Transcript

Precap: The Midterms Have Desi Lydic Feeling the "Opposite of Despair" | The Daily Show

From The Daily Show · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 36 min · 7,583 words · 185 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Precap: The Midterms Have Desi Lydic Feeling the "Opposite of Despair" | The Daily Show", an episode of The Daily Show published November 10, 2026 (36 min, about 7,583 words). It mentions 58 people, works and ideas, including The Daily Show, Desi Lydic, Devin Delliquanti, Blue wave, Ted Cruz.

What this episode is about

The piece discusses the post-midterm mood and political outlook, highlighting a cautious sense of renewed hope while bracing for possible shifts in Democratic power. It also captures personal reflections on watching election results and the emotional toll of the night.

Key takeaways

  • Hope feels like a defiant muscle: it grows when you brace, not surrender to fear.
  • Midterms turned optimism into evidence: firsts stacked up, signaling a cultural reset, not optics.
  • The 'unfamiliar feeling' of hope flares when systems show resilience, not just rhetoric.
  • Media fatigue meets data: diverse victories refract through a highly partisan lens, yet persist.
  • Democracy reframes itself via winners who defy norms; the real plot twist is lasting representation.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Desi Lydic, The Daily Show, Devin Delliquanti, Fox News
  2. – 10:00: The Cheesecake Factory, Blue wave, Fox News, Kentucky
  3. – 15:00: J.D. Vance, Ted Cruz, New York Knicks, Desi Lydic
  4. – 20:00: Ted Cruz, J.D. Vance, Megan Kelly, Trump Gold Card
  5. – 25:00: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Department of Justice, New York Knicks, Alina Habba
  6. – 30:00: Richard Avedon, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., James Comey, Ted Cruz
  7. – 35:00: 100 Foot Wave, Garrett McNamara, HBO, The Daily Show
  8. – 36:06: Desi Lydic, The Daily Show, Devin Delliquanti, Comedy Central

Notable quotes from "Precap: The Midterms Have Desi Lydic Feeling the "Opposite of Despair" | The Daily Show"

  • Hello and welcome to the Precap, a Daily Show podcast where we sit down with this week's host to recap some of the latest news and preview what's coming up next.
    about The Daily Show · at
  • It was a huge wave of election. The moment I knew it felt you could kind of feel I was watching bouncing around.
    about Blue wave · at
  • Things like some of the flipped states or unexpected winds. Texas going blue, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio for the Senate. the Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild.
    about Texas · at
  • Congress isn't doing anything to check what's going on. the like oh the deep state is stopping me like that was all done it was all loyalist in the cabinet so I was like this is.
    about Congress · at
  • I think also watching Vake and his despicable, disgusting campaign ads on Amy Actton and then seeing her win.
    about J.D. Vance · at
  • JD Vance put out a very long tweet or X or whatever it is about hey, here's what I think we did wrong. Then Ted Cruz put out one of those. So, I don't if you saw Oh my god. So…
    about Ted Cruz · at
  • Yes. Ron Howard is coming on to promote his new documentary about Richard Avdon.
    about Ron Howard · at
  • There you go. so I think that's all we have time for on the precap. my name again is Devon Deauanti. Be sure to catch Desi Leak hosting this week on Comedy Central Paramount…
    about Desi Lydic · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Desi Lydic — Person · Host · 3 mentions · first at
    Week's host of The Daily Show Precap episode; leads discussion about post-midterm political landscape and upcoming guests.
  • Devin Delliquanti — Person · Co-host / Writer at The Daily Show · 3 mentions · first at
    Co-host of the Precap episode; provides questions, commentary and context about the midterms and guests.
    There you go. so I think that's all we have time for on the precap. my name again is Devon Deauanti. Be sure to catch Desi Leak hosting this week on Comedy Central Paramount…
  • Ted Cruz — Person · Referenced politician (criticized) · 6 mentions · first at
    Mentioned for posting long explanations after the midterms about why Republicans lost and for pivoting positions; criticized in conversation.
  • J.D. Vance — Person · Referenced politician (criticized) · 5 mentions · first at
    Discussed as part of Republican post-midterm pivots and controversial campaign tactics; referenced in the context of election losses and subsequent statements.
  • Ron Howard — Person · Upcoming guest · 2 mentions · first at
    Guest on Desi Lydic's show to discuss his documentary about Richard Avedon; referenced while previewing upcoming episodes.
  • Heather Cox Richardson — Person · Upcoming guest / Historian · 1 mention · first at
    Scheduled guest to provide historical context for the post-midterm moment and to discuss what it may mean going forward.
    Really beautiful documentary. So, I'm excited to have Ron on to talk about that. And then Thursday we have Heather Cox Richardson.
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Person · Referenced political figure (criticized) · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned humorously as a target for subpoenas/curiosity (e.g., fridge contents) in discussion about accountability for controversial public figures.
    No, you could not. Are there any things in particular that you would like to see in terms of accountability or people for example? I would love to I think I would love to see someone subpoena.
  • Richard Avedon — Person · Subject of referenced documentary · 2 mentions · first at
    Central figure of Ron Howard's documentary discussed; his photography and archives are referenced as notable cultural artifacts.
    And I did not know very much about Richard Abdon and then suddenly I'm watching this documentary and I see all of these iconic photos that he took that I had no idea who the photographer was.
  • Megan Kelly — Person · Referenced media figure (criticized) · 1 mention · first at
    Quoted clip criticizing Trump's grift; referenced as ironic given her own financial ties to Trump-era media ecosystems.
    Actual public servants in a humble role that was never meant to make someone a million or billionaire. Coming from a woman who has made a ton of money off of this president and this administration and those same views and values.
  • Kimberly Guilfoyle — Person · Referenced political operative (criticized) · 2 mentions · first at
    Correct transcription/spelling to match transcript
    Oversight and all that kind of thing and like go after things that are genuine crimes like if Kimberly Gilfoil is selling access to the presidency or there's people selling…
  • Garrett McNamara — Person · Referenced athlete in media recommendation · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as a central figure in the '100 Foot Wave' series about big-wave surfing; mentioned by Devin as part of his recommendation.
    2025. It's about it follows this a set of big wave surfers, one of whom is named Garrett McNamera. He's kind of like the guy who trailblazed this particular break in Portugal…
  • Chris Pappas — Person · Referenced newly elected official · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as an example of historic 'firsts' (referenced as 'first openly gay male senator' in the transcript list as Chris Pappas — note: Pappas is a U.S. Representative who is openly gay; transcript uses the name in the context of firsts).
    Woman governor, the first Native woman senator, first openly gay male senator. Is that right? Chris Papus.
  • Barack Obama — Person · Referenced former president · 1 mention · first at
    Valid referenced figure; ensure proper spelling and context
    The Cheesecake Factory. The cheesecake factory was the number one thing that Barack Obama made that joke that the White House looks like Saddam Hussein decorated the Cheesecake…
  • Kathryn Hahn — Person · Upcoming guest (actor/comedian) · 1 mention · first at
    Guest name should align with evidence block showing Kathryn Hahn
    I have a very exciting week of guests.
  • Jalani Hussein — Person · Referenced historical figure (analogy) · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as analogy in narrative
    Which is ironic because Saddam Hussein was a Middle East quagmire that America got into and we completely ignored that.
  • James Comey — Person · Referenced figure · 2 mentions · first at
    Referenced sarcastically in a discussion about perceived overreach or trivial investigations (beach art/Instagram example) as part of a critique of partisan accountability.
    Democrats are just going to try to get retribution. And that's the way I'm They indicted James Comey over seashells, guys. Do you remember this?
  • Barrie Miskin — Person · Author · 2 mentions · first at
    Author of a related work ( Hellgate Bridge )
    Struggle with like being diagnosed postpartum and going through this healthcare journey and it was kind of a nightmare and it was like I know her and it was a really like profound beautiful book and a story of kind of like getting to the.
  • Sarah Longwell — Person · Referenced analyst / commentator · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as someone quoted in the discussion about why voters rejected the MAGA movement (example about 'touch the stove' analogy).
    Felt, right? And people are hurting. There is no doubt people are hurting. It John spoke to Sarah Longwell and she used this example of Americans were kind of in this position of needing to touch the stove,.
  • Ian Brady — Person · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced in sports analogy as the quarterback who led the Patriots' comeback vs. the Falcons — used to illustrate political momentum shifts.
    Falcons in that one Super Bowl where the Falcons were up so big it was like this is over and then Tom Brady's like no the Patriots are coming back and winning and that felt…
  • Alina Habba — Person · Referenced attorney / political figure (criticized) · 1 mention · first at
    Moderate; named figure connected to pardons discussion
    Alina Haba is going to sell some pardons and get $50 million to get this job and it's going to be great. We're we're going to dine out on this. And I think when people say that corruption is.
  • Janine Pirro — Person · Referenced media figure (potential ally to resist subpoenas) · 1 mention · first at
    Moderate; mis-spelling variants present in quotes
    Accountable for their actions. However, however it fall on for the oversight committee if they subpoena and someone doesn't do it. It goes to Janine Piro like Janine I don't…
  • Chuck Schumer — Person · Referenced political leader · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned briefly in the context of skepticism that congressional leaders can both govern and pursue accountability (joke about multitasking).
    Probably not. I don't know. I've seen Chuck Schumer. I don't know if either of those things independently.
  • James Baldwin — Person · Referenced collaborator of Richard Avedon · 1 mention · first at
    Contextual validation of collaboration with Avedon
    And then collaborated with him on a few projects. So, James would write and he would do the photography.

Books & papers

  • Hellgate Bridge — Book · Book recommendation · 2 mentions · first at
    Correct as memoir book; ensure author attribution if mentioned
    Struggle with like being diagnosed postpartum and going through this healthcare journey and it was kind of a nightmare and it was like I know her and it was a really like profound beautiful book and a story of kind of like getting to the.

Companies & orgs

  • Fox News — Company · Referenced news outlet / case study · 3 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a major right-wing news outlet whose on-air ads and narrative shifts were discussed during election night coverage.
    At my computer and then all of a sudden I knew I was watching Fox News because I heard an ad for a life-siz Noah's Arc where they were like they there was an ad for a theme park that has a Noah's Arc and I was like man.
  • Comedy Central — Company · Distributor / Network · 1 mention · first at
    Network that airs The Daily Show and platforms where episodes are available (Paramount+ also referenced).
    There you go. so I think that's all we have time for on the precap. my name again is Devon Deauanti. Be sure to catch Desi Leak hosting this week on Comedy Central Paramount…
  • The New York Times Magazine — Company · Referenced news source · 1 mention · first at
    Cited for reporting election statistics (Democrats winning the congressional popular vote by ~13% and it being the largest margin in 50 years).
    The Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild. largest popular victory in the Cong National Congress vote for either party in 50 years according to…
  • New York Knicks — Company · Cultural metaphor / sports reference · 5 mentions · first at
    Clarify as sports team organization rather than generic company
    The year and it kind of came to fruition is that I feel like the national vibe shifted in halftime of game four of the NBA finals.
  • The Cheesecake Factory — Company · Referenced cultural touchpoint · 4 mentions · first at
    Used as a recurring, mocked cultural reference in the discussion about election messaging and the media narrative leading up to the midterms.
    It was Cheesecake Factory is bluecollar all American. Then it was the Cheesecake Factory is elitist. It was very confusing. I think they didn't even know what they were talking.
  • Department of Justice — Company · Referenced institution · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of limitations on congressional ability to pursue criminal accountability and who controls prosecutorial levers.
    Is they don't have the levers of power to do that in a lot of ways. Like they don't control the Department of Justice, right? And I was talking to our researcher before we came down here and even if they use the committees and the.
  • HBO — Company · Platform for recommended series · 2 mentions · first at
    Network providing access to content
    It's a show or It's a show. It's a docu series. Okay.
  • Department of Defense — Company · Referenced government agency · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of the Trump administration allegedly taking down web pages (pulling firsts off websites) as an example of erasing history or facts.
    Yeah, we were talking about this in the office. They spent so much of the Trump administration when they came in spent so much time like pulling firsts off of websites like the Department of Defense pulling down like different.
  • The Washington Post — Company · Referenced news source · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced once in the context of a recommended book list (Hellgate Bridge appearing on a Washington Post notable reads list).
    Hellgate Bridge, a memoir of motherhood, madness, and hope by an author named Barry Mishkin. It was on like a Washington Post list of like notable reads. And it's about this mother's struggle with like being diagnosed postpartum and going.
  • New York Jets — Company · Cultural reference · 2 mentions · first at
    Used metaphorically by the host to describe the looming possibility of disappointment after initial excitement (Knicks then remembering being a Jets fan).
    This joy and feeling of hope and excitement for what's to come. But I'm also kind of bracing myself for where the Democrats take it from here. It's like the moment after the…
  • Atlanta Falcons — Company · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at
    Used in the same sports analogy about a big comeback (Falcons leading then losing to Patriots) to illustrate shifts in momentum.
    Is over and then Tom Brady's like no the Patriots are coming back and winning and that felt like the cultural moment and the Knicks felt that way too of this like what New York…
  • New England Patriots — Company · Cultural reference · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced in a pop-culture sports analogy (Patriots' comeback over Falcons in the Super Bowl) to illustrate cultural turning points.
    Is over and then Tom Brady's like no the Patriots are coming back and winning and that felt like the cultural moment and the Knicks felt that way too of this like what New York…

Products & tech

  • Spam — Product · Illustrative economic indicator · 9 mentions · first at
    Brand/product name should be capitalized; Spam is a proper noun brand
    Is this new information for them?
  • Paramount+ — Product · Distribution platform · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as the streaming platform where full episodes of The Daily Show are available; appears in show/episode context.
    Name again is Devon Deauanti. Be sure to catch Desi Leak hosting this week on Comedy Central Paramount Plus and right here on podcast forum on the Daily Show ears edition.
  • Trump Gold Card — Product · Referenced product/brand artifact · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in passing as an example of Trump-branded merchandise ('green cards' referenced) sold as part of the broader point about grift and monetization around the presidency.
    Yeah. All of it. And green cards.

Concepts & topics

  • Congress — Concept · Institutional context · 2 mentions · first at
    Institutional body; categorize as organization
  • Noah's Ark — Concept · Referenced attraction (life-size Noah's Ark) · 1 mention · first at
    Specific attraction referenced; corrected spelling and clarified as an attraction
    What if you could go back in time and see this art for yourself?

Places & events

  • Blue wave — Event · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at
    Transcript discusses a political phenomenon referred to as a blue wave; standardize capitalization
  • Texas — Place · Referenced battleground / unexpected result · 2 mentions · first at
    Proper capitalization as a location; verify as battleground state reference
  • Iran war (2026) — Event · Referenced policy issue · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as one of the issues (the war in Iran) that factored into voter dissatisfaction and midterm results, discussed as part of what Republicans cited post-election as reasons for losing.
    Clear that you could tell that the message of the high prices and gas and the just complete discontentment with the war in Iran, it's that became the driving message of the evening. And yes, somehow the cheesecake factory was not.
  • Georgia — Place · Referenced state (election context) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned for close margins and as one of the significant outcomes during midterms.
    Texas was undeniable. And just the margins that were coming in Georgia and so many exciting firsts, right? the first female black governor.
  • North Carolina — Place · Referenced state (election context) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned among states with notable midterm outcomes or surprises in the night’s returns discussion.
    Things like some of the flipped states or unexpected winds. Texas going blue, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio for the Senate. the Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild.
  • Lifesize Ark — Place · Referenced ad / cultural gag · 2 mentions · first at
    Event/attraction referenced in ad content
    What if you could go back in time and see this art for yourself?
  • Kentucky — Place · Referenced setting / hometown of Lifesize Ark ad · 2 mentions · first at
    Hometown reference corroborated by evidence
    Well, not in Louisville, but it is somewhere in Kentucky. I have never been there.
  • Kansas — Place · Referenced state (election context) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned among states with surprising or notable midterm outcomes during the discussion.
    Things like some of the flipped states or unexpected winds. Texas going blue, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio for the Senate. the Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild.
  • Iowa — Place · Referenced state (election context) · 1 mention · first at
    Listed among states with noteworthy midterm results discussed in the episode.
    Things like some of the flipped states or unexpected winds. Texas going blue, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio for the Senate. the Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild.
  • Maine — Place · Referenced state (election context) · 1 mention · first at
    Listed among states with notable or flipped outcomes in the midterms discussion.
    Things like some of the flipped states or unexpected winds. Texas going blue, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio for the Senate. the Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild.
  • Ohio — Place · Referenced state (election context) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned among states with important midterm developments (Senate outcomes).
    Things like some of the flipped states or unexpected winds. Texas going blue, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio for the Senate. the Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild.
  • Louisville, Kentucky — Place · Hometown reference · 1 mention · first at
    Location tied to transcript context; clarified as a city
    Is it really? Yes. Have you ever been there?
  • Northern Kentucky — Place · Referenced locale · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as the location of a lifesize Noah's Ark attraction referenced in an ad the host saw while watching returns on Fox News; used to illustrate the surreal nature of the night's coverage.
    You can at the Lifesize Ark in Northern Kentucky.
  • Portugal — Place · Setting for recommended media · 1 mention · first at
    Location referenced in context
    That cuz it's towin surfing where they have jet skis and they have to be there all winter and they live in Portugal and they have a relationship with the local community and…

Media & podcasts

  • The Daily Show — Media · Program / Producer · 3 mentions · first at
    Originating program of the Precap podcast; hosts and guests are affiliated with the show and its network.
  • 100 Foot Wave — Media · Media documentary reference · 2 mentions · first at
    Documentary title cited in evidence; capitalization and exact title clarified
    My daily show and tell. I have recently been watching this documentary show on HBO called 100 Foot Wave.
  • Hillbilly Elegy — Media · Referenced cultural touchpoint · 1 mention · first at
    Author JD Vance and cultural impact referenced
    Future presidential candidate JD Vance possibly current vice president.

Full transcript with timestamps

This is a moment where I feel like I just want to continue to stay in this this joy and feeling of hope and excitement for what's to come. But I'm also kind of bracing myself for where the Democrats take it from here. It's like the moment after the Knicks won the championship, but the moment right before I realized I'm also a Jets fan. Hello and welcome to the Precap, a Daily Show podcast where we sit down with this week's host to recap some of the latest news and preview what's coming up next. My name is Devon Delawquanti. I'm a writer at the show and I am joined today by your host for the week, Desi Leid.

Dev, hello Desi. How are you? How you feeling? I'm feeling good. How are you feeling?

I'm feeling great. It's exciting times. Very exciting. Yeah. A lot of energy. I have an unfamiliar feeling in my gut. I don't know what this is. It's like the opposite of despair. I want to say hope.

Really? Maybe. Really? Like I can unclench my butthole for two seconds. Well, that's good.

And it's not even my anniversary. Well, congratulations. Thank you. On which part?

Yeah. How you feeling? I'm good. I'm really good. Um, yeah. I uh as we do this, it is a week after the midterms. We're 6 days out and we're kind of uh in the in the mix of of taking stock of of where we are as a country. So, how are you? How was your midterms?

I feel like I can take a deep breath for the first time in 10 years. It feels really good.

Very good. Feels very nice. How did you spend the night? How did you watch the returns come in? What was your experience of the evening itself? I don't know how you felt, but I was a complete nervous wreck all day going into the evening. I was at home. Uh, I prepared to protect my nervous system for what was to come by making a nice cup of hot tea and sitting underneath my weighted blanket as I flipped back and forth between CNN and Fox News, watching like this through my fingers.

Sure. Horror movie style. Horror movie style. Uh well, you know, we're just so conditioned to brace for impact on these nights, right? I mean,

we don't really know what to expect. Even it's like we're so un we don't trust polls and it's like we don't know until it's over and we know.

Yeah. Yeah. And I I don't know. I don't know how you felt. I went in I was feeling cautiously optimistic, but I have felt cautiously optimistic before and so I was extra cautious in my optimism.

Sure. Um, but then the results started coming through and I was just like, "Holy this is what is what is this unfamiliar feeling of uh the opposite of despair?" Um, like slight butterflies in your stomach at at what could what could be ahead. Is it hope perhaps?

No, I don't I don't You don't recognize Yeah. You don't recognize that feeling.

No, that part of me died. Yeah. Yeah. That's gone long ago. Uh, was there a moment you knew? Was there a moment where you thought, "Oh, okay. It's like it's clear

what is happening and I know what the feeling is cuz early on you never necessarily know. There's like miragages or any kind of thing of like the early voter, whatever it is, where you're like, "No, no, this is happening."

I mean, Texas undeniable. That is true. Texas was undeniable. And and and just the margins that were coming in in Georgia and and so many exciting firsts, right? the first female black governor. Yes.

In American history. In American history. Yes. How the did it take us this long?

Yeah. It's shocking, but you're like, "Yeah, first in American history. That took way too long."

Way too long. First Native American woman governor, the first Native uh woman senator, first openly gay

male senator. Is that right? Chris Papus. Yes. I mean, it just was it just felt really really exciting and and hopeful in the sense that all of this racial, cultural, gender divisiveness that was employed by the by the far right to exploit Americans is is in this moment not working.

Yeah, we were talking about this in the office. They they spent so much of the Trump administration when they came in spent so much time like pulling firsts off of websites like the Department of Defense pulling down like different things are like, "Oh, this web page about Jackie Robinson has been pulled down and now there are so many more firsts that just happened in the Senate and the governor's houses." It's like there's going to be a lot more websites from this guys. Sorry. Like

sorry. Sorry you had to. You took down the one page. Here's 90 more pages you're going to have to add.

A lot more web pages. A lot more web pages. and the youth. So many exciting new young uh candidates. What like like that it feels like we're kind of ushering in a a new guard and that feels really exciting too.

It was a huge wave of election. The moment I knew it felt you could kind of feel I was watching bouncing around.

You were at home, right? I was at home. uh I was bouncing around different channels and sort of we're all kind of like keeping an eye on how it's going and writing stuff and bouncing around ideas and um so I didn't necessarily know what channel I was on from at a given moment and I was looking at my computer and then all of a sudden I knew I was watching Fox News because I uh I heard an ad for a life-siz Noah's Arc

where they were like they there was an ad for a theme park that has a Noah's Arc and I was like man

the blue wave is so big that Fox News is advertising life-size arcs for people to get on.

Oh, wow. By the way, that that is in my hometown of Kentucky. Is it really? Yes. Have you ever been there?

Well, not not in Louisville, but it is somewhere in Kentucky. I have never been there.

But, you know, anything could happen. We don't have our holiday plans yet. So, I think we have the ad. Actually, I want to play it because this is how I experienced it sitting on my couch.

Oh, great. What if you could go back in time and see this art for yourself? You can at the Lifesize Ark in Northern Kentucky.

Oh my god. Step back in history and encounter the wonder. That is a big arc. That's a big arc.

That's a very big arc. What if you could go back in time to before these election results came in their viewers? Yes. Yes.

Oh wow. Yeah. You know things are not going well when you're running that ad. No. Normally on Fox News, it's ads for like catheterss and gold bars. And this was like, guys, I think our viewers need an arc to get on. It is a blue tsunami out there. We got to start loading animals two by two onto this thing.

Oh man. So, that was the moment I knew I was I don't think this is going the way they thought it was going to go. And it was it was also remarkable to me how much you could see the narrative changing throughout the night that in the week leading up it had been

so much about um the Cheesecake Factory. The cheesecake factory was the number one thing that Barack Obama made that joke that the White House looks like uh Saddam Hussein decorated the Cheesecake Factory which

which they really stumbled their way through finding figuring out what they were upset about.

Yes. Cuz the joke was that the president is too focused on tacky renovations. That's the the what the idea that was being communicated which then bounced around the echo chambers of of the news into well Obama was condescending to the Cheesecake Factory which wasn't what was happening but also no one was talking about the Cheesecake Factory on election night.

It was Cheesecake Factory is is bluecollar all American. Then it was the Cheesecake Factory is elitist. It was very very confusing. I think they didn't even know what they were were talking about. And then it was just like such a that was a beautiful trap that Obama laid because Trump could not resist. He said, "Are you insulting my decor my decorating skills? Let me talk about all of my decorating skills for the next eight days."

That's absolutely true. And he was like, "Have you seen how nice these columns are? These are the best columns. What do you how dare you compare them to the Cheesecake Factory, which is a great business." I'm like, "I don't know what world we're in, guys, but this is not the real issues that Americans care about."

That's exactly right. Same way the renovations are not the real issues that Americans care about. and on and on. So, yeah, it was kind of clear that that you could tell that the the message of the high prices and and gas and and the just complete discontentment with the war in Iran, it's that became the the driving message of the evening. And yes,

somehow the cheesecake factory was not the thing. Not the thing anymore. Which is ironic because Saddam Hussein was a Middle East quagmire that America got into and we completely ignored that. The Saddam Hussein part of it, we're like, "No, no, we're more interested in the chief." not where I take issue. This is about the Cheesecake Factory.

Exactly. But so all of that kind of drained away and you could tell like, oh, all right, this is a a moment of reckoning for this movement and uh and kind of across the country. So yeah, I mean I'll read some of the um other big things like some of the flipped states or unexpected winds. Um

Texas going blue, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio for the Senate. Uh the Democrats were on track to win the popular vote by 13% which is wild. Uh largest largest popular victory in the Cong National Congress vote for either party in 50 years according to the New York Times. So yeah, I mean it was it just felt like a real rejection of of that movement in a way that we haven't seen in 11 years.

Right. Yeah. And it the last two years have very much felt like uh you know smoke the whole pack two years like is this what you want? Let's go 300% towards this. And that's what the administration did and the American people went that's not that is not what we want. This is not working for us.

Yeah. And I think so much of the last two years has been this sort of feeling of well the the guardrails are off. Congress isn't doing anything to check what's going on. the the like oh the deep state is stopping me like that was all done it was all loyalist in the cabinet so I was like this is this is the vision that it's always been since the escalator of like this is what how I want to govern like if you go back and watch the coming down the escalator speech it was like I'm going to put tariffs on everything it was the

you know they're rapist all that kind of thing but it was also the economic vision of tariffs and then that completely wiped them out that it was so he was able to kind of enact his vision and then I think that sense of relief you're talking about is we saw what that was and then it was like oh no Americans roundly rejected it that it didn't work and and Fox was kind of coming to grips with that in the moment of well then what are we in the future going forward and

yeah I think that it it is I think a lot of people in what I've seen are relieved to feel that that we are not this kind of American id of of greed or or anything like that and it we are trying to find something that isn't the chaos of the last two as it as has felt,

right? And people are hurting. There is no doubt people are hurting. It uh John spoke to Sarah Longwell and she used this example of of Americans were kind of in this position of needing to touch the stove,

needing to feel the burn before going, "Okay, okay, this is absolutely not what we want." It seemed intriguing at first. he's making all of these promises and then finding out, oh no, this is not this is not what we voted for. Yeah.

So, there's definitely some some peace and catharsis and and knowing that Americans are overwhelmingly feeling this way. Although, I hate that Americans had to go through all of this and that people are hurting the way they are to get there.

It's interesting to be in this moment in between where like we don't know what we're going toward. We know what we've what has been rejected and what is being kind of swept out, but we don't know what the identity will be after this. what the national kind of mood or what will be worked toward. So, it's curious to see where that's going to go. I feel like I kind of had this sense earlier in the year and it kind of came to fruition is that

I feel like the national vibe shifted in halftime of game four of the NBA finals. Like there was just that moment where the Knicks were down 29 and it was like okay. And then they came back and won in the OG Anobi tip and it was

and then they won in Texas and there feels like there's this weird universal thing where Texas was like maybe we need to be more like New York if we want to win like it didn't our San Antonio thing didn't work. the New York thing worked and in a way like sometimes sports will do that and or like sometimes there's cultural moments like that and I remember with the Patriots and the Falcons in that one Super Bowl where the Falcons were up so big it was like this is over and then Tom Brady's like no no no the Patriots are coming back and winning and that felt like the cultural moment and the Knicks felt that way too of this like what New York City is and represents and diversity and and all the kind of like messiness of what New York City is that that is and that it came back and it won in that moment.

Both being nothing short of a miracle. I mean, both of those things were absolutely miraculous.

I think also watching Vake and his despicable, disgusting campaign ads on Amy Actton and then seeing her win.

Yeah. Just that alone to me felt like this momentary win of like this tearing each other apart, this disgusting divisiveness that Trump has started and the the rest of his cronies have like followed through with it. It just felt like that is the American people are rejecting that kind of cruelty.

Yeah. And that there was a moment where like JD Vance doubled down on it when he didn't have to. But he was like, "No, we are standing by this thing." And

that was also rejected. So, um, it's been interesting to see their reaction after the fact because

JD Vance put out a very long tweet or X or whatever it is about like, hey, here's what I think we did wrong. Then Ted Cruz put out one of those. So, I don't if you saw Oh my god. So, yeah,

this is where I zone out. This is put on the screen. It is. Wait, I wrote it down. It's 617 words, 3,371 characters. Twitter used to be what, 140 characters?

This is like when someone sends you an epically long text, and you just throw your phone away. You can't even

You're like, "Look, we're broken up. I don't know what to tell you. I will never speak to you again.

I'm not going to read this. I'm I'm deleting you from my phone. I don't know you anymore."

The Ted Cruz one is 1,749 words. He broke down all of the reasons that um that we lost. Clearly they were talking to pollsters or whatever, but

um JD Vance first was he was talking about like the reason we won is like the the Iran war was why we lost and you know we won two years ago on America first. We lost because we didn't deal with that and the prices are too high. But it's I don't understand how they went from this is the greatest presidency in American history then a day later they're like yo have you seen these prices? This is crazy.

Yes. When Americans are suffering you guys had no idea. Like yeah we knew. We knew. Did you not know or were you pretending that you didn't know?

I think that I think that one I think they were pretending that they did not know. But it's amazing how quick the pivot is when they realize that their stance is not popular.

It was a golden age on Monday. Monday was the golden age and now it's like I don't know guys, people are unhappy. Have you seen this?

Have you? Yeah. And then Ted Cruz had a thing in his post. I'm I'll read from it because it was like it was I hadn't seen this and it was genuinely shocking to me where he broke down like the nine issues that were the biggest thing in the exit polls they saw. So a real stat is that spam the canned meat spam had it broke record sales selling 113 million cans last year. That is nearly as much spam as was sold during the entirety of World War II. Things aren't going well if people are eating that much spam. Like canned meat is not a good sign in the economy.

Definitely not. And so did they not know that this we were in like the spam times?

Is this new information for them? I don't like Yeah, it was really shocking to me to see that and to to understand that that's how dire things can be. But also, did he know that before? Did he Google like what are the spam numbers right now? I like, oh man, this is way too much spam.

I think he's been spitting on that. That's I think he's I think he's been That's different. I think he's been sitting on that spam stat for quite some time just waiting to pull it out.

I think so. Waiting. And clearly I think he uh JD Vance and Ted Cruz are like well I got to pivot to my own run for president at 2028 and they clearly have pollsters who work for them and like oh these are the issues but

that's all they care about. That's all they care about. Dantis Yes. Same thing. He had a big thing calling it what? Like an extinction

nothing just just short of an extinction. Is that what he said? Yeah. and that you can't gaslight people on gas prices and

yeah, how interesting to have that kind of clarity the day after the midterms. Do you buy it from any of them? Do you think Yeah, they know they they feel the pain of the people.

No, I think they have known this entire time and now it serves them to distance themselves from the president that they were blowing for the last 10 years.

Yes, I think you're right. his canned meat. You know, looking at like the the Ted Cruz and the JD Vance posts, it feels like they put those things out. You know, when like you get in trouble at school and your teacher is like, "Young man, I need you to write a 2,000word essay about how you failed the voters and how you're never going to do it again." Like, "Yes, yes, no. Okay, I'll write it, please. Here it is. No, this is it. We'll do better on the economy. I promise that we'll be better. I won't be so in on the data centers, and I'm sorry. We won't do as much corruption next time. I promise. Please, just let me say a student in 2028. I I'll do better. I swear. Here's 2,000 words on it.

2,000. A lot of ands and the to fill the space. It was a very like here's my apology essay.

Yeah. Which also that's a real dork move. Yeah. Come on. Like again, you're not doing like

I retweeted his treatise on how he failed us. Yeah. Get out of here. I think another clip uh we've also seen people in like sort of the right-wing ecosystem reckoning with this moment. And one of the things that uh that jumped out at me was this clip from Megan Kelly where she spoke to like how voters were feeling and tried to echo those concerns. And I think we can actually play a clip of that.

Oh, goody. We We're no longer interested in the Trump show. We're over the antics, the grift, the making money off of the backs of the American people who just wanted you to help them. Not you, not yourself, not make your 1 billion go to 12. To surround yourself with a field of grifters who who want to make money off of the presidency as opposed to serve, be actual public servants in a humble role that was never meant to make someone a million or billionaire. Coming from a woman who has made a ton of money off of this president and this administration and those same views and values.

Unbelievable. It's a real pot calling the kettle blackface watching that clip. Like I'm shocked that she's shocked.

Of course. Like you didn't think they were going to sell act. Like this is a man who was selling Bibles to people in the leadup to the 2024 election. I have like the Trump brand bible. Bibles, watches, stakes, hats,

water, crypto. Crypto. Yeah. All of it. And green cards. You didn't think they were going to sell pardons? It's the only thing they haven't sold yet. It makes no sense to me. Like

Yeah. I I just don't I'm shocked that they're shocked. Like, yeah, this is it's it makes me sad to be like, this is what it always was. How do you not know?

And they do know. They must know. They know that. They know. If it's just performative, like I'm going to like I'm going to be so mad about it's like yeah, they were never in it for that. They were never in it for people. They were never like I'm going to bring down prizes on day one. It's like no, I'm going to Kimberly Gil is going to get her AMX got paid, guys. That's the plan.

Totally. Alina Haba is going to sell some pardons and get $50 million to get this job and it's going to be great. We're we're going to dine out on this. And I think

when people say that uh corruption is their issue or something that really bothers them, it's in always in combination with I don't feel like I'm getting ahead. I see these people getting rich. I see these people getting government contracts or whatever it is or no-show jobs or selling access and

that does and then they say like we're living in a golden age. Was like you're living in a golden age. Yes. Because you have access to this thing and you are abusing the public trust that way. That's exactly. Yeah. And uh I don't know if you saw so th those were the responses from like the Republican leaders and then sort of the media figures and that it was very interesting to contrast that with how Donald Trump reacted.

Yes, he had quite a lot to say. Yes. Um Yeah. And where was he speaking from again? Was he in in at the gas pump or

No, I don't think he was at the gas pump. The grocery aisle? No, he wasn't in the grocery aisle. Uh, maybe an Oval Office address alleviating people's concerns.

Sure. Something official like I've got things under control. No, instead where was he speaking from?

I think it was the the Was it the ballroom? Yes, it was the ballroom. He was in the ballroom. Yeah, let's hear him in the ballroom.

Right here is the ballroom. Over here, you're going to have magnificent columns on this side. Outside exterior columns, very much like the Supreme Court. They're actually taller and they're uh even more magnificent. They're fabricated now. They're being carved out of beautiful limestone. And they'll be Corinthian, the Corinthian design, which is considered the the creme de la creme.

The creme de la creme. 100% authentically fabricated. Can you make ballroom columns out of empty spam cans? Because that seems like it could be a good bridge between the two. Um,

I sure would like to try. Wouldn't that be great? This is a moment where I feel like I just want to continue to stay in this this joy and feeling of hope and excitement for what's to come, but I'm also kind of bracing myself for where the Democrats take it from here. It's like it's like the moment after the Knicks won the championship, but the moment right before I realized I'm also a Jets fan.

Does that make sense? Yes. Yeah. An ultimate feeling of disappointment. Yeah. That you know you'll be disappointed. Where where will the Democrats take it from here?

All gas, no breaks. Yeah. Well, they better focus on gas is the first thing. They'll be like, "We heard you. Gas prices." Um I don't even think they can agree on what gas means.

Probably not. That's going to splinter the coalition immediately, man. But we have to have hope in this moment, right?

Maybe they can get unified in how they squander it. Yes. This is the moment. We're not I'm not even going to say it. I'm not even going to say it. This is the moment like you know when you've graduated and you've thrown your cap up in the air but it hasn't landed yet and you're like as soon as the cap lands you're like oh I got to go get a job

and you realize how in debt you are. Yeah. You're like I don't have health insurance like that. It's that moment like but look cap's in the air right now. That's how people like you know people are I think Democrats are feeling that way. So

enjoy the cap being in the air while it's in the air but once it hits the ground it's time to hit the ground.

Time to hit the ground. Are are they do you think that the party will focus on governing and supporting the people or do you think that there's going to be this overwhelming uh you know revenge and retribution and seeking justice?

I mean this is the big question. Uh I don't I don't know. I think the best course of action is to do things for the people to try to fix the issues that people really are hurting. Yeah, that's the move. And I know I see a lot of posts and people who are like in the retribution camp and and want that kind of thing, but

I think a legitimate concern with that is they don't have the levers of power to do that in a lot of ways. Like they don't control the Department of Justice, right? And um I was talking to our researcher before we came down here and even if they use the committees and the oversight and all that kind of thing and like go after things that are genuine crimes like if Kimberly Gilfoil is selling access to the presidency or there's people selling pardons like you you have to that has to be something where you get justice for those kinds of things.

Of course people need to be held accountable for their actions. However, however it fall on

for the oversight committee if they subpoena and someone doesn't do it. It goes to Janine Piro like Janine I don't think Janine Piro is gonna be like you know what I'm bring I'm hauling in Don Jr. right now it's just so there are a lot of

a lot of this could end up being fruitless at the end of the day. Maybe I mean you know I think that the rule of law is an important thing especially in a democracy like this to have to have the feeling that it's like you're not going to get away with doing things like that. But

what is the they have to multitask. They have to find a way to multitask. walk and chew gum at the same time?

Probably not. I don't know. I've seen Chuck Schumer. I don't know if either of those things independently.

Oh god. But we'll see. I mean, they are coming off a historic win, so we'll have to figure it is. But

I think they just can't. They have to be extremely intentional and strategic about the fact that the American voters voted for this war to end,

for health care, for ICE to get the off the streets, for reproductive rights to be restored, for child care, for health care. Like, they can't lose sight of all of that. They have to hit the ground running on it. I think that's one of the issues in an election like this is a lot of that is reading the exit polls for those priorities because there's no like show your work for your vote where you say like oh Democrats won why high prices or the war or reproductive rights or like and on and on. So there should be like a

you check your vote and then you have a why section where you're like this is the why.

An essay portion. An essay portion. The ballot should have yes an optional essay portion where you can fill out the reasons why

but not not as many words as what Ted Cruz submitted that yes you have to find no one has time to read that.

Why are the ones who lost writing the essays? We could never count the votes. No, you could not. Are there any things in particular that you would like to see in terms of accountability or or people for example? I would love to I think I would love to see someone subpoena Robert F. Kennedy's fridge. Oh,

I want to know what's in that freezer. A lot of beef tallow. A lot of beef tallow. This is a man who has a lot of roadkill in his life.

Oh boy. Who had a bear cub in his trunk. Are you sure you want to look in that fridge?

He had a raccoon penis. I think just science law enforcement needs to look in that fridge just to understand what's going on there.

Yes, I agree with you. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I did have an advent calendar made for all of the arrests I'd like to see. Wow, that is very specific.

Yeah. Yeah. It fills up all of December. Wow. Who's on Christmas Eve? You're going to have to order it to find out.

That's fine. Now, are they little chocolates where they are going to be subpoenaed and then you open the tiny box?

They are little chocolates, but it's not real chocolate because apparently all American chocolate is fake chocolate.

Is it really? It's like wax or something. I don't know. I don't know. I didn't actually read the article. I just saw the headline.

Well, you know who's going to fix that? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Oh, once you subpoena that fridge, you'll see that he has all kinds of good plans for chocolates and a whale head in there for some reason.

Oh god. I don't need to see what's in that fridge. You don't? Mm- I don't. I just I can't help but stress that he is neither a doctor nor a scientist. And he is often has a lot of dead animal carcasses just as a civilian.

Oh my god, that seems weird to me. I don't know. It's weird on weird on weird on weird.

Yeah. Um, I would like to see an investigation into what uh Bessant looks like without his makeup.

That would be pretty good. I'm just curious. Yeah, it's not at the top of my list, but it's on the list.

Sometimes justice ain't pretty. Yeah. And that might be this case. That's it. Um Yeah. I'm curious as to uh where it's going to go. But, you know, when they talk about I've seen a lot of the clips where they're like, "Well, the Democrats are just going to try to get retribution." And that's the way I'm like, "They indicted James Comey over seashells, guys. Do you remember this? He had beach art." And they're like, "We're sending prosecutors after you." Like,

I don't know what world we live in anymore. I don't know what we have to do or Yeah.

Yeah. Feel like this man's beach Instagrams he has to go down. We have to send a message about the things that he is posting on his Instagram.

How crazy was that? This was on your grid, sir. Have you no decency? Please don't look at my grid.

Really? I have all kinds of beach art. Can we Sabina your grid? Alan, could you have someone delete my grid? I think that's deleting evidence. See, that's the great thing about uh leaving evidence on the beach is it just gets washed away and it's not your fault.

Sorry. Perfect crime. So, yeah, a lot of questions uh that still remain to be answered, but one thing um as we look forward uh you have three wonderful guests coming up on the show. We do.

Yes. Why don't you tell us about them? I have a very exciting week of guests. Uh Tuesday night, we have Katherine Han.

Wonderful. Comedy goddess. Yes. Uh Ron Howard is coming on to promote his new documentary about Richard Avdon.

Very fascinating. Have you seen it? I have seen it. Of course I've seen it. I do my research.

Yes. Yes. No. Um and I I did not know very much about Richard Abdon and then suddenly I'm watching this documentary and I see all of these iconic photos that he took that I had no idea who the photographer was. He had 16,000 plus sittings

really of photographing people. 16,000. And they have all of these archives. I mean, his body of work is incredible.

Went to high school with James Baldwin. Really? And then collaborated with him on a few projects. So, James would would write and he would do the photography.

Oh, that's incredible. Just a fascinating artist. It's a really really beautiful documentary. So, I'm excited to have Ron on to talk about that. And then Thursday we have Heather Cox Richardson.

Oh, very nice. Historian. Historian writer. Um I'm very interested to get to have a conversation with her post midterms.

Yes. Get some historical context to what this moment means. Exactly. And where do we go from here?

Yeah. If our the Knicks are indeed responsible for the American history vibe shift that we're going through.

I'm going to say yes. You think so? I will bring it up to her. America's in the Nixon 5 era. I think

that's what I think. And it's going to last forever, right? I think these things never end.

I can't imagine it ending. I can't imagine. Another um interesting Ron Howard fact, director of the movie Hillbilly Elegy, JD Vance story,

more and more relevant. Oh boy. Future presidential candidate JD Vance possibly current vice president.

So we can see bone to pick with him. Sequel in the mix. I don't know. We could see.

Not ruling it out. Anything's possible. So that's all exciting. Great guests. Did you pick them yourselves? Uh, I definitely had a hand in. Yes, I had a hand in picking them, but we have incredible producers here at the show. Beth and Shauna, who do a lot of a lot of work in reaching out and making requests.

I thought you would just slide into people's DMs directly. I mean, sometimes I do. I actually I did to Lever and Cox.

You did? Yes. That's how we got Liver Cox. Really? I well I ran into her at her party and then I followed up uh with a DM and then she came on the show and did an in my opinion and was fantastic and I think won a GLAD award for her appearance on the show. That's right. That's

amazing. Look at that. So sometimes sliding into someone's DMs it it works out.

It's very that's wonderful. I'm not I'm not above it. Do you stay in touch with them afterwards as well now that you've like you know we've shared this moment on television and you know we can you know

I try keep it going. I try and sometimes I get ignored, but that's okay. Oh, that's I'm sorry.

No, no, that's not true. No, no. I never blocked. I don't think so. Never. Never like, "Oh, did they they're not I don't know. Did we not connect? Did we not

Yeah. I mean, sometimes people ignore me cuz I think we've made this connection and I think we're friends and then they just don't respond back. But that's that's cool. I've got plenty of other friends like you, Devon, right? You're my friend, right?

Yeah, of course. You're my friend, right? Definitely. Yeah. No, it's like we're real friends.

Yeah. No, of course. Not just co-orkers. No. Yeah. No, we we Yeah. I enjoy your company in in the office.

Cool. Cool. It's a good time. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to I got to hit the bathroom actually. Um No, we'll catch up later.

Do you need a Cornaki break? Yeah. No. I'm just going to wander off into the wilderness.

Never come back. Oh no. No. You'll see me again. That's for sure. 3 hours later there's a tweet like,

"Oh, man. Thought I could hang out with Desi for 13 hours, but I could only make it for 24 hours.

No one makes it. Oh boy. Wait, what's your uh what's your daily show and tell? My daily show and tell was the the Richard Abdon documentary, so I already kind of blew my w I'm sorry, I I jumped to it too quickly.

No, that's fine. It's a perfectly good daily show and tell. I should ask you, what is your daily show and tell?

My daily show and tell. I uh have recently been watching this um documentary show on HBO called 100 Foot Wave.

I don't know if you've seen it. It's a show or It's a show. It's a docu series. Okay.

I think the first season was in like 2021 and then the second was in 2023 and then the the most recent season was 2025. It's about it follows this a set of big wave surfers, one of whom is named Garrett McNamera. He's kind of like the guy who trailblazed this particular break in Portugal called Nazare. And it's remarkable. And it's a story of these athletes who are kind of

they're surfers, but they're more than that cuz it's towin surfing where they have jet skis and they have to be there all winter and they live in Portugal and they have a relationship with the local community and it's so great. I I highly recommend it. 100 foot wave on HBO. Oh my gosh.

And I'm about to watch the third season. I'm going to start it soon. So great great show.

Excellent recommendation. Were you inspired to watch it because of the blue wave?

Okay. This is why you This is why you won't hang out with me. I watched it before the blue wave. So maybe it was a manifestation of it. Possibly.

All right. Maybe you made it happen. Possibly. Maybe Garrett McNamera made it happen.

GMAC himself. Um and one other thing I wanted to shout out is um I read this book that's uh I think you would love. It's called Hellgate Bridge, a memoir of motherhood, madness, and hope uh by an author named Barry Mishkin. It was on like a Washington Post list of like notable reads. And it's about um this mother's struggle with like um

being diagnosed postpartum and going through this healthcare journey and it was kind of a nightmare and it was like I I know her and it was a really like profound beautiful book and and and a story of kind of like getting to the other side of this dark period. So um yeah, uh Hellgate Bridge, another Gate Bridge. Okay.

Beautiful, beautiful book. So that's another a bonus daily show and tell. Look at that.

There you go. Um, so I think that's all we have time for on the precap. Uh, my name again is Devon Deauanti. Be sure to catch Desi Leak hosting this week on Comedy Central Paramount Plus and right here on podcast forum on the Daily Show ears edition.

Thank you Desi. What a good time. What a good time. So yeah, I got to go. I'll uh

You don't want to stay and hang out and just like keep talking? I have a thing. I'm I'm so sorry. It's

It didn't No, I think you And you're so busy with hosting, you know. No, not really. I've pretty much done all my prep.

I can just paying if you want to just like I don't know, order a pizza. like get in your way.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Precap: The Midterms Have Desi Lydic Feeling the "Opposite of Despair" | The Daily Show"?

Devon Deauanti (Guest), Desi Leik (Host), Katherine Han (Guest), Ron Howard (Guest), Heather Cox Richardson (Guest).

What is "Precap: The Midterms Have Desi Lydic Feeling the "Opposite of Despair" | The Daily Show" about?

The piece discusses the post-midterm mood and political outlook, highlighting a cautious sense of renewed hope while bracing for possible shifts in Democratic power. It also captures personal reflections on watching election results and the emotional toll of the night.

What is mentioned in this The Daily Show episode?

58 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including The Daily Show, Desi Lydic, Devin Delliquanti, Blue wave, Ted Cruz, J.D. Vance. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Precap: The Midterms Have Desi Lydic Feeling the "Opposite of Despair" | The Daily Show"?

The episode runs 36 min; the transcript is about 7,583 words in 185 timestamped sections.

More from The Daily Show

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated November 10, 2026.