he'd give Elon full access to the federal government. Pull it to the side and get all up in it. And unlike his wedding vows, this is a promise he kept.
Elon Musk's sweeping push to make over the federal government, sparking democratic panic and warnings of a constitutional crisis.
Now we have learned that his team has gained access to something extraordinarily sensitive, the system that the Treasury Department uses to disperse almost every check and expenditure of any kind made by the U.S. government.
That is a vast database with millions of Americans' personal information on it.
Yeah. Yeah, Elon Musk has access to your social security number, and that is not cool. If you want our personal data, Elon, you go buy it off the dark web like everyone else, okay? Now, you might be thinking, I don't want white nationalist Tony Stark to have sole control of the inner workings of the federal government. But relax. It's not just Elon. He has a fully equipped team.
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Chapter 2: Is it legal for Elon Musk to access sensitive government information?
Perfect. Can you help us find out if it's legal for Musk and his Lost Boys to access the sensitive information of the federal government?
That is a beautiful question, Desi. It doesn't sound legal, but nothing does anymore. Let me tell you what, I'll do some research and I'll get back to you.
Oh, okay, great. Well, we'll check back in in a minute. Thank you, Troy. Now, Elon Musk isn't just going to get full access to the federal government just to sit back and watch it function like he's some sort of cuck. No, he's going to jump in there and do some cutting.
This weekend, Musk taking aim at the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, which is in charge of dispensing tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid.
USAID employees are waking up this morning to an email notice telling them not to show up to work today, as Musk says he is shutting the agency down.
Yes, the richest man in the world is cutting off aid to poor countries. Why can't you just be a normal billionaire and co-host Shark Tank or run an NBA team into the ground? I'm not saying there's not some cuts to be made in foreign aid spending you just don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater or what's the expression, I'm looking for.
As we got into us that USAID it became apparent that what we have here is is not an apple with a woman it but we have actually just a bowl of worms. And so it's a point which you don't really like you could go to Apple has got a woman may even take the warm out, but if you've got actually just a bowl of worms. It's hopeless. And USID is a ball of worms. There is no apple.
And when there is no apple, you've just got to basically get rid of the whole thing.
OK, we get it. We get the metaphor. You don't have to keep saying worms over and over again. You know, I have a metaphor, too. Elon Musk's charisma reminds me of a ball of worms. Of course, USAID was codified by an act of Congress. So if Trump thinks he can have Elon Musk kill it, he must have a strong legal reason for why he can do that without an act of Congress.
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Chapter 3: Why is USAID being shut down by Elon Musk?
Or not. Why should he know? He's just the president. Fortunately, we have a legal expert who can help answer that question. Let's go back to Troy Iwata.
What?
Troy, I got another one for you. Is it legal for the president to shut down USAID without an act of Congress?
Oh, I'm not done looking at the Treasury Department thing.
Well, Troy, we kind of need to know this now. We have to keep up with Trump.
Okay, okay, so should I do that question first?
No, do both first.
Okay, it's going to take a lot of work, so I have to... Thank you, Troy.
Thank you. Now, obviously, Republicans are standing by Musk for the most part. They say that Trump ran on cutting spending, and this is all just a part of that. But is there perhaps a senator who could make that point in the weirdest, creepiest way possible? I like omelets.
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Chapter 4: How is Trump targeting FBI officials post-January 6th?
You're going to find out in a second if it's legal for me to blow my brains out on the air.
Well, is it? I don't know! Troy, look, I know, I know this is a hectic pace, but it's important that we find out the answers so we can be as informed as possible about whether this administration's actions are legal. Don't you agree? Troy? Wait. Where's Troy?
Yo. What's up? Troy got fired by Elon Musk.
What? Is that legal for Elon Musk to fire one of our employees?
Of course it is. Everything Elon does is legal, bro.
Wait, who are you? Are you Big Balls?
No. Of course not. Big Balls was my fraternity brother. You can call me Floppy Taint.
Oh, goddammit. Floppy Taint, everyone. When we come back, we'll cleanse your workplace so don't go away.
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Chapter 5: How are DEI programs being dismantled in workplaces?
We want to create an environment where everyone is welcome, to make everyone else feel unwelcome. So.
Let's try some role play. Take a look at this scenario.
Hey, Edward. You did a great job on that presentation.
Thanks, man.
And freeze. Do you see what went wrong here? Let's try it again with all our DEI training forgotten.
Hey, Edward. You did a great job on that presentation. Can I touch your hair? I don't want to be in the video anymore.
Perfect. If you witness something that seems a little DEI, don't hesitate to reach out to a white manager.
For example, if you work in a department with less than four guys named Todd making good money, please call 911 immediately. Yep, me again.
Thank you for watching this video on how to un-DEI your office. With these tools, you...
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Chapter 6: What are the potential legal implications of Trump's actions?
It's a very good thing. I'm grateful you're as busy as you are.
Trying to be productive with my life.
You certainly are this movie was incredible. The 6 triple 8. It was just nominated for an Oscar for best original.
The song and it's it's you know, it's so beautiful typical Diane Warren and then you know Gabby her sings the song and the 2 of them coming together and it's just it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard it was perfect for the film and I think every single person when you listen to the journey. It's all of us we're all on our own journeys in life and it's it's just beautiful.
It perfectly suits the story. Tell us about the story behind the 6888. I hadn't heard the story, which is crazy to me of these incredible legendary women, these patriots who changed the war. Where did you learn about the story and how did you make this happen?
So one of my fellow producers, Carrie, sent me a sizzle reel. And she said, listen, I know that you love history and American history. And I think we have a great piece of American history that has not been told. And I had heard of Major Charity Adams, but I had no idea about the battalion. And the 855 women. And I had no idea about the backlog of mail and 17 million pieces of mail.
And they had six months to deliver the mail. Everybody had tried to deliver this mail. Everybody. All the men. Everybody has tried to deliver the mail. No one can do it. They figured, we'll just send these women over. They're not going to be able to do it. You have six months. Good luck. They did it in three months. And the importance is...
And the best part of the story is that they really, as you saw in the clip, it's when you, there's no mail, there is low morale. And when you have low morale, you cannot win a war. You cannot be, you can't go forward if you're not speaking to your mother or your father. Imagine, there's no email, there's no Wi-Fi, there's nothing. It's the U.S. Postal Service.
And that is how people stayed connected. It's about connection, and humans have to stay connected, feel loved, feel together to move forward. And then the men, all of a sudden, everything turned around, and the men, you know, regained their vigor and their strength, and they moved forward, and they won. And these women, we have to thank them for this.
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