Why Trump’s No Laughing Matter—Even for Me: Comic

Summary

The Daily Beast Podcast: “Why Trump’s No Laughing Matter—Even for Me: Comic”

Date: December 1, 2025
Host: Joanna Coles
Guests: Zoran Garg (comedian, family podcast matriarch), Zoya Garg (her daughter)

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Episode Overview

In this lively installment, host Joanna Coles brings together Zoran Garg—a standup comic and matriarch of a podcasting Indian-American family—and her daughter Zoya. The episode delves into the intersection of politics, comedy, and the immigrant experience, using Donald Trump and other public figures as springboards for deeper conversations. They discuss how political attitudes diverge in the Indian-American community, the nuances of assimilation and identity (with a spotlight on public figures like Usha Vance and Kamala Harris), and the complexities of navigating American politics as immigrants. All of this is wrapped up in familial anecdotes, sharp humor, and an undercurrent of cross-generational affection and debate.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Political Comedy and Family Dynamics

• Zoran avoids political comedy, preferring to mine material from family relationships—particularly the mother-in-law dynamic that most brown comics, as she notes, “are too afraid” to tackle (02:35).
  • “It’s easier to take on Trump than it is your own mother-in-law.” – Zoran Garg (03:01)
• The pressure and pride surrounding high-achieving immigrant families is explored through anecdotes about recent political successes in the Indian-American community (e.g., Mira Nair’s son becoming mayor).

Women Collaborating in Comedy and Beyond

• Lessons from working with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey:
  • Zoran highlights how their friendship and collaboration redefined what’s possible for women in entertainment and business.
  • “I learned that women not only can, but should work together… we have to work together and we will find ways to be collaborative and not competitive.” – Zoran Garg (06:10)
  • The importance of role models who achieve ambitious goals without micromanaging, modeling professional structures for creative ambitions (08:00).

Familial Ties: Best-Friend Waitlist & Mother-Daughter Banter

• Zoya jokes about never reaching the top of her mother’s “best-friend waitlist,” pointing out that building family rapport—and rivalry—is central to their on-air and off-air relationship (09:10–10:40).
  • “I’m on the wait list to be her best friend. And I’m consistently reminded of that… If I do well, I rise, but sometimes I fall.” – Zoya Garg (10:00)

The Indian-American Perspective on Trump

• Complex relationship with Trump:
  • Zoran offers an unvarnished, sometimes countercultural take:
    • “The Indian community loves Trump. It is what it is… We don’t have the problems with him that a lot of people in America have.” – Zoran Garg (10:57)
    • She attributes this to familiarity with corruption among politicians in India: “Of course he’s a criminal. They all are. Like, nobody who’s not a criminal wants to do this job.” – Zoran Garg (11:10)
  • Indian-Americans often echo Trump’s focus on legal immigration, having personally waited through years of bureaucracy: “We could not understand why [the Biden administration was] not taking [illegal immigration] seriously.” (11:25)
  • Critique of Trump is less about the issues and more about his “execution.” (12:35)

Usha Vance and Interfaith/Interrace Integration

• Admiration for Usha Vance:
  • Zoya calls her “very aspirational,” noting that her public embrace of an interracial, interfaith marriage demonstrates new ways of being American, Indian, and conservative simultaneously (12:52–13:26).
  • The controversy about Usha Vance’s faith and her husband’s wish she'd convert to Christianity is downplayed. Both Gargs suggest their marriage reflects genuine integration, not shallow compromise (14:01).

The Role of Indian Ethos in Politics

• Indian-ness is inextricable:
  • “You cannot be more Indian than Usha Vance. And that’s not gonna change no matter what church she prays to or doesn’t pray to.” – Zoran Garg (20:52)
  • Indian-Americans are depicted as highly adaptable, growing up amid a diversity of religions, and this fluidity is held up as a strength (21:32).

Why Indian-Americans See Trump Differently

• Admiration for business success:

  • Trump’s image as a dealmaker and businessman resonates deeply in Indian culture, where entrepreneurship is more tangible than political idealism (22:06–22:32).
  • “We expect [politicians] all to be liars… That’s a given.” – Zoran Garg (22:50)

• Entertainment bravado and politics:

  • Indians are used to political leaders employing entertainment tactics, citing Modi’s dramatic Instagram photos: “It’s like a borderline thirst trap… and he is single, so people are always like, well, you never know.” – Zoran Garg & Zoya Garg (24:10–24:19)

Critique of American Media Narratives

• Media’s expectations of cheerfulness:

  • Gargs humorously debunk the expectation that Indian public figures must look cheerful: “We’re Indian people. We’re not cheerful.” – Zoran Garg (19:46)
  • Indian wedding photos seldom feature smiles; it’s not an indication of unhappiness (20:18).

• Indifference to misinformation:

  • Indian-Americans are accustomed to misinformation in media and don’t let inaccuracies become a focus, preferring to look at real-world outcomes (25:36–26:42).

On Kamala Harris and Cultural Representation

• Mixed feelings about Kamala Harris:
  • Zoya expresses disappointment that Harris did not lean into her Indian identity: “Her name is Indian. Kamala. It means lotus.” (30:45–30:49)
  • Zoran acknowledges it’s tough to prioritize all aspects of a multifaceted identity in politics (30:57).

Rising Political Hostility and the Next Generation’s Fears

• Disturbing reactions to political violence:

  • Zoran describes her son growing up amidst increasing online hate, referencing classmates celebrating the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
  • “It just felt so mean… He came home so shaken.” – Zoran Garg (32:15)
  • Zoya connects this to the echo chambers and misinformation on TikTok (32:59).

• The Trump Children’s Behavior as Public Figures:

  • Zoran contrasts the Trump children’s public image with those of other wealthy families: “…the Trump kids are the serious kids, like, whatever they’re doing… the one thing we didn’t see was, in fact, the funniest thing… I think I saw Melania once at Lululemon, trying to return an $8 headband. I was like, am I hallucinating?” (35:04)

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On politics and comedy: “It’s easier to take on Trump than it is your own mother in law.” – Zoran Garg (03:01)
• On collaboration among women: “I learned that women have to collaborate because the success is unmatched.” – Zoran Garg (07:56)
• On Indian attitudes to corruption: “Of course he’s a criminal. They all are. Like, nobody who’s not a criminal wants to do this job.” – Zoran Garg (11:10)
• On Indian-American legal immigration: “Ask any Indian person, we have relatives who’ve been waiting 15 years in line because that’s the right thing to do.” – Zoran Garg (11:25)
• On Usha Vance’s Americanness and Indian-ness: “You cannot be more Indian than Usha Vance. And that’s not gonna change no matter what church she prays to or doesn’t pray to.” – Zoran Garg (20:52)
• On Kamala Harris’s heritage: “Her name is Indian. Kamala. It means lotus.” – Zoya Garg (30:45–30:49)
• On the Trump kids: “The one thing we never saw the Trump kids do is be drinking, be slobbering all over town. We never saw any of that with any of the Trumps.” – Zoran Garg (33:25)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:37–02:55: Indian community’s political attitudes and the challenge of political comedy
• 06:01–09:09: Insights from working with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey; collaboration among women
• 10:57–12:46: The Indian-American community’s mixed but often positive view of Trump
• 12:48–15:18: Usha Vance’s role as an aspirational figure and faith in interfaith marriage
• 16:00–21:32: Indian ethos’ influence on public and political life; adaptation across cultures
• 22:06–23:43: Why Indians relate to Trump as a businessman; parallels to Indian politics
• 25:36–26:42: Disregard for media inaccuracies, focus on lived experience
• 30:23–31:05: Mixed feelings about Kamala Harris and representation
• 31:59–32:59: The disturbing normalization of celebrating political violence among youth
• 33:25–35:04: The Trump kids’ reputation in New York society

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Final Thoughts

The conversation upends many mainstream narratives, providing a refreshingly candid and, at times, provocative perspective on how Indian-Americans interpret American politics, identity, and success. With humor, insight, and familial warmth, the Gargs remind listeners that the immigrant experience can lead to counterintuitive political sympathies, unexpected forms of pride, and an unshakeable sense of who you are—even when everything else is up for debate.

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Transcript

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[Zoran Garg]

So Indian community has not had the problems with Trump in the way that America has because we don't he me personally, I don't think he should be doing things the way he's doing that I have a problem with his execution.

[Joanna Coles]

I'm Joanna Coles. This is the Daily Beast podcast. We've got advice for you from from the only Indian family that has a family podcast. I'm talking of course about the Zargs. Zhana Zag is the matriarch. Zoya is her daughter. They're also going to give you a different perspective on ushavants and how JD is fully integrated into a Hindu lifestyle. And, well, they're just going to blow your mind about many, many things and give you a good laugh. So are you tempted to do the shows I've seen you've done haven't been political?

[Zoran Garg]

No.

[Joanna Coles]

Are you tempted to do politics at all.

[Zoran Garg]

I have a lot of political opinions, but I try not to do it. I don't do political comedy because it feels like every other comic wants to. You know, the space that I'm in, nobody seems to want to be in. There are so many brown comics today that are married, but they don't want to talk about their mother in laws.

[Joanna Coles]

Right.

[Zoran Garg]

They're too afraid. So I feel like.

[Joanna Coles]

So you're going there. So actually that's the elephant in the wall.

[Zoran Garg]

It's easier to take on Trump than it is your own mother in law.

[Joanna Coles]

And you're an Indian mom. Another Indian mom must be feeling very proud. Her son at the age of 34, got elected mayor of New York. I'm obviously talking about Mira Nair, the filmmaker.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah.

[Joanna Coles]

What do you think she's thinking?

[Zoran Garg]

She is probably so happy. I mean, look, he's not a doctor, so there's a limit to how much she can feel pride. But New York City mayor, not bad. And I, she's so happy. I think she has a lot of faith in her son. You can see it in the images. And we actually, you know, Zoran is an alum of my high school.

[Zoya Garg]

Yeah. He went to Bronx Science. And so my high school is incredibly happy for him. Even though he has his own issues with my school and the specialized testing program that gets them into those schools.

[Joanna Coles]

Which he wants to know, he wants.

[Zoya Garg]

To get rid of, which I really strongly hope that he reconsiders because I think that program is one of the few meritocratic systems that exists in America. Of course it has its own, own issues in terms of like, certain students can get certain levels of tutoring. But it's also one of the few things where it's just a test. There's no other way to get in. I think that America needs more of those. But one thing that I found so special was at the end when he got elected, his family came out, his beautiful Indian parents, and they played Dhum Machale, which is a very Bollywood song. It's like a remix. And no matter who you voted for, to just hear that song played with a big American audience in the most important city in the country. I was so. I almost cried. I mean, I was just like, I cannot believe that this song is going to be listened to by so many people. And like, I grew up, we grew up hearing that that's a song that's played at Indian weddings, you know, like, and only at Indian weddings, you wouldn't hear it anywhere else. And so it was just really Special.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah. But I'm sure Mira is excited, ecstatic, and probably a little nervous.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Zoran Garg]

Politics, as we know, is not. It's not like fun and games. Winning is a big thing, but it's the start.

[Joanna Coles]

Is she going to move into Gracie Mansion with him? The mayor's residence?

[Zoran Garg]

Probably. She's a mother in law at the end of the day. You know what I mean?

[Zoya Garg]

He's watching that whole situation.

[Zoran Garg]

She's watching. I'm sure she's asking him, where, when are the grandkids coming? Listen, all the things that every mother in law, including me, I will be.

[Zoya Garg]

Doing if I was running for mayor and she is my mom, one day.

[Joanna Coles]

You might run for mayor.

[Zoya Garg]

Well, listen, let it be known I would love to get into politics one day, but I.

[Zoran Garg]

No, she's not getting into politics. Nobody has heard that.

[Zoya Garg]

Okay. I know that if I was running for mayor, I would be hovered upon 24, 7. I know she would move in. I know that she would be checking everything that I wrote and said. I know she'd be grading me on what I said. Right. This was actually a B grade. What you said in that interview, that wasn't very good. That's exactly what would happen. And I'm sure his mom was treating him the same way until the moment he got elected. I'm sure there was, like, pressure on him at the highest level.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah.

[Zoya Garg]

You know, it's like you weren't a doctor. You may as well be the mayor.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah. That's what you should do.

[Zoya Garg]

Something.

[Zoran Garg]

Do something.

[Joanna Coles]

Zoran, so you also spent two years opening for Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. What did you learn in that experience?

[Zoran Garg]

I learned that women not only can, but should work together. So to watch these two iconic comedic powerhouses, it is clear to me that one would not, neither would become who they became without the other's friendship. So even though they have their own production companies, they have their own projects, the fact that they have each other in their corners has been their superpower. And I came up in a generation where work and friends don't mix, Business and family don't mix. Working with them and watching them in close quarters gave me the confidence that that is actually outdated. At the very least, if not completely wrong. In a world where so many women are working now and out there, building their own projects, building their own companies, we have to work together and we will find ways to be collaborative and not competitive. And I really. I mean, working with them was bittersweet. 1. The sweetest part is just having that experience and also knowing that they could have had anybody. Their Tina Fey, their Amy Poehler, the vote of conference. They also on the back of my book. I mean, so they could have had.

[Zoya Garg]

And Amy Poehler invited us on her podcast.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah, her podcast.

[Zoya Garg]

She invited me too, which she did not have to do. And she was so inviting and so welcoming. And both times I met them at the shows, they just could not speak more highly of your talent, which was really like, special. I mean, I just still get goosebumps talking about that. And also I think it's really funny we talked about it in the Amy episode, but she's obsessed with enneagrams. Do you know what the enneagram exam is? And like scoring. And Tina and I had the same score and you had the same score as Amy. And I just thought that was so sweet that they just are.

[Zoran Garg]

No, but I learned. I really learned that women have to collaborate because the success is unmatched. If you find that little pod of women who can support each other and also not just support like you don't have to sometimes it's just a word of encouragement where you think you had the worst day ever and you need somebody who understands, who can help you get through. Has been. And also you can have big ambitions. I learned from them. They learn. They run huge companies, they produce so many projects. It was eye opening to watch how they do it. Like, they. They don't involve themselves in the low grade decisions anymore. Like, that's something I learned up close. That even as they are artists and they truly are like, you know, they are running proper businesses. They are proper running proper businesses with proper structures and systems in place. So I was already ambitious when I got into this business and it kind of scaled a thousand levels up. Just watching them and how they did it, I feel a little sad because I don't know if I would ever have a friend who would be my equal that way. That's why she's like my little.

[Zoya Garg]

Did you just call us friends?

[Zoran Garg]

No.

[Joanna Coles]

No, she didn't.

[Zoya Garg]

Was that affection?

[Joanna Coles]

She just sort of did you.

[Zoya Garg]

That was the closest. I just want everyone to know that little tap. That's the most we've ever gotten.

[Joanna Coles]

Oh, I'm proud that we got.

[Zoran Garg]

I know.

[Zoya Garg]

I mean, thank you daily for letting.

[Zoran Garg]

Us be on the wait list.

[Zoya Garg]

Oh, yeah. One of the funniest moments on our family podcast is she's my best friend. Everybody on the Internet knows that. Everybody in my world knows that. It's been true since I was 12. I remember when I had a crush on a guy. I Was in middle school, I had a crush on a guy and I knew that he would want to hang out with me if he met my mom because she would make him laugh. This was way before she was a stand up comedian. So I was like, oh, do you want to get pizza at my house? And what I did was I was like, mom, like, for these two hours, can you just be hovering in the living room so we can make conversation? And he had a crush on me back, probably because she was so funny.

[Joanna Coles]

People like to laugh.

[Zoya Garg]

I know. And people also like to avoid meeting the parents, obviously, because they're usually so awkward and embarrassing. But in my case, it was like, she was so funny. But, yeah, I'm on the wait list to be her best friend. And I'm consistently reminded of that. And based on my actions in the business, if I do well, I rise, but sometimes I fall.

[Joanna Coles]

Have you ever made the top of the wait list?

[Zoya Garg]

No, that's always been the eldest son. My brother. Yeah, it's hard to beat him. He's very handsome.

[Zoran Garg]

What can you do? Yeah, I have a lot of people on that wait list.

[Zoya Garg]

You might be on that wait list.

[Zoran Garg]

I want to be on the wait list.

[Joanna Coles]

I want to be on the wait. I want to get higher up the waitlist.

[Zoran Garg]

You're higher than Zoya.

[Joanna Coles]

We'll exchange.

[Zoya Garg]

Exchange notes.

[Zoran Garg]

You two can form a support group.

[Joanna Coles]

We could form our own friendship immediately, on our way.

[Zoya Garg]

And then we can create some leverage. Yes, we need that.

[Zoran Garg]

See? Women working together.

[Joanna Coles]

Collaboration. Collaboration.

[Zoran Garg]

I can give you a hot take. I mean, the Indian community loves Trump. It is what it is. The Indian community loves Trump. We don't have the problems with him that a lot of people in America have.

[Joanna Coles]

Why is that?

[Zoran Garg]

Well, first of all, all our politicians are crooked back home, so that just seems to be a job requirement. That's so true. I mean, like, they're like, of course he's a criminal. They all are. Like, nobody who's not a criminal wants to do this job.

[Joanna Coles]

Interesting.

[Zoran Garg]

So we're kind of comfortable with that. You know what I mean? Like, of course he's cheated on his wife. They all do. So we don't even consider any of those issues. Now, when it comes to immigration, Indian people, by and large, are legal immigrants in America, which means it was years of waiting, years of applying paperwork, hundreds and thousands of verifications, and submit this and submit that. So the whole illegal immigration thing was something that we never really got on board with. We did not understand what was happening during the Biden administration. We could not understand why they were not taking this seriously, because we all ask any Indian person, we have relatives who've been waiting 15 years in line because that's the right thing to do. And then yet it felt like anybody who was breaking the law was getting rewarded. So Indian community has not had the problems with Trump in the way that America has, because we don't. Me, personally, I don't think he should be doing things the way he's doing them. I have a problem with his execution. But a lot of the problems that he has highlighted are real problems. And just saying that the problem doesn't exist is not gonna make them go away.

[Joanna Coles]

So let me ask you about Usha Vance.

[Zoya Garg]

Yes. Let's talk about. I have a lot of thoughts on her.

[Joanna Coles]

I want to hear what the Indian community makes of ushavants.

[Zoya Garg]

Yeah, I mean, I, I, I think Usha Vance is very aspirational, especially as a girl that's dating American guys. She makes me feel confident that it's not abnormal to be in an interracial relationship, that it's not abnormal to have conservative points of view. I think it's really special that there's actually one that's taken such a public position. Her kids are, you know, out there on Instagram constantly, and I think it's really actually a good thing for America.

[Joanna Coles]

What did you make of his comment that he hoped that she would convert to Christianity?

[Zoya Garg]

I think it was taken out of turn because if that was really true, if he meant it in that fully saturated way, then there's no way that they would have gotten married. Like, that's a decision that has been made 20 years ago, I would say. And I think the idea that he is so afraid of her faith and her decision to not convert, like, there's no way that they would be together and have kids at this point. I mean, I just feel like, objectively.

[Joanna Coles]

I think he had a Hindu pandit.

[Zoya Garg]

At that point, and I've seen him.

[Zoran Garg]

In the outfits, those outfits when he's wearing. First of all, if he truly needs her to convert, like, Hinduism is the most liberal religion, please go. We got a billion and a half. We're never worried about losing a number. Like, that's not our issue. We have too many. We're embarrassed, but I don't think, I think it was. Look, he's a politician, right?

[Joanna Coles]

Yeah.

[Zoran Garg]

So he's gotta say things a certain way so that his base is not upset. We are looking at the reality of what we're seeing. We actually, I have friends who are friends with them. In real life because they're both Yale professors, Yale graduates, Yale graduates. And like, from what we know personally, what little. And from a far distance, he's fully integrated into her Hindu life. Like, the kids eat Indian food, the in laws come and go out of the house. So I don't think it's this dramatic. I think he may have meant it as a, you know, I wish she did. But like my husband wishes I did 100 things right. Like, I wish she talked to my mother. Like, not happening. And none of this is to say that he's a saint and that he doesn't have problematic positions. Nobody's perfect. Have we not learned that?

[Joanna Coles]

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[Joanna Coles]

And I'm back. What are Usha's parents who are Democrats? What are they thinking? Are they just thrilled their daughter's married to the vice president? Do they have anxiety about his positions, do you think? I mean, they were very avowedly Democrats and they're first. Obviously they're immigrants.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah. I mean, I think that they trust their daughter.

[Zoya Garg]

Do you trust me?

[Zoran Garg]

No. No. Because you have shown very poor judgment.

[Zoya Garg]

Because, like, do you see what just happened there? That was such a moment of like, wow, my mom is so accepting, but then completely contradicts with my own.

[Zoran Garg]

You, you sometimes agree with your dad, which is the first sign that you married my dad.

[Zoya Garg]

So I'm supposed to.

[Zoran Garg]

We're trying to undo some damages over here. I think they trust their daughter. I think they trust that the big picture will work out, even though there will be disagreements along the way. And I think that that's what we've lost in America as a whole, 100%. Every little disagreement seems to threaten the relationship at large. You can't go on like that and.

[Zoya Garg]

That it's all or nothing, that if she does marry a conservative man, then it's gone, she's out.

[Zoran Garg]

Right.

[Zoya Garg]

Like, I'm glad to see that that has changed in our own culture.

[Joanna Coles]

When you look at the, the pictures of her, the photos of her, do you think she looks cheerful?

[Zoya Garg]

It's a good question.

[Zoran Garg]

We're Indian people. We're not cheerful.

[Zoya Garg]

I see her stressed, but I feel like she's stressed about if her kids are doing well in math. I feel like her stress is more to do.

[Zoran Garg]

If you see, listen, an Indian kid pretty much wins the national spelling bee every Year. Have you seen what that kid looks like in the. There is no smile. He looks like he's gonna pass out. This 15 year old kid, 12 year old kid looks like he's about to have a heart attack. And his mother's proud. She's like, look how hard I worked him.

[Zoya Garg]

Yeah.

[Zoran Garg]

No one's smiling.

[Joanna Coles]

No one's smiling. Okay, so we're looking for the wrong thing.

[Zoran Garg]

Listen, I do think that the media can tend to skew one way, that if they don't see every marker of how they see things, something's wrong. Indian people, if you look at our wedding photos, not one person smiling. My own wedding photo, everybody's crying, why?

[Zoya Garg]

But I also think it's gonna. I think it's gonna really shake up the snow globe for the Conservative party of like, what does it mean? Like, what does this mean for our policies? Does this mean that we're going to accept Usha? Because I think they're gonna make a presidential run.

[Joanna Coles]

Of course.

[Zoya Garg]

And so I'm really curious to see.

[Zoran Garg]

And she is going to be Indian and she is going to be Hindu wherever she is. Yeah. Whether she converts or not is irrelevant. You're not taking 50 years of Hinduism out of somebody because she decided today, you know, she comes from a value system that is so Textbook Indian. Yeah. 100%, you know, extreme academic giftedness. Having that traditional marriage, having the children, having the parents around all the time. You cannot be more Indian than Usha Vance. And that's not gonna change no matter what church she prays to or doesn't pray to Indian people. We are in and out of every cultures. Like India is a very secular nation like that.

[Zoya Garg]

Yeah, it is.

[Zoran Garg]

I grew up going to school with Jewish people, with Catholic people, with Christian. We have. Because we're so many people. Forget how many of each culture we have. There's 300 million Muslims in India, more than any other country on earth.

[Zoya Garg]

And I think that's why also the Indian community found so much resonance with Trump because. Or President Trump, because my dad, for example, never took an American history class. He's never taken an American history class in his life. Not because he's not very well educated. He went to iit, which is like the Harvard, Stanford of India. But it's just not prioritized in the curriculum.

[Zoran Garg]

Right.

[Zoya Garg]

There are other things like STEM or history. Yeah. Or like philosophy is like, oh my God, he didn't even know. He still doesn't know what classics is. I think he's like, what is classics? What did my daughter study at Stanford. And so what was admirable was that President Trump could be seen as, like, a business person, because that is something that Indian people can understand and aspire to in their own families constantly. So that real image really did win favor with a lot of people.

[Zoran Garg]

Indian people support her.

[Zoya Garg]

Indian people.

[Zoran Garg]

And I know I'll get a lot of hate. She will get hate for it, because it's not cool to support her. And I'm not saying we support him. I'm saying our community understands. We expect them all to be liars.

[Joanna Coles]

Right. So you expect them to be corrupt. You expect them to be liars.

[Zoran Garg]

That's a given. It's like how we were talking about acting, Right. Indian people don't, like. No proper Indian person is trying to be an actor. So we expect that this person probably failed out of everything else. This is their last one also.

[Zoya Garg]

I think Indian people are very used to bravado in, like, an extreme sense. Right. Like, Prime Minister Modi is a very, like, he is playing the entertainment card in his political run. I mean, he takes photos on mountains and, like, just has, like. You look at his Instagram, and it's like. It's, like, not propaganda, but it's very positioned in a certain kind of way.

[Zoran Garg]

And you learn from the Americans, by the way.

[Zoya Garg]

Yeah, he's like, this works using Bollywood inspiration to run his own campaign. So we're very familiar with, like, the merging of, like, this entertainment type bravado with politics, and I think that is something that we are familiar with.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah. I mean, Modi did a whole photo op in a cave in a mountain at, like, an extremely high elevation, where he got in religious clothing and just posed as a yogi. Like, he. You know, listen, he's like, they like to see. And then he did a photo op in scuba gear. Yeah. To look young. Yeah, he did.

[Zoya Garg]

And it got millions of likes on Instagram. And, like, all of Instagram broke for a day because India was so up.

[Zoran Garg]

In arms about this photo.

[Zoya Garg]

But it's like a borderline thirst trap.

[Zoran Garg]

Yeah, it's a borderline. And he is single, so people are always like, well, you know, you never know.

[Zoya Garg]

I wonder how many Indian women slide in his DMs.

[Zoran Garg]

But we don't. I will tell you that during the Biden administration, we were the Indian community, the immigrant community that worked, got work visas and stuff. To come here was like, how is this going on? Like, what is happening at the south border and the north border? Like, I do a lot of international touring, so I meet people abroad constantly. And yes, they make fun of Trump. Yes, they do all of that, for sure. Especially the Europeans. They love Trashy and Trump and they're right for a lot of it. But they all were like, what is going on with your border? Like, you cannot just walk into Switzerland. You just cannot. You cannot just walk into Canada. Forget anybody else. You cannot walk into India. My son is extremely liberal on some topics. We went to India. I'm also extremely liberal on we went to India.

[Zoya Garg]

For the record, we went to India.

[Zoran Garg]

A few months ago. He was blown away. With the amount of security at the Indian border we had to go through as overseas citizens that. That we all are. He was blown away. It took a good 20 minutes for all of us to get through clearance. So people, as much as they make fun of him, they were like, but how is it that people are just walking in?

[Zoya Garg]

Also, misinformation is not something the Indian community generally cares about.

[Joanna Coles]

That's interesting.

[Zoya Garg]

I think what the Indian community cares a lot about is, like, just actions, like, seeing things change, seeing things move. They already. I think you spoke to this, but, like, there's so much misinformation in India constantly. Even, like, one of the biggest magazines, like, the most important newspaper in India, couldn't get accurate. Where she in America was from?

[Zoran Garg]

Oh, there was like, my book has chapters of how I spent years in Akron, Ohio. And in the reviews, they're like, she was in Detroit.

[Zoya Garg]

And this is like, this is the New York Times of India. This was in every newspaper. And they got it wrong. Where she was from. They were like, she hails from Michigan. Michigan. And we were like, what? When was she in Michigan? And so I don't care. So.

[Zoran Garg]

And I, like, I was trying to be polite and actually, like, make them aware that they'd made this. I was thinking, at least on the digitals, they can fix this. And they're like, oh, it makes no difference. That was the response.

[Zoya Garg]

It's just wild.

[Joanna Coles]

We're just going to take some messages from our sponsors.

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B r-I k.com Dear Career Ladder, you've had your moment. You're linear and one dimensional. Ambition doesn't change, just go up anymore. It zigs and zags and squiggles. We're CEOs, executives, founders. We're advising companies, launching side hustles, taking breaks, defining our next act ambition on our terms. The possibilities are endless. Chief Lead on. Join [e-mail].

[Joanna Coles]

And we're back. It's so interesting getting your point of view because it's so different to the point of view we normally think about, especially around Usha and her parents and Mamdani. It's fantastic.

[Zoran Garg]

They're gonna be bringing their Indian ethos wherever they go they can and I hope they do.

[Zoya Garg]

I really like, I really admire Usha fans. I really, really admire her. And I hope that there are more Usha Vance equivalents in all political parties on both sides.

[Zoran Garg]

On all sides. We were very excited when the Obamas were elected too. We were like, it's new, it's different. It's like they're really breaking barriers. Not in the cliched way, but look at what they've done, what they've done since. So we want change on both sides, but we're not there to vilify. The Trumps have done the Trumps, I now say plural. Cause the kids are also doing family business.

[Zoya Garg]

I mean truly and even in that regard it's aspirational. What for example, like this peace negotiated deal between that they were able to get the hostages out. That was a family affair.

[Zoran Garg]

I will tell you, nobody abroad was afraid of Biden or Harris, but everybody is afraid of Trump. That's something you hear everywhere you go. Yeah. Like, he's crazy. He can do anything.

[Joanna Coles]

I haven't even asked you about Kamala Harris, but she's half Indian too. How did you feel about Kamala?

[Zoya Garg]

So we. I was a little disappointed with how little she actually claimed that part of her identity in her political run. It was a lot about how, you know, she represents the black community, which she absolutely does. And that's not to take away from that. But her name is Indian. Kamala.

[Zoran Garg]

It's Kamala. Right?

[Zoya Garg]

That's how you pronounce it in Hindi.

[Zoran Garg]

Lotus. It means lotus.

[Zoya Garg]

It means lotus. And so I felt like she didn't do a lot, actually, to, like, mobilize the Indian American effort, not to criticize her and her campaign, but I think.

[Zoran Garg]

That would be a priority. I think it was not a priority. I think she had to choose because she had so many identities that she was. And so little time.

[Zoya Garg]

Yes.

[Zoran Garg]

That she had to make a choice. Who are you gonna go for? Who are you targeting? And, I mean, she's brilliant. She's a brilliant woman. And again, very textbook Indian. You know, academic, professional job. Succeeded at a professional job for many years. Yeah. Lawyer. And, you know, we thought she was great. And had she been president, we would have been equally as supportive of her. Right. As we are with Trump. We don't. We are not sitting there. The hate that we saw for him, we felt like the liberal side was getting vicious. We saw that, actually, Charlie Kirk's death. All my kids are public school kids. Right. I remember my little one was in school when he was shot. And then when the kids all came out, middle school kids, they all, you know, fired up their phones and they all saw the actual shooting. And he saw these girls celebrating.

[Zoya Garg]

Yeah.

[Zoran Garg]

The death. And it felt like, it's okay. You don't have to like him. You don't have to agree with him. But it just felt so mean. And then he came home so shaken. He's like, I can't believe they were all like, yeah, yeah, watch the shooting again.

[Zoya Garg]

Well, not just that. What's even more frightening about that is Veer, the youngest and of the Gargs. He's 13, and he's on our podcast, and he's a beloved point of view on our podcast. I mean, he's always getting A grades from our audience. He's putting his perspective on things on the Internet every single day on really tough topics. And the idea behind that is to show that any person of any age should be using their right to speak up. And from our point of view as people who are podcasting, who are putting our thoughts online, for someone to celebrate someone else who did that very freely and then got murdered for it, that was so frightening to my little brother.

[Joanna Coles]

As it should be to all of us.

[Zoran Garg]

To all of us.

[Zoya Garg]

It was terrifying.

[Joanna Coles]

And like, there's no reason for that.

[Zoya Garg]

For that to be celebrated. With his classmates in middle school, which was actively happening. He came back from school and he was like, didi, I've never seen the girls in my grade so happy. And that is a result, in my opinion, of TikTok. Like, TikTok has made these narratives, like, fed to these girls, where it's like, oh, like the guy who is pro life is now gone. So, like, abortion rights are now more safe. And it's like, that's. That's not what's happening here, actually. And so that was very disappointing.

[Zoran Garg]

And the Trumps, not to bring them back, but they are a new. They were a New York City family, right? We have so many friends in common. I have so many friends. The one thing we never saw the Trump kids do is be drinking, be slobbering all over town. We never saw any of that with any of the Trumps. We know so many rich people in New York. Generally, the kids of extreme privilege, you see them, you know, doing stupid, crazy things. We hear about it. There are parties where this thing happened and an ambulance was called cuz this kid OD'd on this and that. We never heard or saw any of that with any of the Trump kids. They must have done other things. But I remember before he even became president, it was always like, the Trump kids are the serious kids, like, whatever they're doing, and maybe they're doing bad things. I don't know what they were serious about. But the one thing we didn't see was, in fact, the funniest thing. I think I saw Melania once, if I'm not mistaken, I did at Lululemon, trying to return an $8 headband. I was like, am I hallucinating? This is really happening. So we as a New York family also have had our opinions on him. And a lot of people who dealt with him in real estate have their opinions because they had all those interactions. We didn't have those interactions. But just as a parent, I remember when we were in private school, we were in a world where we would talk about each other's kids, like, you know, this big bar mitzvah, million dollar bar mitzvah, and like, what happened there? Or this, this kid rented out the whole something sweet at the Knicks wherever they play or whatever.

[Joanna Coles]

Right?

[Zoran Garg]

But we never heard any of that with these guys.

[Joanna Coles]

Well, listen, this is fantastic. A different perspective on how to think about our second lady. It's certainly given me completely different way to think about things. If you haven't done subscribe to the Daily Beast Please leave us a comment or a review wherever you get your podcast. And join the Daily beast community on YouTube for lots of extra content, especially from these guys. And if you haven't been this week, be Beast. And thank you to our Beast Tier of members. And here they are. And they get such special treats. You should become a Beast Tier member too. Herbie, Andrew Mellor, Sandra Clark, Bonzo, Val Love, Francisco Bocock, D.C. karen White, Heidi Reilly, Connie Rutherford, Sharon Shipley and Andrea Hodel. And thank you to our production team, Devon Rogerino, Anna Von Erssen and our editor, Jesse Millwood.

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[Ryan Reynolds]

Want more great listens? Check out our comedy podcast the Last Laugh and our Star Studded the Daily Beast [e-mail] podcasts if you enjoyed this.

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[Zoran Garg]

Subscribing is the best way to feed.

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[Zoran Garg]

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