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January 8, 2025 27 mins

Desi Lydic discusses Trump's imperialist push ahead of his inauguration, including making Canada the 51st state, renaming the Gulf of Mexico, and possibly invading Greenland. Jordan Klepper is hyped about colonialism's apparent comeback. Companies like Meta, McDonald's, and Amazon are doing everything from ditching facts to bribing Melania with a documentary to get in the president-elect's good graces.

Writer and director of the new film “Babygirl,” Halina Reijn discusses the questions she set out to explore through the film about shame, sexuality, and authenticity, subverting the tropes of the erotic thriller genre, and how her background as an actress informs her directing.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Comedy Central.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
From the most trusted journalists.

Speaker 3 (00:09):
At Comedy Central is America's only sorts for news.

Speaker 4 (00:13):
That's the daily joke with your host, Daisy Line.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
I'm n line me.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
I've got so much to talk about tonight. McDonald's takes
diversity off the menu. Facebook tries to friend Maga and
uh oh, someone bought Donald Trump a globe. So let's
get into it with our continuing coverage of Trump two
point zero coming for the White House.

Speaker 5 (00:54):
I'm gonna come.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
When Donald Trump won in November, it was largely on
the promise of improving the everyday lives of American people,
from fixing inflation after it was already fixed, to fighting
the nationwide prime wave that he made up. And today,
in a press conference from our lago, Trump announced one
of those common sense, kitchen table policies that Americans have
been waiting for.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
We're going to be changing the name of the Gulf
of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, let's do that. Why the hell not? We have
been so concerned about all the scary things that Trump's
going to do. We forgot He's also going to do
some really stupid things. I guess Gulf of America does
have a ring to it, as in, there was another
horrific oil spill in the Gulf of America. But okay, fine,

(01:56):
let's rename the Golf. I guess. Now, let's focus on
the price of eggs. President ELEC.

Speaker 5 (02:01):
Donald Trump, urging America's northern neighbor to quote merge with
the US, saying, many people in Canada love being the
fifty first state Canada.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
And the United States. That would really be something. You
get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take
a look at what that looks like, what.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
That would go all the way from the Arctic down
to the Gulf of America. This is this is insane.
Canada can't become part of America. That's the country I
pretend to be from when I'm traveling abroad. Why does
Trump want Canada so much? When he hears that Canadians
love pouring gravy on their poutine, he knows they're not

(02:45):
talking about putine right. By the way, this isn't the
first time he's mentioned this. He's been tweeting about making
Canada the fifty first state for months now. SiGe. Now,
I'm impressed that he currently knows there are fifty states.
But surely Canada is not going to just take this

(03:07):
Prime Minister Trudeau, tell him what's up.

Speaker 6 (03:09):
I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
Goddamn it, goddamn it. Well, welcome to the United States, Canada.
Locker rooms are over there, our Wi Fi password is
hop TuS sixty nine four twenty, and you pay for
healthcare now. But no, Trudeau didn't resign just to make
it easier for Trump to take over Canada. The fact

(03:35):
is he resigned because he's very unpopular now and if
he ran again, he'd have to face this guy, Pierre Pouliev.
He's the leader of the Conservative Party and based on
this interview, he's a pretty intimidating dude on the on
the topic.

Speaker 4 (03:50):
I mean, in terms of your sort of strategy currently,
you're obviously taking the populist pathway. What does that mean, well, appealing,
appealing to people's more emotional levels, I would guess, I mean, certainly, certainly, certainly,
you tap a lot of people would would say that
you're simply taking a page out of the Donald Trump

(04:12):
uh like which people would say that, well, I'm sure
a great many Canadians. But like who, I don't know who.

Speaker 7 (04:20):
But you're the one who asked the question, so yeah, you.

Speaker 5 (04:23):
Much know somebody.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
God damn, that's a power move. I haven't seen someone
dominated like this since I watch Baby Girl. Tell you
what America is not getting Canada from him. Get on
your knees. You're our province now, good girl. But back

(04:48):
to Donald Trump, who is now demanding to rename the
Gulf of Mexico and take over Canada. Not to mention,
a couple of weeks ago, Trump expressed interest in taking
over the Panama Canal because why stop it just controlling
birth canals. But that's it, right, that's it. Now we
can get back to the price of eggs.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Well, we need Greenland for national security purposes. People really
don't even know if Denmark has an illegal right to it,
but if they do, they should give it up because
we need it for national security.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Of course we do, of course we do. Greenland is
vital for our national security. It's the only way to
stop Santa Claus from waltzing on down from the North
Pole and our wives. And if you're wondering, wait, Trump
keeps saying America is broke. How is he going to
pay for Greenland. Oh, he's not.

Speaker 8 (05:40):
Donald Trump said he might use military force to take
control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.

Speaker 9 (05:46):
Can you assure the world that as you try to
get control of these areas, you are not going to
use military or economic coores.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
No, I can't assure you on either of those two.

Speaker 10 (06:01):
What.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
He just got elected and he's going to invade Greenland. Look,
I am no war expert. I'll leave decisions regarding our
military to alcoholic Fox News hosts, but I am almost
certain invading Greenland is insane. Insane At the very least,
it would be nice to have heard about this during

(06:24):
the campaign. I mean, you had time to tell a
ten minute story about Arnold Palmer shower Penis, but now
one story about bombing Greenland. That would have been good
to know. For more on Trump's efforts to expand America's borders,
we go live to Jordan Klepper. Jordan, what's going on?

Speaker 11 (06:53):
Oh, I'll tell you what's going on. Colonialism is back, baby.
The world is full of distant lands we can plunder
and rename after America. Well, get zinc from Greenland, or
should I say America lend We'll get rubber from Cambodia,
which is probably over here somewhere now America, and we'll

(07:19):
get our sugar from South America, or as I like
to call it, America America.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Jordan, it's twenty twenty five, Why would we bring colonialism back?

Speaker 11 (07:29):
Come on, Daisy, The fancy hats alone are enough reason.

Speaker 2 (07:40):
No, no, no, I hate to break it to you,
but that hat looks stupid. The hat does not look stupid.
You look stupid without a hat.

Speaker 12 (07:48):
And besides, besides, America was at its finest when it
was expanding, manifest destiny, the Louisiana purchase, the Oregon Trail,
the California Pizza Kitchen. You know, it was so great
for us.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Yeah, but it won't be great for the countries we colonize.

Speaker 11 (08:03):
Why not think about all the gifts America has to
offer a place like Canada, roads, sanitation, syphilis.

Speaker 2 (08:13):
Canada already has all those things.

Speaker 11 (08:15):
They don't have my syphilis.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
What if the Canadians resist?

Speaker 11 (08:21):
That's the Canadians. Don't make me laugh, the breastplate, change
my nipples.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
I don't know, Jordan, superpowers have a habit of suffering
defeats and harsh climates. Name one Napoleon in Russia. Name
two Hitler in Russia. Name three the British in Afghanistan.
Name four, the Soviets in Afghanistan. Name five, the Americans
in Afghanistan. Name six Americans in Vietnam. You're my hat, Jordan, clever, everyone,

(08:56):
we may.

Speaker 10 (08:56):
Come back and find out what Milania is in silence.

Speaker 2 (09:22):
Show the second Trump term just weeks away. Everyone's preparing
in their own way. For example, I'm getting six IUDs
spring it sperm. But knowing how much Trump lies, it's
more important than ever for everyone to rededicate themselves to
the pursuit of truth.

Speaker 6 (09:39):
Facebook announced it is getting rid of fact checkers, or that.

Speaker 2 (09:46):
I guess you could just live your truth. It's right,
Facebook is ending fact checking, as Mark Zuckerberg announced apparently
while entering his gen z era.

Speaker 6 (09:56):
The recent elections also feel like a cultural ticking point
towards once again prioritizing speech. Fact Checkers have just been
too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they've created, especially.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
In the US.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
Okay, first of all, is this just what Mark Zuckerberg
looks like?

Speaker 9 (10:13):
Now?

Speaker 2 (10:15):
I guess someone got the Kendrick Lamar album for Hanukah?
What is going on here. This is the worst fashion
a white guy has tried to pull off since Oh,
I guess two days ago. I gotta say, though, saying
we realized relying on facts was discriminating against our Republican

(10:36):
users is kind of a big dis to conservatives. It's
like saying, sorry, our new skid mark policy was singling
out greg All underwear stains are welcome. But Facebook isn't
the only corporation that's trying to get on Trump's good side,
even one that you would assume he's already cool with.

Speaker 5 (10:53):
McDonald's is the latest major company to roll back some
of its diversity, equity and inclusion practices. The Golden Arches
is not abandoning all diversity initiatives, but says it will
retire specific goals, ending a supply chain, DEI pledge, pausing
participation in surveys from external groups, and no longer setting
what it calls representation targets.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
All right, this is disappointing coming from such a diverse company.
They have a clown in x con, people with hamburger heads,
and of course the pan sexual purple blob. And the
thing is that McDonald's doesn't need to do this They
are literally the one company that Trump will never get
mad at. They could name a dipping sauce in honor

(11:38):
of Hunter Biden and Trump would still be nuggets deep
in that shit. Nuggets deep. But to everyone out there
who cares about diversity and fast food, don't worry. To
balance things out, five guys is now five guys and
a queer Latino woman. So maybe no corporation is bending

(12:03):
the need to Trump as hard as Amazon. They've got
a very special plan to win over the incoming president,
and it's called Happy Wife, Happy Life.

Speaker 8 (12:12):
Amazon Prime announced a new documentary on the incoming and
former First Lady Milania Trump. Rime video will be giving
a rare and behind the scenes looked at one of
President elect Trump's most trusted but also notoriously guarded advisors.

Speaker 2 (12:30):
I'm sorry, most trusted advisor. Did CNN also fire their
fact checkers? What is she advising him on? Exactly? I
advise you not to touch me. Now. Amazon is apparently

(12:53):
paying forty million dollars just for the rights to this movie,
and maybe you're thinking, well, this sounds like a way
to line under money to the Trumps. Uh huh, But
what director would want to attach their name to a
project like this.

Speaker 8 (13:07):
It will be directed by Brett Ratner, which is the
filmmaker's first major project since twenty seventeen. You might recall
he was accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women and
has denied those allegations.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
Accused of sexual misconduct, Does Donald Trump know he wasn't convicted,
because that might be a deal breaker. I'll tell you,
Amazon is really committed to this. Based on this new
ad that we definitely did not make up, This Milania
documentary is only the beginning.

Speaker 10 (13:41):
Coming this spring, Amazon is proud to announce its new
unbiased documentary Milania, the Greatest, Firstest Lady, from legendary and
totally innocent director Brett Ratner. Milania will provide an in
depth look at this bewitching role model, but that's not
at all. Stay tuned for many more objective documentaries like

(14:04):
Don Junior, The Genius Sex God whose Penis Is Fantastic,
directed by Jared Boegel, Eric Trump, The New Leonardo da
Vinci directed by Harvey Weinstein and JD. Vance, The Man
Whose Parts Should Be Sold as Cologne Executive produced by
Jeffrey Epstein's Plane and featuring an original song by r
Kelly Diddy, Kevin Spacey, and pepe Le Pew. We know

(14:28):
you'll give these titles a hashtag me too thumbs up.
That's why they'll be automatically downloaded to your account and
cannot be erased Amazon Prime Video. It's not propaganda, it's Prime.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
Let me come back to director a Baby Girl. We'll
be joining me on the show with no moment.

Speaker 7 (15:06):
My good Lie is the writer and director.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
His new film is called Baby Girl. Please welcome Helena Rain.

(15:34):
Congratulations on the film. It opened Christmas Day. Yes, it's
a wonderful life for horny women everywhere. It's a beautiful film.
I got to go see a screening last month, and
you were there. You introduced the movie, and you introduced
the movie with a question. You said, every good story
starts with a question, and this film's question is can

(15:56):
you love even the most shameful parts of yourself? How
did you go?

Speaker 1 (16:01):
Well?

Speaker 2 (16:01):
First of all, as someone who's binge watched eleven seasons
of Real Housewives of New York, I can answer that
for you. It's yes, yes you can, Yes you can.
But how did you go from asking yourself that question
to building this beautiful, vulnerable, raw story.

Speaker 1 (16:17):
Well, I knew.

Speaker 7 (16:18):
Also, I wanted to make something about my sort of quest.
I always want to be normal, That's my whole thing.
There's a sentence in the movie Aline that Nico Kate
mince As to her husband Antonio Bandera.

Speaker 1 (16:29):
She goes, I just want to be normal. I want
to be the woman you like. I want to be
what you like.

Speaker 7 (16:34):
And so my movie is sort of a letter to
myself to kind of encourage myself to become more unapologetically
my authentic self without shame.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
God. It's very important. I also wanted it to be funny.

Speaker 7 (16:54):
I really wanted it to be funny, because I think
humor is what connects all of us. And I just yeah, agreed, yeah,
And I just thought I wanted to make a big
American movie. You know, I come from Amsterdam, from a
very small country, and so I didn't just want to
make like a small movie about female desire. I wanted
to make a big, fun movie. And I think because

(17:17):
of my great actors, we hopefully succeeded.

Speaker 2 (17:19):
Oh you did. You absolutely fulfilled that desire to make it.
There were laugh out loud moments. It was fascinating, it
was exciting, it was tense, Nicole Kidman stars in this movie,
The Legendary. I love the way that you played with humor.
You say that this film was that it was marketed

(17:43):
as a psychological, erotic thriller, but that you call it
a comedy of manners.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yes, I do.

Speaker 7 (17:48):
I mean I also think we played with the thriller tropes.
And I love the sexual thrillers of the nineties, Fatal
Attraction on Faithful, Basic Instinct, name it. I love all
of them nine and a half weeks. They just all
all tended to sort of punish the lead would be
the cheater or the woman, the fum fatale, and I
don't like to punish my characters. I just really loved

(18:09):
to be human about them and really show that we
all are angels and devils. We all have a dark side,
and if we accept the dark side, and if we
dare to look at it, we can actually sort of
like befriended, but if we suppress it. And in that sense,
my movie is a little bit of cautionary tale, if
you will, of what happens when you suppress that side
of yourself. And so that's really what I set out
to do. So the thriller aspect is definitely there, but

(18:32):
then in the second half of it, we kind of
take it more into a human level so that hopefully
people can relate to it.

Speaker 2 (18:39):
I love the way that you played with that trope
because I loved those movies from the nineties too, But
no one's ever done it from the female perspective, and
so you're really subverting expectations, which you do often. Your
movie Bodies Bodies Bodies also plays with the genre of
the horror film. Yes, but you subvert expectations and that
it's something that is what you you look to seek

(19:01):
out to do.

Speaker 7 (19:02):
Yeah, I just think I want to create my own genre.
So I don't really look at like, oh, I should
trap myself in one. I just feel like I can
mix it up. And I'm really looking again, like and
I'm talking to myself because it's really hard to do,
but I'm looking for my own uniqueness in that. And
I think that is how I can connect to others.
So the more I can be my authentic self within
what I do, within what I make, I feel that

(19:23):
I can connect to others more. And so my style
is to go from horror like Bodies Bodies Bodies and
then make it in the end.

Speaker 1 (19:30):
There's no killer in bodies. You know, everybody dies, but they.

Speaker 2 (19:33):
Just start clean smaller. Sorry for another The watch, Still
worth the watch, Still worth the watch. You were an
internationally celebrated actress before you became a director, well.

Speaker 7 (19:49):
Internationally celebrated. Yes, okay, mainly in the Medolands.

Speaker 5 (19:53):
Go with it.

Speaker 2 (19:54):
That is your authentic self. Yes, that is my authentic
pre Okay, you were. And I'm curious how you use
your experience as an actress to direct your actors.

Speaker 7 (20:05):
Yes, no, I think having been an actress, my full
priority is always to make actress feel safe and of
course physically with the intimacy scenes and all of that,
but also emotionally. I think for actress it's very hard
sometimes to play these emotional embarrassing scenes. And because I
know how vulnerable this profession is, I think I can
really be at their level instead of like sitting on

(20:26):
a high chair with the north faced jacket, eating pizza
and say.

Speaker 1 (20:28):
And crawl around cry undressed like that's how I often
experienced when I was doing movies.

Speaker 2 (20:33):
Yes, that's how our director works here, Oh me do wherezy?

Speaker 10 (20:40):
That's a lie, that's not true.

Speaker 2 (20:42):
David Ballmeyer, who is nominated for two DDA Awards today, so.

Speaker 7 (20:50):
But so and Also I was mainly a stage actress,
so I played Shakespeare, An Ibsen and Chekhov. And because
we used to play those plays, not just a week
or a cop of weeks, but our runs were like
for years. So I lived inside these places and these
characters lived inside of me, and I think that's what
taught me writing, and so everything that I do really
comes from that and my collaborative nature. Also, I was

(21:11):
raised by radical hippies in the Netherlands, so I love
to collaborate with my actors instead of, you know, doing
this kind of pyramid hierarchy. For me, it's all doing
it together and making everybody also the crew very very important,
make everybody feel involved.

Speaker 2 (21:27):
When we spoke at your screening, you said you would
get down on the floor and sit with them and
show them that this is safe to do, Like you
would kind of do some of the physicality so that
they felt comfortable.

Speaker 7 (21:39):
Yes, and Nicole also developed this habit, and she's very
open about it.

Speaker 1 (21:43):
Of asking me, she would be like, you do it
first for her, Yeah, So we would act, Yeah, we
would act together a little bit.

Speaker 4 (21:52):
You know.

Speaker 7 (21:53):
I love rehearsing individually. So rehearsing in a group can
be incredibly embarrassing. As you know, you're an actress as well,
so it's all embarrassing.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
It's all embarrassing. It's life is embarrassing. Bus embrace it.

Speaker 7 (22:05):
No, we love to do these individual rehearsals, rehearsals and
then I would, yeah, I would ex out all the
different parts with them, and they really love that. It's
playful and you kind of like playfully get into it
instead of like immediately having this pressure on you and
feeling the directors over there and you're over here and
you're struggling.

Speaker 1 (22:21):
So I just like to be with them in it.

Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah. I wish more directors works like you, really like
Hollywood needs more directors like you and sorry less like
Brett Ratner. I really enjoyed that these two characters, it
wasn't just romy who had her own journey, who had

(22:44):
her own path. She was looking to accept these sort
of shameful parts of herself, while the character of Samuel
was also trying to navigate something in his world. How
how to be a man in today's society? What does
masculinity look like? What does can scent look like, were
these all things that you were plotting out in the
story or did they develop later as she started with

(23:06):
her saying.

Speaker 7 (23:06):
No, absolutely, I wanted to make a comedy of manners
again about power and consent. Sexuality and femininity, of course
is my priority. You know, I am a woman, so
I write from the female gates. I do anything from
the female gates. But the movie is just as much
about masculinity. So what you're saying is we're not showing
a classical story about a SOB and a dom at all.
They are both vulnerable, they are both interested in what

(23:29):
is power, what is surrender? What is giving up control?
What is taking control? And he is they're both really
in a crisis. She's in a full on midlife crisis,
you know, where she sees, okay, the horizon is over there?

Speaker 1 (23:41):
What am I doing? Where am I going?

Speaker 7 (23:42):
And she thinks she can be this perfect creature if
she does enough, you know, ice baths and boatdogs and therapy,
she can become a perfect woman. And she has to
accept through meeting Samuel that she has to connect to
her inner beasts. But him as well, he's in a
crisis in the sense that he's taking his first steps
into the world as a man, and he doesn't know
how to behave He doesn't know how to be around power,

(24:03):
or how to be around an older woman. And I
wanted to show that vulnerability. And I think sexuality, to me,
it can sometimes be very hot, of course, but it
can also be very vulnerable and weird and clunky and uncomfortable.
And I wanted to show all of that because I
think when you see that, you kind of relate to it,
and then in the end, when it does work, then
it becomes way more sexy than if you just show

(24:25):
this perfect Hollywood fairy tale.

Speaker 1 (24:28):
I didn't want to do that.

Speaker 2 (24:29):
Yes, speaking of sexuality, one of the sexier scenes in
the movie involved a full glass of milk. Now, Nicole
Kidman was brave enough to bear it all in this movie,
but I think that the bravest thing that she did
was guzzle a glass of milk on camera. She drinks

(24:49):
the whole thing. This was inspired from something that actually
happened to you.

Speaker 7 (24:53):
Yes, So I was playing at a gabbler one night
in Antwerp, and after that show, because it's a huge
role and I had so much adrenaline, I didn't want
to go to bed and all my colleagues were boring
and they went to the hotel, and so I went
along to this cafe, as we say in the Netherlands,
to this bar, and I sat there and I ordered
a diet coke or something, a non alcoholic called cafes cafe. Yeah,
we say you go to a cafe.

Speaker 2 (25:14):
I'm going to start using that. Oh honey, No, I'm
just going to go to the cafe. I'm going to
need work and go to the cafe. I'll be right back.

Speaker 7 (25:22):
So I was sitting in this cafe ordering my diet
coke and you know, just couldn't sleep. So and then
this young man was sitting on the other end of
the bar. He was a young actor that I knew
off but I had never spoken to. And suddenly the
waiter put a glass of milk, full milk in front
of me, and I was like what, And then he
pointed at this young man, and I thought it was
so incredibly courageous. I thought it was so bulgy to

(25:45):
do that, and so I just as a reward, I
drank the whole thing.

Speaker 1 (25:48):
It did make me, It did make me nauseate. It
it felt yes, yet nauseous.

Speaker 7 (25:54):
Yeah, as it would in the movie, of course, Harris
then walks out of the bar. Hears day Conston Blase Samuel.
He walks out of the bar, and then he says
in her ear, good girl once.

Speaker 2 (26:05):
I remember quite well.

Speaker 1 (26:09):
Unfortunately, this young Belgium excert did not do that. He
just walked up.

Speaker 2 (26:13):
Well, if he's watching now, that's uh.

Speaker 1 (26:16):
Maybe maybe we can change that.

Speaker 2 (26:18):
We'll rewrite history. One more question. I just have to
ask you for some advice. We have a new group
of interns starting today. Do you have any advice for them?

Speaker 1 (26:32):
No, no, no, no, I'm not gonna go there with you,
no advice, not with hr watching. Congratulations, Congla, thank you,
so happy for you, Thank you for the baby.

Speaker 2 (26:47):
Girl is in theater, Pasian Mine, Melina Ray. We're gonna
take a quick break. You will be right back after.

Speaker 11 (27:03):
Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by
searching The.

Speaker 6 (27:07):
Daily Show wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 11 (27:10):
Watch The Daily Show weeknights at eleven ten Central on
Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount plus.

Speaker 1 (27:23):
Paramount Podcasts
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