Trump Floats Canceling Midterms & MAGA Pushes Alt Super Bowl Halftime Show | The Daily Show

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on Trump's controversial suggestion to cancel the midterms and critiques of the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny, who is portrayed as a symbol of "woke" values that some viewers disdain. In response, an alternative halftime show promoted by Turning Point USA features predominantly conservative artists, further highlighting the cultural divide surrounding the event.

Key takeaways

• Bad Bunny's getting flack for not being American enough—cue the irony of a Puerto Rican headlining the NFL.
• Trump's joke about canceling the midterms illustrates the fine line between comedy and potential tyranny.
• In a world of 'woke' halftime shows, is a conservative alternative really just a cry for attention?
• Leigh Wambsganss won in Texas, proving that even red states are going blue—sorry, Trump fans!
• When Trump jokes about elections, it’s a comedy special mixed with a horror flick—unexpected plot twist!

Who speaks in this episode?

• Michael Kosta (Guest) · 8 min speaking
• Troy Iwata (Guest) · 4 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Donald Trump, Bad Bunny, Kid Rock, Michael Kosta
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Donald Trump, Leigh Wambsganss, The Independent
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Donald Trump, Michael Kosta, Troy Iwata, Brantley Gilbert
4. 9:00 – 11:40: Troy Iwata

Notable quotes from "Trump Floats Canceling Midterms & MAGA Pushes Alt Super Bowl Halftime Show | The Daily Show"

• And everyone's excited for the Bad Bunny halftime show.

  about Bad Bunny · at 0:22

• Now, this Sunday, patriots like Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett are performing right when halftime starts for the NFL.

  about Kid Rock · at 1:41

• Donald Trump once again floated the idea of canceling the midterms.

  about Donald Trump · at 3:34

• That guy's from The Independent, a British paper.

  about The Independent · at 5:34

• For more on Trump's statements about canceling the midterms, we go live to the White House with Troy Iwata.

  about Troy Iwata · at 8:56

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Donald Trump — Person · Primary referenced political figure / subject of satire · 6 mentions · first at 0:04
  Central target of the segment: his comments about canceling midterms and 'taking over the voting' drive the episode’s political critique and jokes about authoritarian normalization.
• Michael Kosta — Person · Host / main speaker · 2 mentions · first at 0:01
  Introduces headlines, delivers the monologue, and anchors the field/desk exchange with Troy Iwata; he frames the critique of Trump’s 'jokes' as authoritarian signaling.
• Troy Iwata — Person · Correspondent / live-remote character in sketch · 2 mentions · first at 8:59
  Plays the on-location White House correspondent who insists Trump is 'joking,' embodying the episode’s critique of media/political spin and normalization.
• Bad Bunny — Person · Referenced celebrity / comedic foil in 'woke' culture-war bit · 2 mentions · first at 0:22
  Used as the punchline target for a parody of conservative outrage about the Super Bowl halftime show and 'wokeness.'
• Kid Rock — Person · Referenced musician in alternative 'conservative halftime show' joke · 2 mentions · first at 1:41
  Named as part of Turning Point USA’s 'All-American Halftime Show' lineup, serving as a recognizable anchor for the parody list of conservative performers.
• Brantley Gilbert — Person · Referenced musician in alternative halftime show lineup · 2 mentions · first at 1:41
  Included to build out the satirical 'who’s who of who?' list for the Turning Point USA alternative halftime show.
  Now, this Sunday, patriots like Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett are performing right when halftime starts for the NFL.
• Gabby Barrett — Person · Referenced musician in alternative halftime show lineup · 2 mentions · first at 1:44
  Part of the Turning Point USA lineup gag; later repeated in a list of Republicans who should 'stand up' to Trump for comedic contrast.
  Now, this Sunday, patriots like Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett are performing right when halftime starts for the NFL.
• Jordan Klepper — Person · Referenced correspondent / segment lead (off-screen mention) · 1 mention · first at 0:07
  Mentioned in the opening tease as having attended the 'Melania movie,' signaling another segment in the episode beyond the Trump/elections monologue.
  And Jordan Klepper went to the Melania movie so you didn't have to.
• Leigh Wambsganss — Person · Referenced political candidate (joke name) in election-results bit · 1 mention · first at 3:01
  Used as a comedic misdirect: audience cheers thinking a Democrat won, then host reveals Leigh Wambsganss was the Republican.
  Just so Leigh Wambsganss was the Republican, you idiots.

Companies & orgs

• The Independent — Company · Referenced media outlet · 1 mention · first at 5:34
  Mentioned as a British paper whose reporter asked a question that was criticized by the host

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Michael Kosta. We've got so much to talk about tonight. Trump wants to deport the midterms. The Super Bowl wokes up. And Jordan Klepper went to the Melania movie so you didn't have to. Hey, let's get into the headlines.

0:17 Let's start with the fun news. Super Bowl "Licks" is right around the corner. And everyone's excited for the Bad Bunny halftime show. And by-- And by everyone, I mean the radical woke communists who hate America. The NFL just chose the Bad Bunny Rabbit or whatever his name, this guy who hates ICE. And he doesn't sing in English. WOMAN: Someone who hates America. Who wants to watch a man wearing a dress anyway? WOMAN: It is woke puke. Bad Bunny's lyrics contain every sexual term possible in the most explicit and severe sexual terminology possible.

0:56 The lyric is, where are the horny ladies? One more dance and we're going to call the Vatican. I was in hell when I found a devil. I mean, is this who you want as your halftime entertainment? I mean, oh my god. Is-- is anyone else as mad and horny as I am right now? So yeah, there's no way Americans are going to want to watch a performance by the most popular musician in America. But good news-- there is a halftime alternative. And it's not just turning that seven-layer dip into a seven-layer poop. If you want to tune out the woke nonsense that the NFL is promoting during the halftime show, then tune in to Turning Point USA's All-American Halftime Show.

1:38 Their lineup just dropped, friends, and it's fire. Now, this Sunday, patriots like Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett are performing right when halftime starts for the NFL. Whoo! Huh? Man, that is a real who's who of-- who? We've got Gabby Barrett, Brantley Gilbert, Garby Billet, Billy Garbett, Breely Grabbers, Bobby Glaberd, Gaggy Bobbles, Barnacle Gaspardy, Babette Gingletree, Hologram Hulk Hogan, Gregory Bankle Bob, Kid Rock, and Kid Rock's father, Adult Rock. So yeah, it's great. This is great.

2:23 You know all those musicians-- unbelievable. It's great that there's a conservative halftime show. But what we really need is an alternative to the ultra-woke Puppy Bowl. OK? Who's a good boy? Who's a good girl? Why are they so obsessed with gender? Let's move on. The midterm elections are coming up. And things are not looking good for my boy, Donald Trump. His approval rating is in the toilet. And Democrats have been overperforming in every special election since he took office. Last week, they won an election in deep-red Texas by 14 points.

2:57 Yeah. Whew. Yeah. So let's give it up for Leigh Wambsganss. Let's hear it, Leigh Wambsganss. OK. Just so you know, Leigh Wambsganss was the Republican, you idiots. Good job following the news. But still, if Trump wants to avoid a blowout in the midterms, he's going to have to do something. Well, he could change his policies. He could slow down the rampant corruption. He could find less adorable kids to deport, so it's like, who cares? So, Mr. President, what's it going to be? Donald Trump once again floated the idea of canceling the midterms.

3:38 REPORTER: He boasted that he had accomplished so much that "when you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election." Yikes. [AUDIENCE BOOING] Yikes. Look, I do get the joy of canceling plans. No one loves bailing on drinks or a work dinner or my kid's piano recital more than me. But you can't cancel elections. Voting is the most American thing you can do besides, well, not voting. And forgive me for being serious for a moment. But the president suggesting that he might cancel the midterms appears to be the inflection point toward a dictatorship from which our nation cannot return.

4:19 This is serious. The president was simply joking. Oh. [LAUGHING FORCEFULLY] It was a joke. Forget it. It was a joke. Phew. That is a relief. Oh my god. I guess I was worried that it wasn't a joke. Because it's a little unusual for a president to joke about canceling an election. And also, this particular president actually did try to overturn an election. So I guess I don't get the joke? Can someone in the press corps please ask the White House what was funny about this? Are you saying that the president finds the idea of canceling elections funny?

4:56 Andrew, were you in the room? No, you weren't. I was in the room. I heard the conversation. Uh OK. It was "you had to be there" thing. But none of us be there. If I was in the room, then I would have gotten it from his tone. It's like when Chris Rock tells a joke about Black people. It works in the room. But it doesn't work later when Stephen Miller retells it at a Klan meeting. But-- but this-- This is why we have a press, to hold these people accountable. You can't blame the reporter for asking. That guy's from The Independent, a British paper.

5:38 And he is actually a weenie. And I hope that gets back to him. That guy is such a nerd. People like that-- I mean, that's why we hate the media. They're just nerds. Lighten up. Yeah. What a [BLEEP] nerd. So, OK, I've learned my lesson. The president was just joking about this election stuff. And I'm a cool guy. I get jokes. So I'm going to take all this much less seriously. REPORTER: This morning, President Trump trying to exert more control over the nation's elections, saying Republicans should, quote, "take over the voting."

6:14 OK. OK. OK. [STAMMERING] OK. This sounds scary. But I know now it's probably just another hilarious joke. Let's take over the elections. [BLOWS RASPBERRY] I'm going to cancel the midterms. I'm going to be president forever. [ASCENDING SLIDE WHISTLE] Thank you. I bet once you hear him actually say it, we'll get how funny it is. DONALD TRUMP: The Republicans should say, we want to take over. We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many-- 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. [DESCENDING SLIDE WHISTLE]

7:11 This all looks and sounds pretty bad. If Trump does even half the things he's saying, our democracy will be less recognizable than the lineup of the TP USA halftime show. Don't make-- don't make me use it again. The only thing that's giving me solace so far is that this is just talk. If Trump was really going to meddle with the midterms, he'd be laying the groundwork by manufacturing evidence that there's widespread election fraud. And he's not doing that, right? Right? [AUDIENCE MURMURING] Right? Happening now-- the FBI has seized all of the 2020 election ballots from Fulton County Georgia.

7:59 It's part of the Justice Department's effort to look for alleged voter fraud. President Trump keeps pushing this baseless claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Holy shit. Two things-- first of all, Trump, you got to get over 2020, man. I mean, 2020 is over. You don't see the rest of us being grateful for essential workers anymore. Move on. And secondly, I think it's pretty clear that Trump is not joking about meddling in the election this year. And the only way we can prevent it is if everyone stands up to stop him, especially Republicans.

8:36 I'm talking Mike Johnson, Lindsey Graham, Gabby Barrett, Brantley Gilbert, Bork Gutman, Gunk Butters, Griff Bortman, and, of course, Brickley Gobblebottom. God, I cannot wait for this halftime show. Oh my god. I'm [BLEEP] bursting. Whoo! For more on Trump's statements about canceling the midterms, we go live to the White House with Troy Iwata. Troy. Troy. Isn't all this election undermining disturbing? Oh my god, Michael. Trump was clearly joking, OK? The only disturbing thing here is how you can't take a joke. - I can take a joke. - Oh, really?

9:20 Knock, knock. - Who's there? You have no sense of humor. - That's not funny. - See? You-- you don't know when things are funny. So you can't tell when the president is joking. OK. But, Troy, here's the thing. The president says and does a lot of unusual things. How are we supposed to know when it's a joke? That's the thing, Kosta. It's all jokes. Trump's whole first year has been a bit. Like, like, dude, remember that time he made $1.4 billion in his first year as president? Can you say zing? I don't get how that's funny.

9:57 It's funny 'cause you're not-- you're not supposed to do that. Look, look, since you're such a weenie nerd, let me explain. You ever see Impractical Jokers, that show where a van full of fat Italian guys trick each other? This is that but with the president and no van. But he is fat. OK. How is canceling the midterms funny? Because it makes the country worse. Do you get it? - No, I don't. No. Dude, you are so gay. Wait. Aren't you gay? Yeah, as a bit. Look, look, you don't have to think Trump's funny. But you've got to admit, the dude loves jokes.

10:41 Really? Because he gets so mad at people who make jokes about him and Epstein. Because that's not funny. That's mean and rude. And Trump had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein, except that recurring bit, where Trump hung out with Jeffrey Epstein, you know, as a joke. Wait Troy. I'll be honest. I think Trump's supposed jokes are part of a larger strategy to normalize his authoritarian tendencies, gradually conditioning the public to accept the undermining of democratic norms until our basic constitutional rights have been completely and totally stripped away.

11:18 Yeah, I think you're right. And you got to admit, that's pretty funny. You got me. Troy Iwata, everyone.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Trump Floats Canceling Midterms & MAGA Pushes Alt Super Bowl Halftime Show | The Daily Show"?

Michael Kosta (Guest), Troy Iwata (Guest).

What is "Trump Floats Canceling Midterms & MAGA Pushes Alt Super Bowl Halftime Show | The Daily Show" about?

The discussion centers on Trump's controversial suggestion to cancel the midterms and critiques of the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show featuring Bad Bunny, who is portrayed as a symbol of "woke" values that some viewers disdain. In response, an alternative halftime show promoted by Turning Point USA features predominantly conservative artists, further highlighting the cultural divide…

What is mentioned in this The Daily Show episode?

10 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Michael Kosta, Troy Iwata, Bad Bunny, Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Trump Floats Canceling Midterms & MAGA Pushes Alt Super Bowl Halftime Show | The Daily Show"?

The episode runs 12 min; the transcript is about 1,687 words in 18 timestamped sections.

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