The Daily Show: Ears Edition – NYC Mayor Race & Sanna Marin Interview

Episode Date: November 5, 2025
Host: Jordan Klepper (with Ronny Chieng and Grace Kuhlenschmidt)
Special Guest: Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland

Episode Overview

This episode is a sharp, satirical deep-dive into the 2025 New York City mayoral race, featuring caricatured campaign antics, media hysteria, and commentary on broader political trends. It pivots from local absurdities in U.S. democracy to an earnest and surprisingly hopeful conversation with Finland’s former Prime Minister Sanna Marin about leadership, politics, and happiness.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Election Day Satire: NYC Mayor’s Race (00:01–14:23)

• General Tone:
  Jordan Klepper delivers high-energy, irreverent commentary on contemporary American politics, with the mayoral race in New York City as the main event.
• California & National Updates:
  • Mocking the blue/red state gerrymandering arms race (“California votes to turn bluer than a smurf orgy”)
  • Trump’s apocalyptic partisan threats (00:57):

    “You will rue the day that you voted to destroy your life.”
    Klepper quips:
    “You never want your endorsements to sound like something Skeletor would scream at He-Man.” (01:40)

• NYC Mayoral Race — The Players:
  • Zoran Mamdani (Democrat):
    Depicted as a progressive frontrunner, humorously painted as a party animal on the campaign trail (“Are you ready to win this race? God damn. Is he running a campaign or a bachelor party?” 03:15).
  • Curtis Sliwa (Republican):
    Cast as an eccentric vigilante out of touch with the city.

    “Animals are viewed as property in New York State, and we’re going to turn that.” (04:47)
    Klepper: “Humans are going to be the pets from now on.” (04:56)

  • Andrew Cuomo (Independent):
    Mocked for his outlandish campaign stunts, including a white '90s Ford Bronco (infamously linked to O.J. Simpson):

    Cuomo: “It’s a 1996 Ford Bronco...big fans of this Ford Bronco.” (05:16)
    Klepper: “Check it out. I own the only vehicle on the planet associated with murder.” (05:39)
    Innuendo-laden car “caressing” sequence:
    “This is my truck’s clitoris right here.” (06:17)

• Islamophobia & Political Smears:
  • Coverage of right-wing attempts to link Mamdani to 9/11 and to terrorism generally.

    Ronny Chieng: “A little over 20 years since 9/11, you could have a pro-Hamas jihadist, full-blown communist who wants to defund the police as mayor of the greatest city in the world.” (07:26)

  • Klepper stands up against the fear-mongering:

    “Seriously, this cynical attempt to inject Islamophobia into this race is disgusting.” (07:48)

  • Satirical twist:

    “And there is nothing you can show that will make me doubt for even one second that Mamdani does not belong in this great city...unable to name Billy Joel’s iconic song, 'New York State of Mind.' Get the hell out of New York.” (08:14)

2. Campaign HQ Report: Ronny Chieng with the Cuomo Team (08:56–13:00)

• Ronny on Cuomo’s “Lucky Charms”:
  Gleeful mockery of Cuomo’s campaign routine and his superstitions:
  • “Lucky” O.J. Bronco
  • “Lucky” (but suspect) sweater—implied resemblance to Bill Cosby attire (10:16)
  • Ficus plant “grown from the seedling” of Harvey Weinstein’s infamous ficus (11:10)
  • Running joke: Every Cuomo talisman connected inappropriately to a sex scandal.
• Escalating Smear Tactics:
  • Ronny: "If he gets elected, he could do communist 9/11."

    “What is communist 9/11? Well, that’s where every building in New York City gets hit a little bit equally.” (12:34)

  • Satirical lampoon of over-the-top campaign rhetoric.
• Inflammatory Humor:
  • Jokes about “baby oil” talisman, now from Diddy.
• Overall:
  The segment lampoons both Cuomo's failings and the wider theme of political campaigns being derailed by personal oddities and cheap attacks.

3. Times Square Exit Polling: What Non-New Yorkers Think (14:23–17:37)

• On-the-Ground Vox Pops (Grace Kuhlenschmidt & Jordan Klepper):
  • Interviews with tourists and bystanders in Times Square.
  • Mocking how non-locals claim to care but are largely disengaged and uninformed.
  • Humorous revelations about the disconnect between national interest and actual knowledge:

    “Do you think that you care about this race because you’re jealous you don’t live here?” (14:54)
    “Do you know, like, anyone who’s even in the running?” “No. No clue.” (17:17)

  • Jokes about affordability, pizza, TikTok as a news source, and the outsize attention NYC gets.
• Satirical Message:
  The race fascinates everyone, but real engagement is shallow.

4. Interview: Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland (18:31–31:38)

A. Finnish Happiness & Stereotypes (19:01–20:24)

• Finland’s “Happiest” Reputation:
  Marin:

  “Finland is the happiest country in the world. But if you ask the people, they will answer you, we aren’t happy at all.” (19:21)

  • Jokes about reserved Finnish culture and introversion:

    “We are not cheerful. We don’t like people.” (19:30)

B. Welfare State & Social Mobility (21:13–22:26)

• Finnish School & Welfare System:
  Marin shares her pride in the Finnish system’s ability to elevate people regardless of background:

  “I’m from [a] poor, unprivileged family, but we have amazing daycare system, amazing schooling system that gives people the equal opportunities.” (21:20)

  • Explanation of the “baby box” given to all parents:

    “It contains everything that new family needs...and actually you can also use the baby box itself as a bassinet.” (21:46)

  • Marin offers help if NYC wants to pilot a baby box program.

C. Parliamentary System & Coalition Politics (22:42–24:29)

• Multi-Party Governance:
  Discussion about Finland’s multi-party, coalition-based system fostering compromise:

  “We always have coalition governments...then you have to compromise and you have to find consensus. And there is something beautiful about that kind of way of thinking that you don’t go only with your own ideas, but you have to listen, you have to understand...and then you can find compromises and a middle ground.” (23:46)

D. Leadership, Double Standards, and Media Harassment (24:29–28:32)

• Challenges as a Young Female Leader:
  Marin describes how she led through major crises—pandemic, war in Ukraine, NATO accession—ignoring focus on her age/gender:

  “So I didn’t have the time to think about my age or my gender...I was handling the crises.” (25:36)

• Scandals and Double Standards:
  • Enumerating the “hilarious” (but media-fixated) scandals:

    “The blazer scandal, the breakfast scandal, phone scandal, and the dancing scandal.” (26:25)

    • The dancing video (a night out with friends) provoked national scandal.
  • International solidarity from female leaders:

    “I appreciated the solidarity that I got from women...because women can feel those kind of double standards everywhere where they live.” (27:43)

E. Hope, Political Engagement, & Future Ambitions (28:55–31:38)

• Continuing the Fight:
  Marin says she would “never say never” to politics but is dedicated to supporting women, human rights, and climate change activism.
• Hope in Action:

  “The title [of the book] is Hope in Action...there’s always hope if there’s action...We need young people. We need women. We need people from minorities...otherwise our [democracies] will die.” (30:51–31:20)

• Final Note:
  Themes of optimism, encouragement for civic participation, advocacy of inclusivity.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• Jordan Klepper:
  • “You never want your endorsements to sound like something Skeletor would scream at He-Man.” (01:40)
  • “There is only one RU that I recognize and that’s Rue McClanahan. Yes. Blanche was the best golden girl.” (02:00)
  • “Check it out. I own the only vehicle on the planet associated with murder.” (05:39)
  • “Disagree with Mavdani’s politics all you want, but his culture and faith is as much a part of New York as anyone else’s.” (07:48)
• Ronny Chieng:
  • “A little over 20 years since 9/11, you could have a pro-Hamas jihadist, full-blown communist who wants to defund the police as mayor of the greatest city in the world.” (07:26)
  • “If he gets elected, he could do communist 9/11.” (12:31)
  • “That’s where every building in New York City gets hit a little bit equally.” (12:34)
• Sanna Marin:
  • “But if you ask [Finnish] people, they will answer you, ‘We aren’t happy at all.’” (19:21)
  • “We are not cheerful. We don’t like people.” (19:30)
  • “I’m from [a] poor, unprivileged family, but we have amazing daycare system, amazing schooling system that gives people the equal opportunities. And I think this is amazing.” (21:20)
  • “We always have coalition governments...there is something beautiful about that kind of way of thinking that you don’t go only with your own ideas, but you have to listen, you have to understand...and then you can find compromises and a middle ground.” (23:46)
  • “I appreciated the solidarity that I got from women...because women can feel those kind of double standards everywhere where they live.” (27:43)
  • “The title is Hope in Action...there’s always hope if there’s action...We need young people and we need women. We need people from minorities...otherwise our democracy will die.” (30:51–31:20)

Memorable Moments

• Andrew Cuomo’s campaign climax:
  His odd attachment to a white Ford Bronco (reminiscent of O.J. Simpson), culminating in inappropriate car fondling metaphors. (05:16–06:17)
• Satirical “Communist 9/11”:
  Height of the segment’s send-up of campaign demagoguery:

  “That’s where every building in New York City gets hit a little bit equally.” (12:34)

• Finnish Cultural Jokes:
  Cultural self-deprecation about Finns’ “misery,” love of coffee, and aversion to people. (19:21–19:51)
• List of “Scandals” During Marin’s Tenure:
  Mockery of media priorities with “blazer scandal,” “breakfast scandal,” “phone scandal,” and “dancing scandal.” (26:23–26:30)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Intro & Satirical Election Headlines – 00:01–03:00
• NYC Mayoral Race Deep Dive – 03:00–08:56
• Cuomo HQ Report with Ronny Chieng – 08:56–13:00
• Times Square Voter Interviews – 14:23–17:37
• Sanna Marin Interview – 18:31–31:38

Episode Takeaways

• The show blends absurdist humor and social critique, highlighting the circus-like atmosphere of U.S. elections and the dangers of xenophobic political rhetoric.
• The Sanna Marin segment offers a refreshing, hopeful perspective on public service, systemic social support, and the need for broad, inclusive civic engagement.
• Both satirical and sincere segments reinforce that democracy thrives on action, participation, and a willingness to bridge divides.

Recommended for listeners interested in:

• Satirical takes on U.S. politics
• Debates over media, leadership, and inclusivity
• Insights from global political figures about democracy and hope