The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon Stewart on Trump’s 3rd Term Plans & Signalgate Lack of Accountability | Oren Cass
Tue, 01 Apr 2025
Jon Stewart checks in on the state of democracy after Trump considers an unconstitutional third term in office, then takes a look at how all the national security officials involved in Signalgate have managed to skirt any accountability and keep their jobs, all while thousands of hard-working government employees lose theirs in DOGE layoffs. Oren Cass, chief economist at American Compass, who writes the “Understanding America” newsletter, sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss conservative economic policies of the New Right, which will be outlined in his forthcoming book, “The New Conservatives.” Cass describes a conservative shift from faith in markets, using tariffs as incentives to pursue profit that supports society, how livable wages are the key to a strong economy, and the U.S.’s ideal economic and security alliance that includes balanced trade, owning defense burdens, and keeping China out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: What are Trump's plans for a third term?
We're gonna check in with our good friend, democracy. Gonna give him the old turn your head and cough. How's democracy doing?
In some of his strongest comments yet, President Trump says he's considering his options to serve a third term in office, a breach of the Constitution's two-term limit for presidents.
I'm sorry, considering the option? What, are you trying to order off-menu from the Constitution? Oh, yeah, I see you got a, what do you got, two terms here, but can I get it animal style? What are you gonna do, a third term?
How does that work exactly? In a phone call with NBC, Trump saying, quote, there are methods which you could do it, including possibly urging his vice president, J.D. Vance, to run and then cede power back to Trump. The president saying that's one method, but that there are others, too. Yes.
There are other methods. Did you try one a few years ago? There are other methods for staying in power beyond when you are legally allowed to be there. Historically, some of them involve catapults. Although maybe Trump has something more creative in mind with the Vance thing. Have you guys heard of the movie Face Off? Yeah. So here's how it's going to work.
Trump will watch that movie as the military seizes power. Like, what the fuck? I'm sure at which point Chuck Schumer will say, I will allow it. Because in the third term, we think his popularity will go down to the 30s. So aside from the president saying, I'm not leaving... Is there any other image of the shambolic state of our democracy?
Perhaps something that looks like what you might get if you fed the destruction of democracy into an A.I. meme generator. All right. Elon Musk. OK. The richest and most fertile man in the world went to Wisconsin where he came out in a cheese hat before giving million dollar checks to voters in an effort to influence the Supreme Court race in Wisconsin.
Hey, hey.
You know what that's about? You know what that's about, Elon? Their culture is not your costume, Musk. Their people... Do not appropriate their dairy chapeaus. You can really get a sense of the fraying of our democracy by tracing the arc of its symbolic headwear. It's still a tri-corner, but it's not the same. Meanwhile, the process of streamlining our beautiful democracy continues apace.
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Chapter 2: What is the significance of Signalgate?
President Trump telling NBC News he has no plans to fire anyone following that controversial signal group chat.
Yes! Veterans Affairs, Department of Education, USAID, f*** you, f*** you, f*** you! Because all is right at the Department of Accidentally Texting War Stuff to Reporters. But fear not, regular civil service government parasites.
Perhaps this incident offers an opportunity for you all to get the kind of job security that clearly doesn't come from the quality of your work, but the assiness of your kisses. So, for instance, this Friday, when you, as a civil servant, have to send in your mandatory email to Doge listing the five things you did that week,
You can keep your job by following the same strategies that these careless Snapchatters employed to keep their jobs. Number one, don't write down, what did I do this week? You know, I took my federal car and went to Hooters and cried there for seven hours. No. You want to save your job, point the same finger of blame that they did for their indiscretions.
Chapter 3: How is Jon Stewart addressing government layoffs?
It's important to remember why this powerful action took place in the first place. Because of Joe Biden's incompetence.
The complete opposite approach from the fecklessness of the Biden administration. In contrast to Joe Biden.
Did something that the Biden administration did not do. Did the job that Joe Biden wouldn't do. We take out people that the Biden team never could. You get it? What did you do this week at work?
Number one. I repaired the damage done by Joe Biden. How could I be up now at my job considering how bad Joe Biden up before? It's not possible. You need to be in your job to repair his damage. You were at the Hooters because Joe Biden wouldn't. Or couldn't rage eat that many wings. All right. Now, you might be thinking, these Doge guys are slicker than that.
They're not just going to fall for blame Biden. That's why we hired you. You're sharp. It's not your only move.
If you want to talk about classified information, talk about what was at Hillary Clinton's home that she was trying to bleach bit.
Hillary Clinton's bit bleaching. Who amongst us hasn't tried to bleach our own bits? I think... Obviously, I'm referring to anuses. So, what are we talking about? Biden doesn't work? Throw a slash. Oh, f***. All right. Number one, that's where you fill in. Blame Biden gets you 80% home. Hillary drives you the rest of the way in the trunk of her car shouting Benghazi. All right.
Now, I know that's a bit of a big swing for your number one thing because here's the problem. Neither Joe Biden nor Hillary probably work in your office, which is why for the number two thing you're going to write to the Doge folks, you're going to bring that finger pointing technique a little closer to home. The Yemen text group chat understood rule number one of self-preservation. Me?
No, it was that guy. Because remember, you don't have to be faster than the bear. You just have to be faster than your slowest coworker. So CIA director Ratcliffe, who are you faster than?
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Chapter 4: What strategies are used to avoid accountability?
Normally, that's a disqualifying position for this administration. But go on.
But of all the people out there, somehow this guy who has lied about the president and he's the one that somehow gets on somebody's contact and then gets sucked into this group.
It's not somebody's contact. It was your contact. And he wasn't sucked in by unseen gravitational forces. You added him to the chat. Which brings us to number two. Number two on your Doge list. What did you do this week? I did a ton of stuff. All of it was right until it was tricked by the lamestream media. Can I tell you something? It's very hard to write backwards.
All right, that might save your job if you're a low-level staffer. But what if you're the department head and Doge wants to know the five things that you did? How are you going to keep your job when it's your name on the bombs? Well, it's step three. Confidently and definitively admit nothing. Thank you all for coming.
I've heard I was characterized. Nobody was texting war plans. And that's all I have to say about that. Nobody's texting war plans. I know exactly what I'm doing, exactly what we're directing. And that's all I have to say about that. I noticed this morning out came something that doesn't look like war plans.
And as a matter of fact, they even changed the title to attack plans because they know it's not war plans.
You get it? We didn't endanger troops in a war plan. We endangered them in an attack plan. Who's the asshole now? You know, he must be so upset that every time he lands, everywhere he goes, the reporters keep finding him at every stop. He's probably like, shit. Did I mistakenly add you guys to my travel group chat? Number three. What did I do?
I would tell you, but you're probably too stupid to understand, but it was awesome. I'm awesome. That's number three. So now, one, two, three. We've got two more to go, right? Four and five? 60% of your work week is done. We're past hump day and cruising to TGIF. And that sweet government cheese continues to roll in.
Maybe by day four, it's time you stop justifying your actions to Doge and start celebrating your actions.
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Chapter 5: How does Jon Stewart critique Trump's administration?
At the end of the day, what is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success.
What we should be talking about is it was a very successful mission.
The real story here is the overwhelming success of President Trump's decisive military action against Houthi terrorists.
The last place I would want to be right now is a Houthi in Yemen.
Not to be that grammar guy. But a Houthi is not a place. You can't... But the point is, for number four on the list, if they're not buying one through three, what did you do this week at the Department of Agriculture? I bombed the shit out of the Houthis. That...
Now, obviously, these strategies may lead to some of your superiors saying things like, so just bombing the Houthis stops the whole problem? Because I think we've been bombing Yemen for decades. Do we have a follow-up plan to that? And will journalists be on that follow-up chain, too? At which point, case, we turn to number five. It's a Hail Mary.
And President Trump has spoken about how important it is for this administration to own their mistakes.
We're bringing honor and integrity and accountability back throughout our government. We're going to bring transparency and accountability back to our government. You know, the old statement, the buck stops here, right? Famous statement. Well, I can say the same thing. The buck stops here. Boom.
That old Harry Truman chestnut. This is President Trump living those accountability values. Here he is when he was first asked about the signal chat incident.
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Chapter 6: What is the role of blame in political accountability?
January 6th is like your whole brand. It'd be like the hawk to a girl going, actually, I only do hand stuff. Now you're grossed out. So many things that Trump seemingly has no involvement in. Is it possible he's been severed? Is that what all the choreography and merriment is about? Now, maybe you're saying, hey, The man's pushing 80. Maybe it's not a matter of trying to shirk responsibility.
Maybe he legitimately cannot remember any of this shit.
I have a good memory and all that stuff, like a great memory. I have a great memory. One of the great memories of all time. Oh.
Well, then the only other thought here is that the I don't know, I don't remember is a cynical strategy to avoid the buck stopping anywhere near you and evading accountability at all cost. If only there was one clip. that answered that question.
Definitively. Did I say I have a great memory or one of the best in the world?
One of the best in the world. Is what the reporter quoted you to say. I don't remember that.
When we come back, Oren Kass, don't go away.
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Something unexpected happened after Jeremy Scott confessed to killing Michelle Schofield in Bone Valley Season 1. I just knew him as a kid. Long, silent voices from his past came forward.
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Chapter 7: How does Jon Stewart satirize Trump's memory claims?
Gilbert came. I'm the son of Jeremy Lynn Scott.
I was no longer just telling the story. I was part of it.
Every time I hear about my dad, it's, oh, he's a killer. He's just straight evil.
I was becoming the bridge between a killer and the son he'd never known.
If the cops and everything would have done their job properly, my dad would have been in jail. I would have never existed.
I never expected to find myself in this place. Now, I need to tell you how I got here.
At the end of the day, I'm literally a son of a killer.
Bone Valley, Season 2. Jeremy.
Jeremy, I want to tell you something.
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Chapter 8: What can we expect from Oren Cass' discussion with Jon Stewart?
Now, when you say this at the meeting, with the other conservative economists? Did they go, leave us! Like, it really seems like that is fundamental heresy on, you know, I've listened for years. The reason we can't do sort of social engineering or social policy or redistribution of wealth is the government's not in the business of picking winners and losers. That is now off.
The new right is saying, actually, we do.
Yeah, I think that's right. The new writers are saying, actually, there are some things we really want to see win. And that's what politics is. What would politics be if you just pretended you sort of didn't care about anything? You'd sort of have a lot of the very uninspiring Republican politics of the last few decades, I would say.
Now, you started, though, you worked with Mitt Romney, who was considered the avatar of... Of that, was he open to this idea? Where did it start to find traction for you that a more activist government, this sort of idea of economic policy as kind of social engineering, when did it start to gain traction?
I mean, for me to actually started working with then Governor Romney, like you said, he was conventional in a lot of ways. One of the issues I was responsible for with him was trade policy. And we brought him the very typical, here's what Republicans say about trade briefing. And he said, well, that's fine, but what are we going to do about China?
And to your point about all the other conservative economists in the room, they were... what are you talking about? We don't do anything about China. If China wants to send us cheap stuff, we say, thank you very much.
In the meeting, what does it sound like when the monocles fall out of the eyes? Does it clink? It just feels like one of those, like, oh!
Great Poupon! The gasps can be disturbing. Yes. To your point, there's a lot of religious fervor, frankly, on what I would call the old right about some of these ideas. And when someone says something very common sense, like, well, wait a minute, maybe an authoritarian communist government that's trying to hollow out American manufacturing, maybe that's not really free market. Right.
I was like, wow, that's a really important point. And I was the one assigned to go off and try to figure it out. And what I discovered was that on the right of center, really going back to the mid-1980s, there had just been no thinking about this.
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