Pete Hegseth Grilled in Senate Hearing, Boyd Holbrook on Playing Johnny Cash

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Your host Jordan Clappers.

For de job, Jordan Clapper, we got a big show tonight. Congress is super horny, Republicans pretend to vet Trump's cabinet, and we get mixology tips from Pete Hegseth. So let's get into another installment of Trump two point zero coming for the White House.

I'm gonna come.

I truly hate that.

So Donald Trump becomes president on Monday, and that means I know, I hate Mondays too, but it means we're invading Greenland on Tuesday. So we got to decide who is going to lead the armada, which is why today the Senate held its first confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseeth, Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary and dude who makes sure

He's been accused of sexual assault.

He was accused of nearly running a veterans group into the ground, and he has a documented history of excessive drinking, which we learned even more about today.

A Hegseeth acquaintance describes a breakfast they had with Hegxeth in the spring of twenty twenty three. We met at Fox News in New York for breakfast, and he suggested we go across the street to a bar. It was like ten in them more. Then he ordered two gin and Tonics at the same time for himself. Then he had a third gin and tonic.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

He said, that's rolling up to breakfast like, I'll have the steel cut oatmeal and three Gen and tonics.

Please.

You know what they say, beer before liquor. Never been sicker, liquor before liquor. I'll have another liquor. It's definitely raising some questions for the person you may want to put in charge of the nukes. So let's jump into today's confirmation here in and you know what I'm not. I'm not saying he showed up drunk, but it did start at ten am. So how about we start with a quick sobriety test. You know, something simple, Pete, how about name your kids are seven?

Wonderful kids, Gunner Jackson, Peter Boone, Kensington, Luke chat Rex, Sorry it's a lot of them.

And Gwendolen.

Little Tipsy Okay, big deal, all right, No, biggie. My dad was always mixing up me and my siblings' names, and he launched perfectly successful counteroffensive, rapid deployment, amphibious incursions into I ran.

All the time.

Although Pete probably should have given his kids names he could remember more easily, maybe like Don Julio, Jim Beam, Johnny Walker, Jose Cuerrevo, and don't forget little Michael hard Lemonade.

Anyway.

No, now that that's over, it's time for the grilling Republicans. I know he's your guy, but I also know you love the military, so I'm sure you've got some hard questions for the man who wants to run it.

Why do you want to do this job?

But you what drives?

You?

Tell me something about your wife that you love? How many push ups could you do?

Follow up question, sir, I have this jar. Could a big strong man like yourself open it?

Okay?

Okay, But Democrats made up for those softballs with a couple of pitches that were really high and inside.

I assume that in each of your weddings you've pledged to be faithful to your wife. You've taken an oath to do that, haven't you. You've admitted that you had sex at that hotel on October twenty seventeen, and you were still married, and you just had a child by another woman.

Again, how do you explain, your judge?

You have admitted that you had sex while you were married to wife two, after you just had fathered a child by wife three, But you didn't reveal any of this to President Trump. Why didn't you inform the commander in chief of the transition team of this very relevant event?

Oh damn, Tim Kaine would pull Maury Pulvits out there. Wow, Wow, Tim Polvitch.

Oh loo, Come on, Tim, come on, you're asking why didn't Hexa tell Trump about how many times he cheated on his wife? Maybe because if he did, Trump would high fight him so hard it would break both their hands. Okay, that was a pretty wild line of questioning from Tim Kane. Any Republican want to jump to his defense here?

How many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? And then how many senators do you know have got a divorce before cheating on their wives. Did you ask them to step down?

No?

But it's for show, you guys.

Make sure you.

Make a big show and point out the hypocrisy. Because a man's made a mistake and you want to sit there and say that he's not qualified.

Give me a joke, Give me a joke.

Okay, okay, A priest, a rabbi, and Pete Haggs out.

Walk into a bar at ten am.

Are you happy now, Mark Qwain, I don't know this was really the defense that Hexeth wanted though.

Look, we're all pieces.

Of shit here, but he without an Ashley Madison premium account cast the first home. I'll tell you who else probably didn't appreciate that defense. The other senators, they probably got home and their wives were like I saw Mark Wayne at the confirmation hearing today.

He said that everyone.

In the Senate cheats on their wives. Honey, honey, you can't trust Mark Wayne.

He's confused. The man has two first names.

Pushed together and sunny.

Okay.

But after that, they did in fact get into Hegsat's policy positions, and there was one in particular policy that had people very worked up.

You previously have made a series of inflammatory statements about.

Women in combat.

In our recent podcast, you said, quote, I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles.

You say we need moms, but not in the military, especially in combat units.

What's wrong with a mom?

By the way, once you have babies, you therefore are no longer able to be lethal.

Yeah, are you saying moms can't be lethal?

Does the name Casey Anthony mean nothing to you?

Yes?

Thanks of that as a long record of insisting that women have no place in combat. And you know what, I'm sorry, libs, but that's just the way Pete is. Maybe he's not good at leadership or management, or money or vows or driving home past ten am, but the one thing he does is stand his ground telling Pete no women in combat roles.

Let's make it very clear for everyone here today. As Secretary of Defense, will you support women continuing to have the opportunity to serve in combat roles?

Yes, women will have access to ground combat roles.

From Washington, DC, the flash apparently official at eleven twenty five standard time, Pete Hegseth went woke. You know, perhaps the most damning comment about Pete Hegseth came from Pete Hegseth himself. When he's explaining what the military needs in its leadership.

The DEI policies of today are not putting meritocracy first. Every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy, getting anything that doesn't contribute to meritocracy out of how decisions are made inside the Pentagon. Ensuring readiness and meritocracy is front and center. Meritocracy, meritocracy, meritocracy.

Oh, I know what his next kid's going to be named. You heard him? Though you heard him, folks.

A military cannot function unless it's staffed by a system based on pure merit where only the most qualified people rise to the top. So says your next Secretary of Defense will run the most complicated, powerful, deadly organization the world has ever known, and his only qualification is that Trump liked watching him sit on a couch on Saturday mornings. But I'm listening to Republicans today it seems like that's going to be enough to get him confirmed.

I just want to say, for all the talk of experience and not coming from the same cocktail parties that Permanent Washington is used to you were a breath of fresh air.

Well that's not what the breathalyzer said.

But but okay, form more like Pete haiks scatary as we go live to the Capitol. We know he Seth apparently has a history being drunk and abusive and corrupt. What else has your reporting uncovered?

I didn't do any reporting, Jordan, back to you, What.

Do you mean there's there's gotta be more shady stuff in his past?

Of course there is. He's Pete Hegseth.

When you start drinking at ten am, you have a full day of bad decisions. I'm sure he crashed his second wife's jet ski into his third wife's beach house, but I'm not going to torture myself reporting on it.

Now.

The less I know, the better, DESI. Transparency is important. We need to know the extent of his drinking problem.

We need to know the extent of his drinking problem.

Come on, you really think that learning more about Pete's past is going to actually stop his confirmation? Give me a joke. So this is like going through your dad's browser history. He's still going to be your dad, but now there's a bunch of stuff you cann.

See it's not that simple.

I'll tell you it's not so simple. Your dad's browser history because I went through it. Illiteratemilfs dot com. Okay, good network, nip slips, nude Africa dot com.

Okay, all right, No, there's no way that's.

My dad, map quest dot com.

Oh god, that's my dad.

Amtrak sluts, Janet, renocameltoe dot gut.

Stop it. Okay.

See, ain't not so fun knowing things you can't do anything about. Huh.

Look, I spent Trump's first term knowing every single sexist, misogynist, racist detail about his freak squad.

And where did that get us? Four more years of this freak squad?

So what you're just gonna ignore it and not do your job.

It's called self care, Jordan. It was invented by Gwyneth Paltrow in two thousand and eight. So at this point, I don't want to know any of the disturbing details about Trump's nominee. I don't want to ruin my day finding out one of them killed a puppy.

Actually, Christy nom did kill a puppy.

My god, why would you say that, you jack off?

Because she's nominated for Homeland Security?

Stop it?

Stop it, Stop it, so you can't just give up knowing things? Does he Democracy dies in darkness, yes.

But democracy also sleeps better in darkness. You can bundle up all cozy and hide under its weighted blanket, numb itself with CBD gummies until it wakes up in twenty twenty eight?

Doesn't that sound nice?

Oh? Do look? I know, I know it is hard.

Do I know it's scary, But it is the sacred duty of journalists to investigate our leaders, to uncover the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or upsetting it may be.

Junkyard sluts, butt stuff. Junkyard sluts butt stuff, redheads okayse hunting their own banks, Glenn Close, Cruella.

Ignorance is bliss, Daisy Laik Everyone, we come back and find out more on America's Defense secretary. Don't go away, Welcome back to the Daily Show. We've been following the confirmation hearings for Secretary of Defense all day. But who is the real Pete Hegseth. Let's find out in a brand new Daily Shoography.

Across the globe, the enemies of Uncle Sam are on the much and the biggest war of all is the culture war. Taking on these kinky booted thugs demands a hero like no other, a man who will fight for America, for Mecca, and most of all, for his right to party. This is the daily geography of Pete Hegseth, over served with honor. Pete Hegseth grew up in the Midwest, the

I ran the conservative publication at on our campus.

We were like bomb throwing fighting valiantly against the forces of diversity and gay. He championed traditional relationships between men and women, even if the woman is passed out drunk, I mean technically being unconscious, as anti woke as you can get. After graduation, haig Seth joined the military, having given the matter careful consideration.

I didn't know the army from the Marine Corps. I mean I didn't know anything back home.

In twenty twelve, he decided to serve his country in another way.

My name's Pete, hegseth, and I'm running to be your next United States Senator.

Sadly, it was not to be, and Pete dropped out of the race to spend more time with whichever wife and family he was up to. About that, honestly, it's hard to keep track. Instead, Pete landed a job as the head of a small nonprofit veterans group, which became even more nonprofit after he nearly drove it into bankruptcy.

Don't worry, the.

Money went to a good cause.

Partying.

He was once again a man with a mission, and the stories of his exploits became legendary, with the organization's HR department, passing out in party buses, urinating on hotel lawns, leading a bar in chance of kill all Muslims, and getting kicked out of a strip club for trying to dance on stage. Eventually, his luck ran out, and Pete found himself dishonorably discharged from his nonprofit platoon. He was now almost completely without friends.

Almost come on a Bete, your next don.

Fox and Friends, And while even Fox News had a employees who quietly complained about Hegseth's habit of showing up Trump for work at six am. The network was mostly a perfect culture fit.

I've always wanted to do this.

I will not be abstaining from alcohol.

Maybe if I do well, I'll get a pint, a little bit of champagne.

There you go.

I'm gonna get another rebuild.

Hold on Champagne is my problem when it comes to hangovers.

It just it fixes the problem in the morning, because when you have a little bit more champagne and then your problem goes away.

Who better to fight terrorism than the only soldier who's been waterboarded was Champagne. More importantly, Fox brought Hegseth back to the front lines of the culture war.

Well, Black Lives matter, trying to destroy Christmas as we know it.

It's actually not hyperbole, indoctrinating our kids, opening our borders, canceling individuals, Wuhan virus, Chinese virus, maybe even the Kung flu.

Apparently there's new lesbian characters.

It's a female empowerment.

Can the black panther be played by a white guy.

With brain power like that? It was no wonder heg Seth decided he didn't need his grad school diploma anymore, by the way.

Harvard University.

Let's see, let's do that.

And there were still some challenges along the way, like the time heg Seth was banned from an assignment with his National Guard unit because someone noticed what looked like a white nationalist tattoo. But soon this recipient of two Bronze Stars earned the respect of America's greatest Bronze Star. And when Trump was re elected in twenty twenty four, he knew where to find his Secretary of Defense who was willing to get his hands dirty.

I don't think I've washed my hands for ten years.

Pete had his plans for winning the culture War ready.

Any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI woke, shit, it's gotta go. I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in comment roles.

His confirmation seemed like a sure thing, but then.

In ambush breaking news, the president of Lex Team has been caught off guard by a sexual assault allegation against.

A whistleblower report.

It claims when Hegseeth was president of Concerned Veterans for America, he was quote repeatedly intoxicated to the point of needing to be carried out of the organizations of bents.

The allegations of hegseth debauchery were overwhelming. Nothing now would be able to persuade the Senate that he was fit for.

I intend to support Pete.

He made the pledge to me that.

He will not touch a drop of alcoholis secretary.

He offered up to me that he's not drinking, and that's not something he's going to do when he's confirmed here.

Oh well, never mind then, and so America's war on woke is now truly ready to begin. With Pete Hegseth at the Helm, the Department of Defense will finally have a true leader. May if I do well, I'll get a pint, and one can only assume absolutely insane Christmas parties.

We come back, Boyd Holbrook, if you're joining me on the show, don't go away, Welcome.

Back to the Daily Show.

My guest tonight as an actor who plays Johnny Cash and the film A Complete Unknown.

Please welcome, Boyd Holbrook, Welcome.

Thank you for having, of course thang.

You just watching that scene a convincing drunk right, Yes, you're both Johnny Cash and an inebriated Johnny Cash in that specific scene.

How do you how do you prepare? Do you go method in a drunk scene?

Yeah, you definitely want to go method for a twelve hour shoot. It's really hard to keep that up.

Yeah, what do you do in that?

I've heard detail and sometimes as you pretend not to be drunk, and that's how you become drunk or look drunk.

Yeah.

Well, Ray Liota used to say you should just have your head stand upside down for you know, a minute or two. But really it's just about playing. It's just about finding your way around the sets. Yeah, and trying to you know, crash into thing, just.

Just bump into the and literally they let you do this with a car, that's right. Yeah, So you played Johnny Cash, which is a tough thing to do an iconic character in American history. But James Mangle, who directed this, also directed Walk the Line, famously Walking Phoenix played Johnny Cash. So you're walking into that. You got a lot of a lot of big shoes to fill, big shoes to fill.

Well, you know, I probably wouldn't have touched this role if it went for James Mangold. You know, as you said, he made Walk the Line very big shoes to field playing Johnny Cash after Walking Phoenix. But you know, it was in the research that James had done with Bob found out their pin pals and they'd written all these letters back and forth to each other. Johnny had reached out to him the beginning. Yea, So I saw the

The captain, he's now. The letters are fascinating because they truly are. They're very They showed like a personal side to Cash and that kind of they found that they lived isolated lives in their own fame, but were able to sort of reach out and talk to one of them. Did you did you see those letters? Did you work off of those letters? I know they show up in the film. Yeah, this seems very honest to that part of the history.

Mm hmm, yeah, I'd reread them on the way over here, and they're written on the back of airplanes, sickness bags and and really just two guys at the you know, the you know, epic of.

Fame without stationary.

Yeah, yeah, that's such a comment on face.

You know, it's so.

Famous, but you can't afford stationary and you're the top of your game at this time.

Yeah, there's no spell check or autocorrect at that.

No.

Well, this film takes a lot of efforts to be honest to the time period, and a lot of nerds, dilenologists go over little bits and pieces of this movie call out things, and this movie takes good care. And as somebody who's definitely not a dilenologist or a weird nerd like this, I had a question about the bugles that you.

Used in that scene. There's a moment in that drunk.

Scene where you're holding bugles and you offer them to Bob Dylan, and a nerdy dilenologist might point out the fact that bugles weren't nationally around in nineteen sixty four, let alone in Newport, Rhode Island, And I wonder that was a choice that you.

Were making with You totally got us on that one. It was the Deridos the of the era. Yeah, uh huh, yeah. You know, Jim has this great way of just finding these little moments and films and if you come in prepared, you can you know, have the coke bottle flying off the car. We can create a prop in the in the car. It's just really coming up with those.

Ideas, why bugles, why the bule?

Because I think there's so what are they They're just they're they're not They're not in modern day.

I guess well, I mean you can get bugles.

My mom puts Bugles in checks mix, which is a real good hack for anybody out there at all. Is it a musical reference because the bugle itself is musical. It says if Johnny Cash is passing the.

Music of I didn't want to spell it out.

For you, Okay, you.

You're kind of painted me into a corner.

So yeah, I've leave a little bit of mystery out there as well. Right, do you like do you like creating a character based on somebody that's that already exists, or do you like the idea of creating a character from scratch?

If I've kind of made a living playing all these little small characters in these films, and I prefer character work. But when you play an iconic person like this, you do have some sort of a pocket to be in. You know, there's the iconic voice that you're that you're making impression of, there's the sound of him, and so I had two interviews that I just knew verbatim, and if I went out to my own speaking voice, I

Yeah, I'm curious what response you've gotten, because I mean, just as an audience, people watch a performance, but they know what you're aiming at. They have they have a reference point for the attempt. In some ways, in watching your performance is sort of like watching you as a trap peece artist. We know, we know what the pract falls could be and what you want to what your goal is at the end, as opposed to watching a complete creation, a new creation, which was sort of investing

Oh gosh, you know my whole thing. With a legendary person like this, you really just don't want to tarnish their image, and to take this on was a real challenge. But in difference of character to this character, there was a I would say there was a lot of pressure in terms of that of just taking them out of the movie. And I think that's really the important part

I'm curious because sort of embedded in this relationship are these these two artists who sort of found a companionship through these weird times. Is there in your creative life? Is there somebody else who's a cash or a Dylan in your uh?

In your creative pursuit?

Are you writing on the back of any kind of barf bags to anybody?

I'm not riding on the back of any airplanes thickness bags. I have my own heroes that I look up to. Michael Shannon is a great actor. He's from Kentucky. He really inspired me to be an actor. Christian Bale threw me a bone and brought me onto a film early in my career. You know, I think it's sometimes you don't want to meet your your you know, your your heroes.

Yeah, this must be awkward for you.

Yeah, it is strange. Well, I.

Hope I lived up to everything that.

Was in your head.

It was truly an honor, truly good luck.

And when you get to play me in that biopic years down the line, should we get a pick after this? We can totally get a picked. We can totally get a pick, all right, but don't but just let me know if you use bugle, I'll give you a little secret for me.

It's not bugles, okay, it's freedoms. Okay.

So yeah, just live hour patch my mythology. The movie is truly wonderful. I loved it, Thank you very much. A Complete Unknown is in theaters now, Boyd brom gonna take quick.

Right, that's a show for tonight now here.

It is another of By the way, would you explain what a jag off is?

I don't think I need to, sir. Why not because the men and women watching understand?

Well, perhaps some of my colleagues don't understand.

It would be a JAG officer who puts his or her own priorities in front of the warfighters, their promotions, their medals, in front of having the backs that those are making the tough calls on the front lines.

Thank you so interesting.

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