For his last installment of “Fingers the Pulse” before the 2024 election, Jordan Klepper knew he wanted people on the other side of the coin to experience the wild world of Trump rallies. What “The Daily Show” host didn’t expect was that he would unintentionally be showcasing a different side of Trump mania.
“Part of the premise built into this special is bringing outside people in to see it for the first time, because I’ve seen it for so long,” Klepper told TheWrap. “But we had quite a few [rallies] that were low energy, low turnout. People felt like they were going through the motions.”
Klepper made sure to note that every Trump rally is different. The mood of the event varies wildly based on the city the Republican nominee is appearing in and the conditions of the country at the time. He also noted that “Donald Trump gets a crowd.” But during the Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania rallies Klepper highlighted in “The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers The Pulse: Rally Together,” guests remarked the low energy at the events this time around. “The Daily Show” senior correspondent even called Detroit “a bit of a bust,” saying he heard there was talk about reorganizing the seating to account for smaller than expected crowd sizes.
“We had a similar response when I asked everybody. It was the idea of ‘This feels like rebellion for rebellion’s sake.’ Jeremy O. Harris talked about their attendance was proof that this thing mattered,” Klepper continued. “There is weirdness galore at a Trump rally that people got to see. But the essence of it did seem to be lacking for everyone, and that wasn’t by design. That was what we discovered.”
This discovery continues a trend for “Fingers the Pulse,” the senior correspondent’s ongoing series of specials that zoom in on the MAGA movement. On the surface, each of these specials pokes fun at MAGA voters through man-on-the-street interviews. But, in true “Daily Show” fashion, there’s always more when it comes to these segments. During his last one, Klepper explained why so many Trump devotees were fans of Russia. This time around, he invited five people — playwright Jeremy O. Harris, “Guys We F–ked” hosts Corinne Fisher and Krystyna Hutchinson, “Reno 911!” star Thomas Lennon and a Trump supporter Klepper affectionately calls MAGA Edward — to experience what politics is like on the other side.
“There’s so many things that are dangerous about [Trump] and to be made fun of. But I think you also lose sight of what is empathetic and understandable about the MAGA movement. There’s plenty of bad actors and they’re not a monolith, but there’s also a lot of people within that who are being manipulated,” Klepper said. “We are approaching it as a comedy show, and we don’t want to hide that bias. But we also try to connect with some of these people. Hopefully, you see some of them in your family members — your brothers, your sisters — and you kind of have that connection.”
Given the fast pace of this election cycle, “The Daily Show” team knew this special would have a quick turnaround. Planning for “Rally Together” started roughly two months ago, and filming began roughly three weeks before its airdate. But the real challenge involved selecting guests for this special. Because rally locations aren’t announced days before they happen, the team made a “wish list” of people they wanted to be involved and tried to match them to Trump’s schedule. Each guest was chosen to reflect a certain campaign issue or location.
For example, Klepper knew right away he wanted Harris to be involved to give his take on the performative nature of Trump’s rallies. Harris recently appeared on an episode of “The Daily Show” hosted by Klepper and the two “hit it off.”
“We didn’t want somebody from the political world trying to analyze that. I was like, ‘Let’s talk theater with Jeremy.’ So he was a natural fit for us,” Klepper said.
Fisher and Hutchinson were chosen because the special was in production around the time Trump was starting to do his “bro podcast run.” Knowing that he couldn’t speak on reproductive rights and freedoms from his position as a cis man, Klepper was adamant on recruiting someone who would be “closer” to this issue. Ultimately, the duo proved to be “a natural fit.”
A less obvious fit was Lennon, who came up with the idea to attend the rally as Lieutenant Jim Dangle. Lennon had previously reached out to Klepper about how much he enjoyed “Fingers the Pulse,” but it wasn’t until Trump announced he was going to Reno that it made sense for Lennon to join the team. Klepper likened Lennon to a “bull in a china shop” and was in awe about how people opened up to him.
“He’s like, ‘Dangle is beloved by left and right. I go places and, and there’s no drama about Dangle.’ And that was 100% true. He was the most popular person I’ve ever seen. He was like Santa Claus walking through the place,” Klepper said. Because Lennon led with comedy, that resulted in audience members jokingly agreeing to some very outlandish statements. “When you set the bar, like Donald Trump does, way high and you’re expanding the dystopian things you want as a reality even farther, it’s amazing to watch people jump on board with that.”
But the most interesting guest on “Rally Together” isn’t known by the general public. A Trump supporter who has appeared in several “Fingers the Pulse” segments, Klepper likened MAGA Edward to an uncle you “disagree with.” In the special, the Trump devotee who has proudly attended 93 rallies with the candidate attends his first Harris rally. Though he starts the event off with several preconceived notions, some of those fade away as the event continues, such as Edward’s stated belief that all Harris supporters are paid actors.
“Right off the bat, the paid actor thing started to get batted down frequently. It was hard to deny that there were a lot of people there and they were really, truly engaging in a way that Edward couldn’t just toss aside,” Klepper said.
The “Daily Show” host was quick to point out that MAGA Edward’s appearance was “tense,” a feeling that persists during his portion of the half-hour special. “People were not happy that he was there,” Klepper said. “People came in and were very aggressive. I had to assure them, like ‘Hey, I invited him here. He has been nothing but kind with me in the past, and I think he truly wants to have some conversations with people.’ We got pretty real, pretty quick.”
Klepper is under no illusions that the experience changed Edward politically. But he does believe it may have helped him better understand the other political side, which is the ultimate goal of these specials. “I do think there was a shift in his mindset at the end that this wasn’t a nothing movement,” he said.
Officially, this will be the last “Fingers the Pulse” segment before the 2024 election. But it’s possible that this segment will continue in the weeks and months to come.
“I don’t know when it ends, if it ever ends, if we’re all living in a weird dream state purgatory, and I will just be consistently out in the road talking to people with some nebulous election in the distance,” Klepper said. “That is yet to be told. But at least for this election, it’s the final special.”
“The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers The Pulse: Rally Together” premieres on Monday at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT.
