NYC Mayor Race: Mamdani Hits the Club, Cuomo Fingers His O.J. Bronco | Sanna Marin

Summary

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

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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

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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.

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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

Transcript

[Jordan Klepper]

You're listening to Comedy Central from the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central. It's America's only source for news. This is the Daily show with your host, Jordan Klepper. Welcome to the Daily Show. Jordan Klopper. We got so much to talk about tonight. Donald Trump issues an endorsement threats. California votes to turn bluer than a smurf orgy. And New Yorkers head to the ballot box to vote and also probably urinate. So let's get right into it all with election day coverage with indecision 2025. Let's start in California where Prop 4 will attempt to rig the voting maps to squeeze out some extra seats for Democrats, which is a response to Texas rigging its voter map for Republicans. And I know this looks like a race to the bottom that will destroy the foundations of democracy in the United States, but let's move on because there's also some closely watched governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia. These races gathering a lot of interest around the country, especially from one very specific low information voter. Well, the president tonight also warned new Jersians and Virginians not to vote Democratic, saying, quote, you will rue the day that you voted to destroy your life. Rue the day. Just a fun tip. You never want your endorsements to sound like something Skeletor would scream at he man, you know what, Frankly, I'm not going to stand for this. There is only one RU that I recognize and that's Rue McClanahan. Yes. Yes. Blanche was the best golden girl she liked to, but she kept it fun. Miss you, girl. I miss you. Well, while New Jersey and Virginia decide on who will be ruin who, most of the country today is focused on a mayoral race in a quaint little seaside town called New York City. I see you've heard of it. The Democratic frontrunner, Zoran Mohamdani was campaigning this weekend and based on his itinerary, see if you can guess how confident he is. Are you ready to win this race? God damn. Is he running a campaign or a bachelor party? Be careful, Zoran. You party this hard, you're gonna catch feelings for capitalism. Free school lunches sound nice until you get used to that bottle service life. But clearly Zoran has been riding high the last few days of the campaign. Clubbing all weekend, swinging by a Knicks game, and he even appeared on the kiss cam with Karl Marx. So very nice. Meanwhile, Zorad's Republican opponent is Curtis Sliwa, a tough on crime beret wearing vigilante leader who has been shot in what was reportedly a mob Hit. What was his final pitch to voters? I assume it was something like, death penalty for all the bad guys. Animals are viewed as property in New York State, and we're going to turn that. Wow, you thought Mom Dottie was radical. This guy's out here like, humans are going to be the pets from now on. Of course, no one is really giving Sliwa a chance. The only man with a chance of perhaps beating Mamdani is Andrew Cuomo, former New York governor and mayoral candidate most likely to tell the Statue of Liberty she has a hell of a ass. After having lost the primary to Mamdani, he is now running as an independent, and Mamdani is out there in the clubs. I assume Cuomo's final campaign pitch is serious and policy driven. A little trivia today because a lot of questions have been asked. This is a 1996 Ford Bronco. Yes, it is an oldie, but it is a goodie. We're going to win. Why? Big fans of this Ford Bronco. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Okay, okay. A Ford Bronco. A white mid-90s Ford Bronco. Isn't that. Isn't that OJ's car? This. This was his final pitch to voters. Hey, guys, check it out. I own the only vehicle on the planet associated with murder. And if you're an OJ head, you know his famous car chase happened in 1994, which means Cuomo went car shopping two years later and thought, yeah, this will help me pick up the chicks. You know what? Andrew Cuomo isn't that oblivious. He's very aware that this car brings up bad memories of Loose Juice. Also been ridiculed quite a bit. People saying, oh, that's the OJ Bronco. Actually, it's not the OJ Bronco. And if you look closely, you will see the black and gold stripe on the side that clearly distinguishes it from the oj. Yeah, I see that. Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. Andrew, Andrew, can you please not touch it like that? Yeah, yeah. I mean, come on, come on. I mean, why don't you lick your finger? This is my truck's clitoris right here. Just right here. Just believe me, believe me, you can show off your cool car without doing one in the pink, two in the stink. Now, as surprising as it may seem, Mamdani's critics are not super confident in Andrew Cuomo's final message of watch me flick the bean on my murder car. So it's a tough pitch. Tough pitch. So some Republican officials have stepped in with a last ditch Hail Mary message. Hey, doesn't this guy look like 9 11? He is a jihadist. This is someone who went and did a photo op with an unindicted co conspirator of the World Trade center bombing.

[Ronny Chang]

And it's really unthinkable that 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.

[Jordan Klepper]

Last night, Representative Andy Ogles posted a video of the 911 attacks with the caption, Wake up, New York. Oh, how dare you, sir. Boo. Boo. Yes. So Rahma Doni obviously did not do 9 11. We all know Bush did 9 11. Seriously, this cynical attempt to inject Islamophobia into this race is disgusting. 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. And. 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. Zoran Mamdani unable to name Billy Joel's iconic song, New York State of Mind. Some folks like to get away. As a politician, it's important to be honest. Played the piano from Long island, you commie son of a bitch. Get the hell out of New York. And now for more coverage on the final day of the New York City mayoral race, we go to Cuomo campaign headquarters with our very own Ronny Chang. Ronnie. Ronnie. Tell me, Ronnie, how's Cuomo spending the last few hours? Well, definitely not touching women, if that was what you're gonna ask. Uh, no, I. I wasn't. Okay, good. Cause he's not. Okay. People keep bringing up Cuomo's past, but the Cuomo campaign is asking, what about Zoran's problems? He's a Ugandan and an Indian and a Muslim and a socialist. That's too many things. Yeah. Aren't you a Chinese Malaysian American by way of Australia? Yeah. And I'm shady as hell, okay? Why do you think I had to move so much? You shouldn't vote for me either. We're not. We're. We're talking about Cuomo. Right? Cuomo is confident he's gonna win because he spent the day canvassing the city in his lucky Ford Bronco. And to give him even more luck, he wore this. This lucky sweater. Right. I'm Ronnie. I'm sorry. Is that. Is that a Bill Cosby sweater? What? No. No, it's not a Bill Cosby sweater, okay? It's got a totally different pattern here, okay?

[Ronny Chang]

You just.

[Jordan Klepper]

You just feel it, right? No, here. It doesn't. Look, Cosby sweaters don't have this kind of stitching, ok? Brings Andrew Cuomo good luck when he talks to voters or serves women coffee. Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie, stop. Why you. Why are you touching the sweater like that? Look, the campaign informed me that this is a very normal way to touch sweaters. Okay? All right. It just. It seemed. It seemed a little odd to me that it looks so similar to Cosby's. No. You have 13 sexual harassment cases. I didn't say. I didn't say anything about the cases, man.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh.

[Jordan Klepper]

Oh, okay. Sorry. Yeah. Everyone's just on edge over here. The guy can't have a lucky car or sweater or sit next to this, his lucky ficus plant, and. Let me stop you right now, okay? No, it's not the same ficus plant that Harvey Weinstein jerked off into, okay? This plant grew from the seedlings of that plant. Okay, I. I didn't know ficus plants could bring good luck. Yeah, they. They don't unless you jerk off into them. Anyway, Andrew Cuomo would like you to stop connecting these innocent lucky charms to gross sex scandals and instead connect Zoran to Marxist jihadist extremism. Okay? 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. Okay, Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie. Ro. That is pathetic. Does Cuomo really think that Islamophobic fear mongering is going to play in New York City? Yes. In fact, Cuomo is going to slide right into the mayor's mansion thanks to his lucky baby oil. And no, okay, it doesn't belong to who you think it does. This is Diddy's baby oil. That's who I thought it was. Oh, okay. Well, then you nailed it. Yes. Rodney Chang, everybody. When we come back, we found out what New Yorkers think about the election. Don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show. New York isn't just some town on the Hudson River. It's an international city that draws visitors from around the world, eager to visit cultural institutions like the Times Square M and M store, the Times Square Red Lobster, and of course, the Statue of Liberty souvenir shelf in Times Square. That's why as New Yorkers pick their next mayor, a lot of non New Yorkers are watching closely. Don't forget about the election in New York City. Yes, we're a local station in Kansas City. Why does New York matter? Well, it's biggest city in the country, Right? New York is New York. This is what an American political earthquake looks like. L' Election De Nuyer Cosa Justa Mandani Mamdani Kind Wonder Relatif Venice. Zahran Mamdani and his two rivals, Independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Silva. How did you pronounce Zoran Mamdani correctly but then stumble with Silva and Kumo? You are a real mystery. But with the rest of America so interested in what's happening with our mayoral race, we set our own Grace Kuhlenschmidt to ask them to mind their own business.

[Ronny Chang]

A ton of non New Yorkers have weighed in on the New York City mayoral election. So we're in Times Square for real time exit polling data of who non New Yorkers would vote for if they could.

[Jordan Klepper]

I am from la.

[Ronny Chang]

Go Dodgers. Okay, gotcha. Do you care about this New York City mayoral election? Yes. From Los Angeles?

[Jordan Klepper]

Yes.

[Ronny Chang]

So you're from St. Louis.

[Jordan Klepper]

Yep. St. Louis, Missouri. Go blues. Go Blues.

[Ronny Chang]

What's blues? I'm wondering, where are you from? Savannah, Georgia. Do you think that you care about this race because you're jealous you don't live here?

[Jordan Klepper]

Honestly? A little bit.

[Ronny Chang]

So you're super jazzed about this election. What's stopping you from becoming a resident of New York and voting well? You know what? I have been a resident of New York.

[Jordan Klepper]

I love it.

[Ronny Chang]

I love the Tribeca. I love the Times Square. I love all of it. What's not to love about?

[Jordan Klepper]

Taxi.

[Ronny Chang]

What's not? So where are you from? I'm from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Who do you want to be mayor of New York, and why do you give a shit since you are from Pittsburgh?

[Jordan Klepper]

I don't know how much of a shit I give.

[Ronny Chang]

Just curious. Who is the mayor of your city? Who is the mayor?

[Jordan Klepper]

Oh, you know what?

[Ronny Chang]

I don't even know who the mayor is anymore. Do you hope that the new New York City mayor brings down the cost of you getting a photo with that monkey over there?

[Jordan Klepper]

Yeah, inflation's kind of crazy right now. I mean, I know affordability is a big issue here in New York City.

[Ronny Chang]

Defin. We're just trying to not spend our whole paychecks on rent.

[Jordan Klepper]

That would be nice.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, that would be nice. I mean, what do you pay?

[Jordan Klepper]

I pay 1,050amonth.

[Ronny Chang]

What the Holy shit. And what town is that again?

[Jordan Klepper]

Well, that's in Williston, Vermont.

[Ronny Chang]

In what?

[Jordan Klepper]

Williston, Vermont.

[Ronny Chang]

All right, I'm good. So, as someone who just came out of the Ripley's Believe it or not? Museum. Can you believe this election?

[Jordan Klepper]

I can't. I can't.

[Ronny Chang]

As a person who may not stray more than 10 blocks from times Square, what are the issues that are affecting you the most in New York City? In Times Square? Specifically, the lack of pizza places. We had a hard time finding good pizza places where we did not have to wait in line. Which candidate could address the lack of pizza in Times Square? And if I say Cuomo, you are racist. Okay. Are you voting today?

[Jordan Klepper]

Like, I would if I could, but I'm not from here.

[Ronny Chang]

And who would you vote? What are you up for today?

[Jordan Klepper]

Well, I see stuff on TikTok about New York, and.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, that's my favorite news source, I gotta say.

[Jordan Klepper]

There's a guy. I think his name's Mamdani. Yep, Pretty cool.

[Ronny Chang]

So who do you want to be mayor of New York?

[Jordan Klepper]

Madame. Is that how you say his name?

[Ronny Chang]

Mamdani.

[Jordan Klepper]

Mamdani.

[Ronny Chang]

Mom. Donnie.

[Jordan Klepper]

Mom. Donnie. Mom. Donnie.

[Ronny Chang]

That's an endorsement, Mamdani.

[Jordan Klepper]

There you go.

[Ronny Chang]

Are you paying attention to the New York City mayoral election that's happening right now?

[Jordan Klepper]

Not really.

[Ronny Chang]

Not really at all. Do you know, like, anyone who's even in the running? No. No clue.

[Jordan Klepper]

Not really.

[Ronny Chang]

So you don't care about who wins the mayoral election of New York? It's New York City. It's New York City. Look at all of our electronic billboards, our pride and joy. I love it. It's nice. Thank you.

[Jordan Klepper]

AKA Grace. We come back. Shauna Marin will be going to be on the show. Don't. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is the former prime Minister of Finland. Her new book is called Hope in A Memoir about the Courage to Lead. Please welcome Sana Marin. You bought your own book. You know, you don't trust the. The American fake media.

[Ronny Chang]

You know, this copy is for you because I signed it.

[Jordan Klepper]

You signed it?

[Ronny Chang]

So we can swap.

[Jordan Klepper]

We can swap it. You want this? I signed it as well. It was strange.

[Ronny Chang]

Thank you so much.

[Jordan Klepper]

But I felt. Yes. Did you write something nice in it? Well, can I out you in this? Wait, so you didn't write anything, you just wrote to Jordan?

[Ronny Chang]

I can write something here.

[Jordan Klepper]

I will sell this one and write something more personal than that one. All right. That is perfect.

[Ronny Chang]

Let's do that.

[Jordan Klepper]

That is perfect. Thank you for being here.

[Ronny Chang]

Well, thank you so much for having me.

[Jordan Klepper]

Yes. First of all, I read this book.

[Ronny Chang]

In New York, the best city in the world.

[Jordan Klepper]

Thank you. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Well, I. I read this book and I get jealous of Finland. It seems Like a very happy place. It's voted year in and year out the happiest place on the globe. Like, why is that? Do you guys not have social media?

[Ronny Chang]

Well, we do.

[Jordan Klepper]

You do?

[Ronny Chang]

Unfortunately, yes. But Finland is the happiest country in the world. But if you ask the people, they will answer you. We aren't happy at all.

[Jordan Klepper]

No, no.

[Ronny Chang]

We are not cheerful. We aren't happy. Did you see the clip or the meme during COVID when people we as a government, me as a prime minister, said to people that they have to stay two meters apart. And they were like, do we have to really get closer 2 meters to other people? Like, we are not cheerful. We don't like people.

[Jordan Klepper]

See, this is the narrative we need to get out that people are miserable everywhere. Right. We think Finland has got it all figured out. But in the end, you guys are grumpy and you didn't like the masks and having to stay that far apart, right?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah, but we like coffee.

[Jordan Klepper]

You do like coffee?

[Ronny Chang]

We drink the most coffee in the world.

[Jordan Klepper]

Is that right?

[Ronny Chang]

That is correct.

[Jordan Klepper]

Why is that? How do you connect that to the Finnish personality?

[Ronny Chang]

Well, if you visit Finland right now in November, you will understand the reason. Because it's so cold, it's so rainy, it's so horrible weather. We love coffee and we hate people.

[Jordan Klepper]

Come visit. Come visit Finland. Come visit. It's miserably cold and we're gonna bitch about it, but we have coffee. And where else could you get this on that planet? Exactly, exactly. It's sort of amazing. I mean, you were. You were the youngest prime minister of Finland at 34. And you talk about this in the book, and you also talk about how Finland is very different than places like America. But you talk a bit about the Nordic welfare state. Tell me a bit about that. And also if that. Like, I think when we hear that somebody is 34 in a position of power in America, our minds explode. We don't even let you consider being President of the United States at 34. Like, is there a connection to sort of the welfare system in a place like Finland and your ability to get into politics so early?

[Ronny Chang]

Well, I think the most amazing thing, and one thing that I'm really proud of in Finland is our schooling system that allows everybody to become anything, even though your backgrounds might be difficult, like mine is personally as well. Like, I'm from poor, unprivileged family, but we have amazing daycare system, amazing schooling system that gives people the equal opportunities. And I think this is amazing.

[Jordan Klepper]

It doesn't hurt.

[Ronny Chang]

It doesn't hurt.

[Jordan Klepper]

You mentioned in the book you have essentially a baby basket that is given to children.

[Ronny Chang]

Baby box.

[Jordan Klepper]

Baby box. What is a baby box?

[Ronny Chang]

It contains everything that new family needs. Clothing, different kind of of things that the baby needs.

[Jordan Klepper]

A sense of purpose for the dad who suddenly feels irrelevant. Stick that in there.

[Ronny Chang]

And actually you can also use the baby box itself as a bassinet for the baby.

[Jordan Klepper]

Really?

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah.

[Jordan Klepper]

You can do that with an Amazon box too. Doesn't make you dad of the year, but. No, but that's sort of symbolic of what the nation does. I know we're talking a lot about the mayoral race and Mavdani has mentioned bringing something like that to New York City that you give parents right off the bat, like baby baskets, I believe.

[Ronny Chang]

We are very happy to help with the baby box.

[Jordan Klepper]

Good, good. Thank you. Help us in taking care of kids. And that coffee, I think that can help.

[Ronny Chang]

Coffee, baby box, horrible weather, distance to people. I think you need it.

[Jordan Klepper]

I think I need it in New York. I could use a little more distance from people in New York. I definitely could. It's curious, you know, talking about the Finnish electoral system, but also the Finnish government. You have eight to nine political parties. It's a parliamentary system. And as I'm reading this, I'm so jealous of what that system looks like because it instills, correct me if I'm off base here, but like a lack of identity based on one political party. The ability to compromise and shift with another party seems much more necessary and available to a system that has so many options and you have to compromise with other people, otherwise nothing gets done. Yeah. How do we get that here?

[Ronny Chang]

I don't know how you get that here, but I led a government of five parties and all parties were led by women during my period of time and 4 of US leaders were under 40 years old. So that also tell something about Finland. But I truly appreciate our parliamentarial system and also the fact that we always have coalition governments, because 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, you have to understand different values and then you can find compromises and a middle ground. And I think that is something that we lack today in our democracies, especially with social media ever ending polarizing stories and very negative news cycles. So I truly appreciate a space where we can also disagree and then find compromises together. I think that's Beautiful.

[Jordan Klepper]

I agree. You mentioned other female leaders. You talk to other world leaders. Female world leaders. And you mention in the book a sense of loneliness. That it is a. It's a unique position, especially for a woman in that position. Like, how did you find that? As somebody who is trailblazing there? And every narrative that we hear about what's happening over there focuses on your gender and your youth. How did you find navigating that?

[Ronny Chang]

Well, during my period, there was the pandemic war in Ukraine or accession to NATO. Fastest ever.

[Jordan Klepper]

Humble. Brag.

[Ronny Chang]

Humble. Of course, we are also known from our humbleness. So there was a lot of crises. And we also had very reformistic governmental programs, so we fulfilled 98% of that. Also very humble. So I didn't have the time to think about my age or my gender or all those things that the media was interested about. I was handling the crises and all the things on my desk.

[Jordan Klepper]

Yeah.

[Ronny Chang]

So I was very happy about that. Not the crisis, but. But the fact that I could focus on that and not maybe the media.

[Jordan Klepper]

Well, so much of this book, the work of leadership, is about negotiation and working with people across the aisle. It lives in that. But it also talks about how you were pulled away from that with the controversies and how the media was, frankly, cruel and focused on your youth. There was a scandal with videos about you partying and enjoying yourself out.

[Ronny Chang]

Was there a scandal? Oh, my God. There's actually a whole chapter of my scandals.

[Jordan Klepper]

Oh, I read. That's why I was like, I gotta read the scandals and I'll get into the governing later. Thank you.

[Ronny Chang]

And they are all hilarious.

[Jordan Klepper]

Hilarious.

[Ronny Chang]

At least by names.

[Jordan Klepper]

Would you have won it? I think by names they are hilarious names.

[Ronny Chang]

The blazer scandal.

[Jordan Klepper]

The blazer scandal.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah. The breakfast scandal.

[Jordan Klepper]

Yes.

[Ronny Chang]

Phone scandal. And the dancing scandal.

[Jordan Klepper]

And the dancing scandal.

[Ronny Chang]

Oh, my God.

[Jordan Klepper]

Which one do you think was most outrageous to the public?

[Ronny Chang]

Well, maybe the dancing scandal. Me dancing and singing at a friend's apartment. Yes. At a free night. That is scandalous.

[Jordan Klepper]

That is an act of joy that's being shared by other people. Something that the media would not agree.

[Ronny Chang]

Very scandalous from the Finnish perspective. I was gonna say somebody enjoying life.

[Jordan Klepper]

Oh, my God. Come on. She should be miserable and drinking coffee in the corner. Yeah. Yes.

[Ronny Chang]

Staying away from people.

[Jordan Klepper]

How did you. It's fascinating because over here, we don't get a lot of Finnish politics. Sorry. We're focused.

[Ronny Chang]

That's fine. You might. That is a bit Social Democrat.

[Jordan Klepper]

He's a social Democrat? Yes. It depends who you ask. Or he caused 9, 11. According to some people as well. But it's curious that scandal travels as everything does in a media cycle that focuses on the sensational. What was curious to find here was the comrades in arms aoc Hillary Clinton joined in to sort of mock that was around that. Did you find the silver lining in that? With that newfound attention on you and your country?

[Ronny Chang]

I don't know. It felt, of course, personally, the whole scandal felt a bit absurd and then maybe a tiny bit out of proportion. But of course I appreciated the solidarity that I got from women. And I think that was because. Because women can feel those kind of double standards everywhere where they live. I think no man leader, no male leader was ever asked questions like how can you be a leader when you have a small child at home? Or how can you be at work today when you went yesterday to a pub with your friends to watch football game and drank two beers? How dare you be a professional today? So I think there is double standard and of course women wanted to show their support and I really appreciated that.

[Jordan Klepper]

Yeah, I mean I. If you, you see the videos of Donald Trump dancing, I wish that were more of a scandal. We need to shame this person out of attempting to find joy and make weird jerk off motions. It's offensive to us all. It's curious though, you're no longer politics, right? Do you have an interest in getting back into politics?

[Ronny Chang]

I have said that I would never say never. I'm not sure.

[Jordan Klepper]

You just said it. You said it twice in that sentence.

[Ronny Chang]

I would never say never.

[Jordan Klepper]

You never say never.

[Ronny Chang]

And I'm still working on political issues. Climate change, human rights, of course, equality. I want to support women and I want to commit my life to that because I've also seen how difficult it is to be a woman in those positions and we need more women in powerful positions. So I want to support women. And also, and also my book, it is a feministic piece as well. So I hope you read it and maybe you'll learn something.

[Jordan Klepper]

I hope I read it too. I totally read it.

[Ronny Chang]

Or you can listen to it.

[Jordan Klepper]

I can listen to it if you.

[Ronny Chang]

Don'T want to read it or if you don't have to time.

[Jordan Klepper]

Why do you think I have no interest in this book? I read it. I will say this one. What is curious to me, part of what I found inspiring about your story is a place like Finland that allows early access to the political field and world. The fact that you could be active. You were clearly somebody who was very into politics and working on a local level. But you got national quick. I know some of that has to do with the size of Finland, but also there was a space where you could have your voice heard. And to me, that is an optimistic tale in a place where we all see sorts of older folks running the rules here in America. I see access at that age being very important. And yet hearing at the end that you're out of politics, hearing what the media did to these stories in a way that didn't make it a space that you felt necessitated you staying in that fight. I almost don't know how to read whether this is an optimistic book about getting into politics early or it's a cautionary tale about what we do to to young people when they're in that field.

[Ronny Chang]

Well, I hope it's an optimistic book. The title is Hope in Action.

[Jordan Klepper]

Oh, shit, you're right.

[Ronny Chang]

So of course I want to tell people that there's always hope if there's action. And I want to say to people that please join political parties, run for office, vote, participate. We need your voices and we need different people from different backgrounds to participate in our democracies or otherwise our democracy democracies will die. So we need young people and we need women. We need people from minorities, but we need people.

[Jordan Klepper]

We need people. We need people and we need action. We need hope and we need hope.

[Ronny Chang]

And we need action.

[Jordan Klepper]

We need it all. Thank you very much for joining me. The book Hope in Action is available now. Charlotte Marin. We're gonna take a quick break right back after this. Thank you so.

[Ronny Chang]

Much.

[Jordan Klepper]

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