Trump hits Bethpage Golf on a Friday while comedians hit Riyadh

The hard working President plans to take in some golf later today.

Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, and Pete Davidson are among the comedians performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival.  Marc Maron has some thoughts about that...

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Callaroga Shark media from Bethpage golf Course, where all the
world's problems are solved. This is valid. That's right. The president,
who works harder than anyone, will be at a golf
event today. It's not even the weekend. Let's hit this Hi,
I'm Patrick Gutfield and release the Epstein files. So JD.

(00:29):
Vance just tried to walk back the whole Jimmy Kimmel's
censorship situation by claiming the FCC chairman's threats were merely
a joke, which is politicians speak for oh no. That
backfired spectacularly. When asked about the free speech implications of
sidelining Kimmel, Vance basically said, what government action. We didn't
do anything except, you know, the FCC chairman went on

(00:52):
a podcast and told broadcast stations they could face fines
or lose their licenses if they kept airing Kimmel's show.
But apparently that was just comedy. Gold Brendan Carr's original
comments were anything but joking around. He told Benny Johnson's podcast,
we can do this the easy way or the hard way.

(01:12):
These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take
action frankly on Kimmel or there's going to be additional
work for the FCC ahead. That sounds less like a
joke and more like something Tony Soprano would say about
garbage collection roots. Carr even suggested broadcast stations should preempt
Kimmel to avoid fines or license revocation from the FCC.

(01:34):
Hours later, Next Star pulled Kimmel from its ABC stations.
What an amazing coincidence. The FCC threatens consequences and suddenly
stations start dropping the show. Pure comedy right. When CNN's
Brian Stelter asked Carr for comment after Kimmel got pulled,
he responded with a gift of office characters celebrating nothing, says,

(01:56):
I was just kidding, like victory celebrations when your threats
work exactly as intent. The backlash was swift and bipartisan.
Even Ted Cruz compared Car's remarks to the type of
threat heard from a mafia boss. When Ted Cruz is
calling out government overreach, you know you've crossed a line.
Vance tried to flip the script by bringing up the

(02:16):
Biden administration pressuring YouTube over COVID misinformation. That is real
government censorship, he said, which is a fascinating defense strategy.
Our censorship doesn't count because the other guy did censorship too,
very mature, very constitutional. He also threw in this gem
to the extent that Kimmel is not back on the air.

(02:38):
It's because he's not funny and has terrible ratings, right JD.
It's pure coincidence that station's pulled him right after the
FCC threatened them. Carr has been trying to clarify his
remarks all week while blaming Democrats for past media pressure.
That's the classic political move when your threats blow up
in your face, claim you were misunderstood, and point fingers

(03:00):
at the other side. Meanwhile, Trump is still fuming about
ABC bringing Kimmel back, posting that the network is making
illegal campaign contribution ins because of the late night hosts jokes.
I think we're going to test ABC out on this,
he wrote, which sounds suspiciously like more threats disguised as
casual conversation. So let's recap. We didn't pressure anyone to

(03:23):
censor Jimmy Kimmel. We just joked about destroying their broadcast
licenses if they didn't censor Jimmy Kimmel. Totally different things.
Trump is showing up late today to the Ryder Cup
at Bethpage Black, and tournament organizers are actually relieved about it.
They're hoping his delayed arrival will prevent the security nightmare
that turned the US Open Tennis final into what I

(03:44):
can only imagine was like trying to get through airport
security while carrying a bag full of suspicious looking sports equipment.
You know you've reached a certain level of logistical chaos
when event planners are crossing their fingers and saying, please,
mister President, could you maybe show up after everyone else
has already found their seats and bought their overpriced concessions.

(04:05):
The US Open Tennis final apparently became such a security
cluster that they're now treating Trump's arrival like a controlled demolition. Okay,
everyone gets settled, grab your hot dogs, find your spot
on the eighteenth green, and then we'll let him through
the gates. This is what happens when your presidential appearances
require more security coordination than a papal visit. Golf fans

(04:28):
are just trying to watch some Europeans and Americans argue
about who can hit a tiny white ball better, and
instead they're getting a masterclass in secret service logistics. I
love that they announced this ahead of time. Don't worry everyone,
the president will be fashionably late, which means you can
actually get to your seats without waiting three hours in

(04:49):
a security line behind someone trying to explain why their
golf rangefinder isn't a weapon. It's like they've turned presidential
appearances into a dinner party strategy. We'll tell him e,
but really we want him here at ten, after the
appetizers are served and everyone's already had a drink. Saudi
Arabia is throwing their first comedy festival, and some comedians

(05:11):
are saying thanks, but no thanks to what they're calling
blood money with a laugh track. Mark Maron went full
Maren on this thing, saying the festival's tagline should be
from the folks that brought you nine to eleven two
weeks of laughter in the desert, don't miss it. He
pointed out that the same guy writing the checks is
the same guy who ordered Jamal Kashogi to be bone

(05:33):
sawed and stuffed in a suitcase. But hey, don't let
a little dismemberment stop the yucks. Then Maren did what
Maren does best. He got brutally honest about his own situation.
Full disclosure. I was not asked to perform at the
Riodd Comedy Festival, so it's easy for me to take
the high road. Easy to maintain your integrity when no

(05:54):
one's offering to buy it out. Shane Gillis says he
turned down a significant bag for the gear, even after
they doubled their offer. His reasoning, you don't nine to
eleven your friends, which is probably the first time that
phrase has ever been used as a moral compass. But
here we are. Zach Woods made a sarcastic Instagram promo

(06:15):
addressing the drips, kill joys and duebazoids who think comedians
shouldn't perform for regimes that kill journalists. His defense, name
one comedian who hasn't hoared themselves out to a dictator. Meanwhile,
the actual lineup reads like a comedy all star game.
Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Pete Davidson, A Zi's

(06:35):
On Sorry, basically everyone who's ever gotten a Netflix special.
They're all heading to RIAD for what's sure to be
the most ethically complicated two weeks in comedy history. I
have my hands full here with Potus, but to keep
up on Riad, check out our sister podcast, Daily Comedy News.
Portions of today's show were made with the help of
Ai