'The Daily Show' Interrogated Trump Supporters and They Have Some... Interesting Views
After the fires died down from Tuesday's testy Republican debate in Las Vegas, the The Daily Show added their two cents with a segment by correspondent Jordan Klepper exploring the mystical properties of the Donald Trump voter.
Taking the form of a focus group, Klepper asked the participants a number of questions about their views of the Donald and found that some would stick with the gadfly billionaire even if he called for a "national registry of Jews."
"This is a group that doesn't like statistics, thinks Muslims need not apply," said Klepper. "Some would consider rounding up the Jews."
While the Jewish question provoked division, the panel united behind their candidate and vowed to stick with him despite his already long list of normal political transgressions, like making fun of disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski and supporting a national registry of all Muslims.
The panel also seemed completely at ease quoting their candidate's often wildly inaccurate claims, in some cases adding their own fanciful twists.
"Did he say every single person that comes across our borders are criminals, rapists and drug dealers?" asked the woman in the front row. "I believe what he said, a majority of them, and you know what they're not disputing that. Nobody is disputing the figures."
In fact, those "figures" have been repeatedly disproven with a number of studies showing that in addition to undocumented immigration falling between the years of 2009 and 2014, cities with a high population of undocumented immigrants are safer and have less crime.
Chucking the media's traditionally staid approach to focus groups, Klepper took the opportunity to tell participants exactly what he thought of their supposed data. "I think the vast majority of your statistics are bullshit."
Another supporter who seemed slightly more conscious of the cameras pointed at him took a somewhat softer approach when discussing Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the U.S. Klepper, still, was not having it.
"I think what everyone is overlooking, though, is that Trump has brought this to the forefront," the man said. "Maybe it was crude, maybe a lot of us don't agree with that position, but what he has done is everyone's talking about it."
Klepper offered this analogous scenario: "I mean, I could walk into my friend's apartment, take a shit on his rug, and now everyone is talking about whether they should get a new rug. That doesn't make me the good guy."
Though obviously in jest, the segment takes on added significance as the first voting of the 2016 presidential contest approaches. Trump has sat atop the polls for months, taking down once mighty rivals like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and presumed frontrunner former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. With the Iowa caucus just weeks away, however, the billionaire is facing perhaps his most potent challenge in Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who leads Trump in a number of critical Iowa polls. Still, Trump continues to dominate the polls on a national level.
Watch the full segment below:
