Jordan Klepper Calls for Gun Control After KC Parade Shooting | Cord Jefferson

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Jordan Clep, Welcome to The Daily Show.

I'm Jordan Clipper. We got a great show for you tonight.

We're gonna dig into some of the big stories of the day. Oscar nominated filmmaker Cord Jefferson is here, but Furst, yes, yes, First, let's get in the headlines. Now, as we all know, the Super Bowl was on Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs one Taylor. There are three Kansas City Chiefs fans here. Taylor Swift somehow got box seats ushers. Abs were on the outside of his shirt for some reason.

It was great.

And yesterday they had a celebratory parade in Kansas City that tragically ended in gunfire. Now there's still a lot we don't know about the situation. The good news is we do know one of the heroes that helped stop the shooting. It wasn't Missouri's lacks gun laws. It wasn't a good guy with a gun, wasn't anybody bearing arms.

It was just a guy with arms. Take a look at this video.

It shows the moment that one of them was tackled by a couple of fans who were in the right place at the right time.

One guy was hothering, saying, you know, stop him or catch him, and as I'm tackling him, I see his weapon.

Bravo to this guy, Bravo.

Bravo.

Yes, frankly, not not just for stopping the shooter, but for executing a flawless tackle in front of the Super Bowl champions. Travis Kelcey is right there and you're like, watch this form. Look, maybe you think we don't need gun control, but don't pretend there's any level of security that would prevent something like this from happening. There were more than eight hundred police officers there and all they could do was react after it happened. Let me put

That ball is a weapon of war.

The founders didn't anticipate the ball would be this big.

I'm into deep with this metaphor, I hear it. Now you get the idea. I'll tell you.

What's infuriating, though, is that we're not gonna get to have an honest conversation about America's gun problem. Instead, we'll be having a conversation about America's parade problem. Should they have more security, should they be smaller? Should they replace the confetti with kevlar? Should the parade just be an email? It's not fun, but those are all the ideas we're

Is our bar really that low?

Like even my shittiest day, my wife leaves me, the irs audits me, I go to see Madam Webb, I mean.

A shitty, shitty.

Day, even that day deserves to end without a shooting.

Maybe maybe I'm.

Just a selfish, selfish optimist. You know what, Like the rest of the country, let's quickly move on from gun violence and talk about something else. As you know, Donald Trump is on trial in every jurisdiction in America. One of the most important trials is down in Georgia, where he's accused of trying to overturn the election. And because this case is so important, it's crucial that the prosecution does everything above board and buy the books aka not this.

After weeks of mounting questions, Fulton County District Attorney Fanie Willis acknowledging a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired to lead her case against Donald Trump. Trump and his two co defendants claim Willis benefited from the money her office paid weight, saying he had taken her on lavish vacations.

Da Willis could.

Be disqualified from the case, so could her whole office.

Potentially, this could really bring the investigation back to square one?

Are you getting seriously?

Trump might get off because these two were getting off. The case might be derailed because these two were getting railed?

Are we because they've I can't believe a legal team.

Sexual appetite might destroy this case. Now I finally understand why Trump hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer. No one's risking their case to see what he's packing. But maybe maybe we should give Fawnie Willis the benefit of the doubt. Maybe maybe she didn't know it was a conflict of interest to have sex with an employee.

In twenty twenty, Fawnie Willis was asked why Fulton County voters should elect her as DA instead of her opponent.

They deserve a DA that won't have sex with his employees because they deserve a DA that won't put money in their own pocket.

Ooh, okay, that's tough. Okay, But to be fair, she kept her promise. She did not have sex with his employees, just hers. I guess we call that progress now. One of the accusations against Fannie Willis is that after she hired her boyfriend, he kicked back money to her by taking her on lavish vacations. And today they questioned Nathan Wade about those vacations, and the answers didn't exactly roll off his tongue.

I'm asking if you remember paying for a cabin.

Six months ago in Tennessee.

No, you remember booking a cabin.

I booked lots of cabins.

Did you go to a cabin with miss Willis?

Ever? Ever?

No, I don't care what you're answering. Anytime you pause that long, it's suspicious. Also, who booked so many cabins they can't keep track of them. You're either Davy Crockett or a serial killer. So after today, hey, things are not looking good for Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade. But he does have an option here. He sexed his way into this mess. He just might have to sex his way out. If his loving is so good that a prosecutor is willing to break the rules for it, then he's got

If he's that good, it ought to do the trick.

Trump will walk out of that courtroom leg the case is rigged, But the d is fire.

That's for Fannie Willis.

When she took the stand today, she denied any wrongdoing and also tried to bring some perspective to the day.

You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in twenty twenty. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.

Yes, thank you.

Donald Trump is the one on trial, which is why you should have been more careful. This is possibly the most important trial in the country right now, and it can be completely derailed not because of the evidence with the facts, but because two people got horny. So maybe the first thing we need is some new HR training.

Hello, if you're watching this video, you're one of the two hundred thousand prosecutors currently working on a Donald Trump case. There's been some confusion lately over whether you should hire a person you're finking to prosecute the most important case in the nation. So we wanted to just take a moment to clarify, don't don't do that. Remember there are over three hundred and thirty million other Americans. You can have sex with any of that or hire them as a prosecutor, but not both.

It should be pretty obvious. Well we're at it.

Here's some other super obvious things to avoid that I can't believe I have to say out loud. Don't bribe the judge, don't bribe the defendant.

Don't burn down the courtroom.

Don't join ISIS, don't hire ISIS. Don't try to sell the judge drugs. Don't hire a.

Stripper cop to be the bailiff.

No, under any circumstances toilet cams. Don't slurp up the defendant's bathwater. Don't recruit the jury into a multi level marketing scheme. Don't sell tickets to the trial on stub hub. And finally, don't steal the judge's organs and sell them on the black market. By following these simple rules, you can maintain your integrity and not legally speaking. Put this up, you idiot, Thank you, and good luck in court.

To go back more romance, don't go Welcome back to the Daily Show. Romance isn't there?

And this week to celebrate that, our grace coolid Schmid takes us through the most romantic people she knows.

When you think of the most romantic men ever, who do you think of? Jack Dawson, Noah Calhoun, no dumb dumb? Those are made up characters played by actors who have her string orders against me. For me, the most romantic men on the planet are the men who have served as President of the United States of America, and there are so many to choose from. Romantics like black and White President Woodrow Wilson when he met his special lady Mary Hulbert Peck in beautiful Bermuda while his wife stayed

That's like straight out of a.

In fact, Wilson was so smitten with Mary he even wrote her love letters quote, you really must come down to relieve me.

That is so romantic.

He truly wanted to bust in that chick.

Fellas take notes. Another president of passion.

Was Warren G.

Harding, and the G must stand for gentlemen, because even though his wife was chronically ill, he still found time to sleep with other women. Our lovable Warren was such a Romeo that during his campaign he paid not one, but two women to keep their affairs secret.

Stick me in the freezer because my heart is melting.

One of these beloved blackmailers was Carrie Phillips. It's a possible German spy.

Yeah.

Harding was willing to risk divulging state secrets and in danger national security all for love. I promised I wouldn't cry. Of course, when it comes to romantics it's hard to top Franklin Dr. There was no one more in love or more faithful to his wife Secretary. FDR kept seeing her for decades, even though his cousin wife Eleanor was not a fan.

Love conquers all bitch.

In fact, FDR was so committed to his one true mistress he even gave up walking so he could save all his energy for boning her.

Ladies.

If your man can.

Walk, that's a red flag.

But perhaps America's most romantic president was none other than John F. Kennedy, Airport Junior.

President.

Airport Junior had so much love to give couldn't be contained in one woman, or two women, or three or four or seventeen women. Actually, two of these lucky lovers were White House interns that Kennedy referred to as get this, this is so cute, fiddle and faddle.

Ah. No one's ever called me faddle. They just take the time to learn my real name.

Oh.

And while historians debate whether Marylyn was really one of JFK's lovers, this footage of her singing Happy Birthday to him is one of the most genuine, surest displays of affection ever captured on film.

At one twenty five, the motor Kaide moves into the downtown.

That is not the right Jfkvidyo stop. And last, but certainly least, President Lyndon B. Johnson, even when he was busy with President's stuff, LBJ always put his lover first. He even had a bell installed in the Oval office so the Secret Service could warn him when his wife was coming. Are those wedding thoughs I hear Nope? Is to get off my dick and hide in the filing cabinet?

Fell so sweet.

Linden's relationship with his devoted side piece spanned decades of his marriage until sadly, she broke up with him over his involvement in the Vietnam War. That's right, the Vietnam War also had a dark side.

Who knew?

So next Valentine's Day, if you're trying to inject a little romance into your life, you don't need to go to a fancy restaurant or an expensive jewelry store. Just book a ticket to Washington, DC and apply for a job as an intern.

At the White House.

So you wanted to see me, yes, thank you, thank you Grace.

Yeah, that was.

Very sweet, But I don't know how romantic that actually was you realize those were all extra marital affairs.

What?

Oh my god, that's so much honor.

I guess it was great schooling shmid Everyone, we come back. Oscar nominated filmmaker por Jefferson will be joining me on the show.

We'll go well, we'll guess we'll go about Welcome out to the Day show. My guest today is.

A director an Emmy winning writer whose film American Fiction is currently nominated for five Academy Awards.

Please welcome for Jefferson.

Lord, thank you.

Wow, feature film debut and you get five Academy Award.

No.

Yes, I'm curious how you're feeling about it and how you're You're wielding that strength now.

I'm not wielding it too much. Unfortunately, I probably should be more demanding. Yeah, but I'm not. I'm uh, I feel a little overwhelmed.

You know. It is.

We made this movie with very little money and very little time. We didn't make under these great auspices, and so to be here right now, sitting with you is beyond my wild distress.

This must be your highlight.

Yeah, man, this is crazy, you know, truly, I I uh, I don't really get nervous in interviews anymore.

But I'm pretty nervous here right now.

The daily Yeah manyah shows a big deal.

Nothing to be nervous about it, all right, So I want to talk Palestine.

Okay, that's great, everybody, everybody get out your phones.

There you go, start putting.

This on the internet. I'm happy to like my public is gonna love it.

Like, let's get into this.

Well, I mean this, this movie, it causes a ton of conversations. It's it's it feels very than now. And when I watched this, I think what. I was surprised to find out that it's based on a book from twenty years ago. Yeah, right, but it's still so relevant today. What did you see in that story that made you want to tell this story now?

Oh?

My god? Man.

So three months before I found this novel e Rasure by Percival Everett that I adapted. I sent in a script to some executives and they sent me back a note that a character, and it a black character, needed to be blacker.

And I.

Said, I will indulge this note if whoever gave it is willing to sit down with me and tell me what it means to be blacker, tell me how to make somebody blacker. And of course that no went away because they probably knew they were setting themselves up for like a huge civil.

Rights lawsuit, and so they dropped it.

And you know, but that was just one of the many instances in my TV and film writing career where it's like people just have this very limited perspective of what it means to be a black, what it means to be a black writer. They have a very limited perspective of what black stories look like, with what black life looks like.

And so when I read this book was.

Published in two thousand and one, but it felt like it was written yesterday. Yeah, I just I was so overcome with sort of this idea that it felt like it was written specifically for me.

I just understood the characters so well.

Yeah, I think one of the targets of this film is white liberal audiences.

And first off, how dare.

You do you get exhausted talking to white liberals about this movie and having to explain race to them over and over again, to be like, what is the deal with race in America?

No?

Actually, I mean, I mean, I mean, maybe a little bit, but.

I've set myself up for this.

This is like, this is what I this is the work that I put into the world, so I'm happy to chat about it.

I mean, I think what's interesting about this movie too, is that it's not only it's a satire, it's a political satire, but it's also really heartfelt. I was surprised by that it really follows a family. Yeah, it follows the struggles that they have. Why was that important for you to tell and to marry with it? It seems like that's those don't always go together when you see satirical films.

Yeah, and that's you know, I wanted the movie to be satirical, but never farcical, and so sort of the clip that you played right there, I think is.

More is one of the grounding moments of the film.

I didn't want it to feel like it was so funny or got so silly that it became slapsticky. I always wanted it to feel because I feel like when when satire gets kind of slapsticky, it sort of it lets people off the hook. It sort of like says like this entire thing is a joke that you can laugh at. You don't need to take it seriously and I think that this movie sort of makes some people

Well, I want to talk a little bit about the ending. I don't want to give it away, but this movie ends and you sort of there's a meta ending, and I wonder if that comes out of network notes wanting you to end this movie for a certain audience, if that comes out with you either not knowing how you wanted to end it or wanting to end it in a way that leaves people with their own ways in which they can end the story, Like how did you approach wrapping this thing up?

Yeah, So the novel that I adapted is very mettextual. It's sort of and and and the epilogue of the novel is this Latin phrase that translates to I offer no hypothesis and so.

To me, that that meant that.

It was.

Latin phrase used with mathematics. People love that I and so and so. I didn't want the ending to be didactic. I wanted.

I wanted the ending to feel audacious, and so I I wanted. I was trying to figure out what the ending was going to be, and one of the producers called me and said, the movie is a big swing. Try to write an ending that feels like a big swing too, because I was kind of stuck as to what the ending would be. And so I wrote an ending that feels as audacious as the rest of the movie. And yeah, I think that I didn't want to spoon feed people lessons like it said, I offer no hypothesis.

I mean, I do think this movie also asked a lot of questions about about what Hollywood wants in movies from black filmmakers yea, and what a white audience will respond to and you make this film, yeah, and then primarily white Oscar public is like, we love this, and I wonder how you that is that a sweet revenge? Is that an extension of the meta story that you're telling, And it feels like there's a conversation about people enjoying your film that's already happening within your film.

Yeah.

So I mean, look it is use I'm basically slowly cosplaying as Jeffrey Wright. I'm looking at myself right now and I'm becoming Jeffrey Wright normally. Wait, these glasses are Jeffrey Wright. Jeff this is a Jeffrey Wright suit. I'm going great like Jeffrey Wright. So it's getting more and

So it is all. It is all, Uh, you know.

I I like to maybe think that maybe this will all be maybe after the Oscars all reveal that I'm a white.

Guy, I never will know. You guys don't know I've been here.

Maybe I'll tell you what.

Maybe I've been in blackface this whole time, and it's just a big trip.

That would supersed the ending of seven four me. So I would appreciate if you did that.

I'm just Toby maguire. I'm Toby McGuire.

You were telling me McGuire this all the time.

Court Jefferson is not real.

American fiction is now playing in theaters everywhere.

Corn Jefferson. We'll thank Quick Grank. We'll be right back after this. That's our show for tonight.

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