In the span of just five days, Ronna McDaniel has seen her career as a television pundit be both born then brutally executed for all the world to see. And while Jordan Klepper says he doesn’t “really give a shit,” there is one issue it brings to light for The Daily Show correspondent and guest host.
On Friday, NBC News announced that they had hired McDaniel as an on-air contributor, which resulted in an immediate backlash among many of the network’s VIPs, including Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
McDaniel, the former Republican Party leader, has attempted to distance herself from efforts she made to overturn the 2020 election, however reports indicate her close ties to Donald Trump ahead of the violent insurrection as he attempted to maneuver his way back into the White House.
By Tuesday, McDaniel’s deal was dead in the water—a tenure that The Daily Show correspondent/guest host Jordan Klepper says equals “less screen time than dead bodies on Law & Order get.”
“This is sad for Ronna,” Klepper shared on Wednesday, “But also, I don’t really give a shit. There are a lot more important things to worry about. I mean, P. Diddy is on the loose. He can be anywhere!”
Klepper said that while his care factor on the issue remained at zero, he noted the situation “points to a larger question in America, which is: What should happen with the people who did January 6?”
Specifically, Klepper is concerned about how the narrative surrounding the insurrectionists has changed over the past three years.
In the immediate aftermath of the events of Jan. 6, he explained, everyone—including Trump, at least publicly—claimed that what happened at the Capitol was a bad thing and those who took part needed to be punished.
“And the good news is that justice did play out,” Klepper notes. “The fake electors were charged; Trump lawyers are being disbarred; hundreds of rioters were arrested and put in jail, and it’s still continuing today.”
While most of the world has moved on from the events of that day, Klepper says that Trump and his MAGA faithful—including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)—are “rewriting” the script, showing clips of the aforementioned calling the rioters of that day “heroes” and “patriots” and those who have been jailed “hostages” and “prisoners of war.”
Reacting to this reversal, Klepper insisted, “We can’t normalize this. Do you remember when [Trump] wasted three months of our lives being mad at Colin Kaepernick for kneeling for the national anthem? Now he’s saluting rioters [and] insurrectionists.
“But that’s where we are now,” Klepper continued. “And Ronna McDaniel trying to get a job at NBC is just the latest example of Jan. 6ers trying to get back into the mainstream.”
Another example? Jacob Chansley—the so-called “QAnon Shaman” who became the painted face of January 6—is running for Congress.
“The people who did January 6 are trying to get back in power,” Klepper explains. “If they lose, they’ll do January 6 again. Hell, if they win, they’ll probably still do January 6 again. Just for old time’s sake.”
