Trump Threatens Third Term, Admin Admits Deportation Mistake

Summary

The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Detailed Summary

Episode Title: Trump Threatens Third Term, Admin Admits Deportation Mistake
Host: Michael Kosta
Release Date: April 2, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Daily Show: Ears Edition, host Michael Kosta delves into pressing political issues, ranging from former President Donald Trump's controversial remarks about a potential third term to the Trump administration's flawed deportation practices. The show features insightful commentary, sharp humor, and in-depth discussions with guest Gianna Taboni about the death penalty system in America.

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Donald Trump's Third Term Threat

Discussion Points:

• Trump's Consideration of a Third Term:
  Michael Kosta opens the episode by addressing former President Donald Trump's recent statement about contemplating a third term (00:30). He humorously critiques the administration's performance, citing economic issues and corruption, and satirizes Trump's remarks as part of his "Dennis the Menace" phase.

• Media and Public Reaction:
  Kosta highlights the liberal media's uproar over Trump's statement, suggesting that Trump's comments are more about entertainment than genuine political ambition (01:27). Josh Johnson adds that Trump's candid responses often lead to media meltdowns, further inflaming public sentiment (01:31).

• Humorous Takes on Constitutional Limits:
  The conversation takes a comedic turn as Kosta mocks the Constitution's term limits while exasperatingly explaining Trump's disregard for these boundaries (02:12). Charlamagne Tha God chimes in, humorously pondering whether Trump is "trolling" the nation (02:15).

• Potential Consequences and Administration's Deportation Policies:
  Kosta seamlessly transitions into discussing the Trump administration's deportation errors, particularly focusing on the case of a Maryland father mistakenly deported to an El Salvadorian prison due to an administrative error (05:10). He uses satire to underscore the inefficiency of ICE's deportation processes, mentioning the arbitrary checklist system based on superficial criteria like tattoos or clothing (05:27).

Notable Quotes:

• Michael Kosta (00:30):
  "The second Trump administration is off to a roaring start, if you don't count the economy, inflation, rampant corruption, cyberbullying of ally nations, and we're all going to die of measles."

• Gianna Taboni (08:00):
  "If he's gonna be a dictator, can he at least be a serious one when the history books get written about the fall of American democracy?"

Cory Booker's Senate Filibuster

Discussion Points:

• Booker's Marathon Speech:
  The episode shifts focus to Senator Cory Booker's unprecedented 22-hour filibuster against the Trump administration's policies (11:37). Kosta and Charlamagne Tha God mock the marathon speech, comparing it to "phone sex" and highlighting the Democratic Party's current disarray.

• Democratic Party's Challenges:
  Charlamagne criticizes the Democrats for their low favorability ratings and lack of effective leadership, referencing figures like Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer (12:50). He humorously suggests that current Democratic leaders are as ineffective as "a college student halfway through her first year" (12:57).

• Republican Strategies and Media Manipulation:
  The hosts discuss how Republicans are framing PBS and NPR as "domestic threats," using satire to emphasize the absurdity of such claims (15:19).

Notable Quotes:

• Charlamagne Tha God (13:21):
  "Isn't there anybody else who can save this party? Look, I know there are some people that think Joe Biden should help rebuild because as the most recent president, he is the de facto leader of the party. And to those people, I'd like to say, Hunter, lay off the crack."

• Charlamagne Tha God (17:17):
  "Jasmine Crockett stoops to a new low. Pretty disgusting."

Jasmine Crockett’s Controversial Remarks

Discussion Points:

• Crockett's Comments on Governor Greg Abbott:
  The conversation turns to Jasmine Crockett, a U.S. representative, and her recent offensive remarks about Texas Governor Greg Abbott (16:51). Kosta and Charlamagne critique her lack of sensitivity and professionalism, highlighting the deep divisions within political discourse.

• Republican and Democratic Reactions:
  The hosts mock the Republican outrage over Crockett's comments and discuss the broader implications for bipartisan relations (17:14).

Notable Quotes:

• Gianna Taboni (09:14):
  "Cause it's not just an anthem for white women, all right? Everybody's got a fight song. And Fight song is my fight song. Take back my life song. Prove I'm all right."

Exploring the Death Penalty System

Guest: Gianna Taboni
Segment Overview:

Towards the latter part of the episode, Michael Kosta interviews Emmy-winning journalist Gianna Taboni about her new book, The Failure of the Death Penalty in America and One Inmate's Quest to Die with Dignity. The discussion provides a critical analysis of the American death penalty system, highlighting its inefficiencies and ethical dilemmas.

Key Topics:

1. Systemic Flaws:

   • Low Execution Rates:
     Josh Johnson explains that only 15% of death row sentences are carried out, with nearly half being overturned or commuted (20:23). This low efficacy rate is compared to other industries, underscoring its fundamental flaws.

   • Challenges with Lethal Injection:
     The interview delves into the problematic nature of lethal injections, which were intended to be humane but often result in botched executions (22:10). Johnson points out that pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer refuse to supply drugs for executions, exacerbating the problem.

2. Alternative Execution Methods:

   • Firing Squads:
     Johnson discusses a shift towards firing squads, noting their near-zero botched execution rates compared to lethal injections (24:54). This raises ethical questions about the methods used in capital punishment.

3. Emotional and Psychological Impact:

   • Impact on Executors:
     The conversation explores the psychological toll on prison staff responsible for carrying out executions, including instances of PTSD and alcoholism resulting from botched executions (27:19).

4. Economic Considerations:

   • Cost of the Death Penalty:
     Johnson emphasizes the exorbitant costs associated with death penalty cases, which are significantly higher than life imprisonment without parole (28:26).

Notable Quotes:

• Josh Johnson (20:19):
  "A contractor completes 15% of [their projects]. It's totally unacceptable."

• Michael Kosta (23:12):
  "This is gonna be a strange metaphor, but it reminds me of dog food for my dog. We make it so it's palatable for me as the human. I don't think my dog wants to eat this little, like, brown pellet."

• Josh Johnson (27:47):
  "Look, I think a lot of people are. I sympathize deeply with victims' families. I mean, those murders are so horrific and create generational trauma."

• Michael Kosta (29:25):
  "It's wild."

Conclusion of the Segment:

The interview with Gianna Taboni underscores the urgent need to reevaluate the death penalty system in the United States. Johnson advocates for a transparent and honest discourse about the ethical and practical implications of capital punishment, urging listeners to consider the profound human costs involved.

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Closing Remarks and Moment of Zen

As the episode nears its end, Michael Kosta reflects on the absurdity of the current administration's actions, likening them to an ongoing April Fool's joke (30:36). The show concludes with a humorous acknowledgment of the chaotic political climate, encouraging listeners to stay informed through various platforms like Paramount+ and Comedy Central.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Daily Show: Ears Edition masterfully blends humor with critical political analysis, offering listeners both entertainment and insightful commentary on current events. From Trump's provocative statements and the Democratic Party's internal struggles to the deep-seated issues within the American death penalty system, the show provides a comprehensive and engaging examination of the nation's most pressing issues.

Transcript

[Michael Kosta]

You're listening to Comedy Central from the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central. It's America's only source for news.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is the Daily show with your host, Michael Costa.

[Michael Kosta]

Baby. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Michael Kosta. We've got so much to talk about tonight. Your tattoo might ruin your life. Cory Booker won't show up, won't shut up in a good way. And Donald Trump pledges to respect the Constitution. April fools. He still doesn't care. Let's get into it. I'm going to come. The second Trump administration is off to a roaring start, if you don't count the economy, inflation, rampant corruption, cyberbullying of ally nations, and we're all going to die of measles. So it makes sense that on Sunday he said he's considering running for a third term. But of course, the liberal media is freaking out. New fallout after President Trump did not rule out the possibility of a third.

[Josh Johnson]

Term, a move that would require breaching the limit outlined in the Constitution.

[Michael Kosta]

Carolyn, what method would the president use.

[Josh Johnson]

To potentially run for a third term? Look, you guys continue to ask the president this question about a third term, and then he answers honestly and candidly.

[Michael Kosta]

With a smile, and then everybody here.

[Josh Johnson]

Melts down about his answer.

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah, right. Yeah, right. Obviously, this is the media's fault, okay? If they ask the president a question, of course he's going to give you a deranged answer. He's the president. What do you expect him to say? No, I'm constitutionally barred from running again? Come on, the guy's just having a good time. His fellow Republicans know. Nobody gets comedy like the Republicans.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Don't you think he's probably trolling?

[Michael Kosta]

I think he's probably having some fun with it. Probably messing with it. This is a president who loves to give a snake in a can to the media just to watch them open it, and he's doing that. This is another jump scare that has just lit up the. Yeah, guys, relax. The president of the most powerful nation in the world is just. He's in his Dennis the Menace phase. The point is everybody knows he's joking. Trump isn't serious about a potential third term. Trump insisted he was serious about a potential third term. Trump said, I'm not joking. I'm not joking. No, no. That can mean anything. That can mean anything. Look, the truth is, Trump doesn't really joke so much as he jokes. Right. The same way that guys joke to their wives about having a threesome. You know, that would be so wild. Obviously, we'd never do that. I mean, definitely not with my co worker Cindy that you said was pretty once, and I'm sure she's open to stuff because her nose is pierced. That would be so hilarious, right? Or would it be sexy? Personally, I'm not freaking out that Trump is going to defy the Constitution because he's already been doing it. For weeks now, ICE has been rounding up any immigrant who they suspect is a member of the Venezuelan gang Trend Aragua, or as Trump pronounces it, Trend Senor Presidente. But this week, we found out that instead of sending these suspects to a trial or a hearing, you know all the due process shit in the Constitution, The ICE agents just fill out a checklist on the suspect, and if the suspect scores an 8 or more, they get deported to an El Salvadorian prison. Look, look, I'm not a legal expert, but I'd rather not be sentenced to life in a foreign prison with the same checklist system that Cosmo uses to decide if I'm good girl hot or bad girl hot. By the way, I'm bad girl hot. And reading through the checklist doesn't make me feel any better either. Okay? You get points just for having a tattoo of a star or a clock or the Michael Jordan logo. It doesn't even have to be a tattoo. You can just get points for wearing a bull's jersey. So have fun in prison, Hannah Montana. If that's even your real name. But, hey, I'm sure the famously detail oriented Trump administration isn't going to deport people without making sure they're hardened criminals. Right? Right. Right.

[Josh Johnson]

The Trump administration now admitting that a Maryland father from El Salvador was mistakenly deported to a super prison. Government lawyers just confirmed that the man who was granted protected status in 2019 was deported due to, quote, an administrative error.

[Michael Kosta]

Oopsie doopsie, I did a poopsie. Could it be that the geniuses who added Jeffrey Goldberg to the Strike Team Group chat aren't great at identifying the correct people? If only there is a way that they could have presented this suspect before another person. Someone who I don't know, and I'm just spitballing, maybe could have judged whether or not the person could have been deported. Maybe that person, I don't know, could be behind a tall desk and they hold a stick with a robe, and they're federally appointed, and they say things like, another DUI, Mr. Costa, I'd put you in prison, but you're too bad girl hot. No, no, no, no, no. Let's just let's just do another checklist. Thank you for that. But hey, but hey, but hey, no harm, no foul. We can just get that guy back on the next flight, right?

[Josh Johnson]

Right, but here's the thing. The administration argues he can't be brought back because now he's in El Salvador's custody.

[Michael Kosta]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about? We can't get one person out of a prison that we sent to that prison. J.D. vance is out there calling dibs on rare earth minerals underneath Greenland and Ukraine. But with El Salvador, suddenly they're like, eh, sorry, no hablo espanol. Trump. Spanish trendy. Arguay. Tremendous. Seeing all these constitutional crises pile up, it makes me wonder what sort of evil machinations Donald Trump is plotting inside the Oval Office right now. A friend of mine, Kid Rock, sometimes referred to as Bob. I know him as Bob, but he's been a good friend for a long time, many years. And he's been after something that is for the good of a lot of people. Mr. President, I don't mean to alarm you, but the guy next to you, he's scoring a lot of points on that checklist right now. For more on the ice raids, let's go to the White House with our very own Josh Johnson. Josh. Josh. What Trump is doing right now is disturbing.

[Gianna Taboni]

That's absolutely right, Michael. And we can't stand for this. The American people need to get out in the streets right now and let Donald Trump know that this is a nation of rules and laws, and the American people will not allow him to hang out in the Opal office with Kid Rock.

[Michael Kosta]

Oh, I thought that speech was gonna be about the mass deportations.

[Gianna Taboni]

No, no, at this point, I'm sort of resigned to that. But if he's gonna be a dictator, can he at least be a serious one when the history books get written about the fall of American democracy? I just don't wanna look like a. If I'm gonna get my nipples tasered off in an El Salvadorian prison, it can't be by a guy who looks like Ronald McDonald's lesbian aunt. All right, that's not how I want to go out, okay?

[Michael Kosta]

I don't think the ICE raids are coming for you, Josh.

[Gianna Taboni]

You don't know that. You saw that checklist. They're looking for Jordans Tattoos. Sound like anybody you know, Michael?

[Michael Kosta]

Oh. Oh, wait. You have tattoos?

[Gianna Taboni]

Yep. I got a couple of nasty ones.

[Michael Kosta]

Oh, really? Well, can we see them?

[Gianna Taboni]

Well, I can't show you all of them because a few are near and on my butthole. But. But here's one I'm worried about, okay?

[Michael Kosta]

Mm.

[Gianna Taboni]

Who knows how ICE could interpret this tattoo?

[Michael Kosta]

What does that say?

[Gianna Taboni]

Fight song from the song Fight Song. It could be conceived as a threat, you know, Fight song.

[Michael Kosta]

Why did you get that tattoo?

[Gianna Taboni]

Cause it's not just an anthem for white women, all right? Everybody's got a fight song. And Fight song is my fight song. Take back my life song. Prove I'm all right.

[Michael Kosta]

So. Josh, stop. Josh, Josh, Josh, stop, stop, stop, stop.

[Gianna Taboni]

Yeah, you not even ready. Imagine if we were fighting right now.

[Michael Kosta]

Okay, I. I just don't think ICE is gonna confuse that for a gang tattoo.

[Josh Johnson]

It's not gay.

[Michael Kosta]

I. I said. I said gang, not gay.

[Gianna Taboni]

Oh, well, good. You know, show you my butthole tattoo, then we'll see who's gay.

[Michael Kosta]

Wait a sec. What does that even mean?

[Gianna Taboni]

It means if my fight song tattoo doesn't get me, this one definitely will. It's a firework. They're gonna think I'm a domestic terrorist over here. Blow this whole thing up. Kill everybody. Body pieces everywhere.

[Michael Kosta]

Let me guess, it's actually from Katy Perry's song Firework.

[Gianna Taboni]

Yeah, it's pretty much my backup fight song. It reminds me that, baby, I'm a firework and I gotta show him what?

[Michael Kosta]

Okay, we get it, we get it, we get it. Josh Johnson, everyone. When we come back, Charlamagne the God will give us his opinion. So don't go away. God Johnson. Welcome back to the Daily Show. We all know that I've got great opinions, but I'm not the only one. Studies show that other people also have opinions. So here with another installment of in my Opinion is our good friend Charlamagne Tha God.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey. Today we need to talk about Washington D.C. s hottest new binge watch.

[Michael Kosta]

Senator Cory Booker has been leading a marathon speech on the Senate floor to protest what he calls reckless actions by the Trump administration. Booker began his speech around 7:00 last night. I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker is still talking on the Senate floor.

[Michael Kosta]

His marathon speech has now reached the 22 hour mark.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is unbelievable. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. A Democrat actually doing something.

[Michael Kosta]

Wow.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Wow. That's the longest someone's held Congress captive since January 6th. I mean, yeah, I mean, so far he's only talking, but he's talking a lot, so I'll take it. Okay. What Booker did today is like the political version of phone sex. It's not as good as the real thing, but it's a hell of a lot better than nothing. That's right. And nothing is what it seems like the Democratic Party has been doing for the last three months. The Democrats are like Jason Momoa in between Aquaman movies, not in good shape.

[Michael Kosta]

Disarray among the Dems. New CNN polling showing the party's favorability hitting a record low of 29%.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

29%. That's lower than Pete Hecseff's blood alcohol level. Right. Democrats are about as popular as an album of RFK Jr covering Adele. I set fire to my brain. Isn't there anyone who can save this party?

[Josh Johnson]

NBC News is reporting that the Bidens want back in.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Isn't there anybody else who can save this party? Look, I know there are some people that think Joe Biden should help rebuild because as the most recent president, he is the de facto leader of the party. And to those people, I'd like to say, Hunter, lay off the crack, okay? I thought Biden was an okay president. It's not his fault his brain reached his term limit before he did. But he's not the future of the party. So who's supposed to be the leaders? Well, in Congress, you've got two people. The first one is this guy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffress.

[Michael Kosta]

In America, we don't have a king, we don't have a monarch, we don't have a dictator. In our democracy, we have separate and co.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Equal branches of government. Yeah, I'm not feeling too inspired by business. I'm not too inspired by business casual, Morpheus. Okay, you take the blue pill, nothing changes. You take the red pill, nothing changes. But with cherry flavor and pay less. Obama's counterpart in the Senate, he's somehow even less inspiring. It's going to affect beer, okay?

[Michael Kosta]

Most of it. Corona here comes from Mexico. It's going to affect your guac because.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What is guacamole made of?

[Michael Kosta]

Avocados?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Schumer is not the man with a plan to fight Trump. Shit, he ain't the man with a plan for a good Cinco de Mayo. It's not my job to say that any particular candidates need to be primaried and thrown out of office. But Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schuman need to be primaried and thrown out of office. Yeah. So, yeah, maybe Democratic leaders in Congress ain't it? What if we look outside of Washington to the governors? Gavin Newsom from California. He's been getting active lately. What's his fight plan?

[Michael Kosta]

We need to Change the conversation.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And that's why I'm launching a new podcast.

[Michael Kosta]

And this is gonna be anything but the ordinary politician podcast.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't believe you. Your body doesn't even believe the words you're saying. None of your words match your motion. Like, Gavin just feels phony, all right? Feels less like you're gonna lead a revolution and more like you're gonna sell me pills for natural male enhancement. Yeah. Fortunately, there are people on the left really willing to put up a fight, though. The Republicans have actually organized this goofy hearing to try to convince the American.

[Michael Kosta]

People that PBS and NPR are, quote, domestic threats.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's as stupid as it sounds. I would tell him to grow a spine and stop being Putin's hoe.

[Michael Kosta]

If you could speak directly to Elon.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Musk, what would you say?

[Michael Kosta]

Off.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's right. That's right. That was the homies. This is Jasmine Crockett, a U.S. representative and social justice warrior with less filter than a Pall Mall. Okay, she did get into a little trouble for some recent comments about the Texas Governor Greg Abbott. And to appreciate this next clip, all you need to know is he's a far right bigot who happens to use a wheelchair. We in these hot ass Texas streets, honey. Y'all know we got governor hot wheels down there. Come on now.

[Michael Kosta]

And the only thing hot about him.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Is that he is a hot ass mess. Hey, man, when they go low, Jasmine slashes the tires on their wheelchairs, okay? And you know Republicans are scared of Democrats stooping to their level because conservatives were big fake Mac.

[Michael Kosta]

Jasmine Crockett stoops to a new low. Pretty disgusting.

[Josh Johnson]

Speaker Johnson saying this, quote, these outrageous remarks by Crockett are shameful and completely out of line.

[Michael Kosta]

She's a lowlife and she's a very low IQ person.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Excuse me. Donald Trump is gonna lecture someone about tasteless jokes. MAGA complaining that a Democrat is ableist is like Quentin Tarantino telling me I use the N word too much. Nigga, please. Okay? I'm not saying Democrats need to be offensive like Trump is. Just show any kind of authenticity and fight. All right? That's why people are cheering Cory Booker today. Yeah. Yeah. And that's why Bernie Sanders and AOC are turning out huge crowds at rallies all across the country. Yes. I just hope it's enough. Because right now, the Democratic Party brand is so whack, it almost doesn't matter who runs a D beside their name. Makes even great candidates seem bad. Voters are like a college student halfway through her first year at Bryn Mawr, she Just doesn't want that. D. No mo. Okay? Democrats just need to fight back. And whether that looks like filibustering on the Senate floor, rattling across the country, or getting in a roast battle with a wheelchair bound senior citizen, you gotta take that fight. But that's just my opinion.

[Michael Kosta]

Charlotte. God. Everybody, when we come back, Gianna Tabone will be joining me on the show. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is an Emmy winning journalist whose new book is called the the Failure of the Death Penalty in America and One Inmate's Quest to Die with Dignity. Please welcome Gianna Taboni. Wow, wow, wow. What a book.

[Josh Johnson]

Thank you.

[Michael Kosta]

So much work, so serious, so important, so sad. Why is the death penalty not working in the United States?

[Josh Johnson]

Look, I think there are a lot of reasons. I wrote a book on it.

[Michael Kosta]

Next question.

[Josh Johnson]

No, no, no. Look, it's a fundamentally broken system. First. And you don't usually hear these arguments. Right. We usually lead with the moral arguments in media. But I took a different approach. Of the 2,000 death row inmates that we have in our country on the state level, Right. Different from the Luigi Mangione Federal death row. Only 15% are getting executed. Right. The 49.9%, those cases are overturned. Right. And then you have cases that are commuted. You have, you know, people dying of old age on death row. So a 15% completion rate. I mean, think about that. In any other industry, right? Like a surgeon completes 15% of surgeries.

[Michael Kosta]

Right.

[Josh Johnson]

A contractor completes 15% of. It's totally unacceptable about.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right.

[Michael Kosta]

For contractors. But that is a terrible rate of efficacy.

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah.

[Michael Kosta]

And it kind of leads to the subject of this book and why you reached out to him, Scott Dozier, who was convicted of murdering two people. Why did you initially write him a letter to be the subject of this?

[Josh Johnson]

So I was making a documentary for a show called Vice on hbo and I needed an interview with a death row inmate. Right. I wasn't trying to do anything beyond that one interview. Wrote him a letter, didn't know if I'd hear back. And then I got a call, you know, Ely, Nevada. I was like, okay, this is. This is him.

[Michael Kosta]

Right.

[Josh Johnson]

And we started chatting, you know, and from the first few minutes of that conversation, I understood that this guy was different. For one, he was completely unsympathetic. He was a violent offender, as you said. He was convicted of two murders, but he was also volunteering for execution.

[Michael Kosta]

Right?

[Josh Johnson]

Right. Only 10% of inmates volunteer for execution.

[Michael Kosta]

What does that mean?

[Josh Johnson]

So he wrote the judge a letter and he said, let's get this over with.

[Michael Kosta]

But they're already sentenced to death.

[Josh Johnson]

A lot of these states don't carry out these sentences. Right, right. So the attorney general's office has to pursue that, and the judge has to sign a warrant, and then they schedule the execution, and then the prison chief has to find the drugs or the method that they're going to use to execute this guy.

[Michael Kosta]

And he actually said. And you have the letter, his handwriting, it's very moving. He says, I, Scott Dozier, am requesting execute me.

[Josh Johnson]

Yes.

[Michael Kosta]

And at one point, I think he even calls the government a bunch of pussies.

[Josh Johnson]

Yes. Yeah. He didn't mince words like, if you're.

[Michael Kosta]

Going to sentence me this way, then do it.

[Josh Johnson]

Yes.

[Michael Kosta]

It's hard not to sympathize with him a little bit in that regard. Talk about some of the complexities of actually killing someone on death row when it comes to the drugs and the method.

[Josh Johnson]

So, I mean, in the past, we had kind of simple but very gruesome methods. Right. Like burning, boiling, you know, guillotine, hanging, electric chair. And then we sort of kind of sanitized the death penalty in part to get the public on board with it. Right. Public approval ratings, just. And so we legalized lethal injection. And the idea was that we would make it more humane. But what we've learned is that it is not more humane. That's what a lot of expert witnesses, anesthesiologists, have told us about this method. Not to mention, you have to source all these drugs. Turns out drug companies like Pfizer don't want their drugs used in executions. Right. They want to create the cancer cure or the, you know, the next big vaccine. They don't want to be known as supplying the death drug. So it's been incredibly hard for states to source these drugs.

[Michael Kosta]

Is Pfizer not wanting to give drugs for lethal injection because. Well, yeah, they don't want to be associated with executions, but also it could affect their profit margin for giving more people the drugs that actually need them.

[Josh Johnson]

I mean, there's, I guess, a sourcing issue in the sense that, you know, if these drugs are used for execution and you pull them off the market in order to get prisons not to use them. So sodium thiopental. This is a drug that was used in executions for years. When drug companies really don't want them used, sometimes they pull them from the market, and then patients who actually need the drugs won't get access to them.

[Michael Kosta]

This is gonna be a strange metaphor, but it reminds me of dog food for my Dog, we make it so it's palatable for me as the human. I don't think my dog wants to eat this little, like, brown pellet. He wants to eat sloppy, messy, disgusting food that his DNA is telling. But we've made execution palatable for me and you and us, but it isn't effective. And wasn't at one point Scott Dozier saying, shoot me?

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah. I mean, his ideal was kill me with a gun. Exactly.

[Michael Kosta]

Americans are good at that.

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah. Yeah. And by the way, finding a cowboy, a gun, and a bullet, all things that are not hard to come by in America.

[Michael Kosta]

Certainly the gun lobbies aren't going to say, you better not use that for an execution.

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah. And there's never a shortage of volunteers. Yeah.

[Michael Kosta]

You still talked about. You mentioned that in the book. That's wild. Yeah.

[Josh Johnson]

I mean, you have the former warden of Florida State Prison who oversaw a bunch of executions. He said that he would get letters, thousands of letters, people saying, hey, if you need a volunteer to do the firing squad or to partake in the execution, I'm here.

[Michael Kosta]

I mean, I don't even have thousands of Instagram followers.

[Josh Johnson]

We can work on that.

[Michael Kosta]

Maybe I can. Yeah. And there was just an execution by firing squad in South Carolina. So are more inmates volunteering? I mean, you said it's about 10% that do this.

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah. So not volunteering, but what they're doing is they recognize that lethal injection is not a more humane method or doesn't cause less suffering. In fact, it can cause more suffering. You know, inmates understand that now. And so now they're actually opting for methods like firing squad. Right. So lethal injection has a 7% rate of botched executions.

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah.

[Josh Johnson]

Firing squad, that rate is effectively zero.

[Michael Kosta]

I mean, it is wild to think. And one of the things I love about the book is I'm thinking and debating a very serious topic that I try to avoid. I don't want to think about this stuff. A firing squad, they put a bag over the person's head, they put a target on his heart, and five people have guns. And they. I mean, it's like, in a way, maybe. And I think this was made in one of the vice pieces at this point. In a way, maybe we should make it more brutal so we as citizens can decide, do we really want to do this?

[Josh Johnson]

I mean, look, execution is brutal, you know.

[Michael Kosta]

Right.

[Josh Johnson]

Killing our own is brutal. And the way we've whitewashed, you know, this method of execution, it's all kind of ridiculous.

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah.

[Josh Johnson]

You know, and firing squad. I think that if we Went back to that method. I think the public may start to second guess what their tolerance is for killing their own.

[Michael Kosta]

There's so many people affected when an execution needs to take place. And that's one thing the book just illuminated to me so much. There's the prison that has to try to do this thing. They're required to do it. There's the victims families who are involved. There's the inmates who at one point, you know, you say to him, you're going to be dead tomorrow. In two hours you're going to be dead. And he has to respond to that. And then there's also the family of the death row inmate who is suffering the most in this. You've really been close. Who's suffering most in this shit show that is our death penalty.

[Josh Johnson]

Look, I think a lot of people are. I sympathize deeply with victims families. I mean, those murders are so horrific and create generational trauma. The perpetrators families, they didn't do anything wrong, you know, and they're dragged through this mess all the time. I would say the one subset of people that we don't focus on that much are the people actually doing the executing. And a lot of these people, they're not bad people. It doesn't suggest that they're pro death. I mean, this is their job, right?

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah.

[Josh Johnson]

And I talked to the warden, as I mentioned, at Florida State Prison, and that guy, I mean, he really botched a bad execution by electric chair. I mean, effectively burned this person alive. He became an alcoholic and he had these nightmares, I mean, had total PTSD where he described that, you know, each night he would go to sleep and the inmates that he had executed would walk into his room and they would sit at the foot of his bed and they would just stare at him. And they didn't have to say anything because he knew what they were thinking.

[Michael Kosta]

And then though there's a nice part to that, is his wife basically made him go to therapy and it helped him. So good job to all the wives making their husbands go to therapy out there. Yeah, right, yeah. Is there a way we can reform this system? Is there a positive that we can take from this, in your opinion?

[Josh Johnson]

I mean, this book is not anti death penalty, it's not pro death penalty. Right. This is a deep investigation into a broken system. I really believe you say on page.

[Michael Kosta]

Five, which I love, which is we're not here to debate the morality of the death Penny, but we are here that we can all agree that it's a broken system.

[Josh Johnson]

Yes. Yeah. What I Want people to take away is. Look, if we are going to have this practice carried out in our name and on our dime. Right. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dollars per death sentence. Right. Way more expensive than life without parole.

[Michael Kosta]

Well, that's what I wanted. Yeah, we'll go with that.

[Josh Johnson]

Go ahead, continue then. I think we need to face what we're actually doing. I don't think we should sleep at night thinking that these guys are just peacefully falling asleep on a gurney and that's the end of the story. And if we're okay with these brutal executions, then, okay, we live in a democracy. Vote for the death penalty for all I care.

[Michael Kosta]

Right.

[Josh Johnson]

But at least face what we're doing and understand that a lot of the time, we're not actually doing the executing. Yeah, right. We're just putting people on death row, in many cases, solitary confinement. We're paying exorbitant amounts for this death penalty without even carrying it out.

[Michael Kosta]

I mean, the irony of at one point, they put him on suicide watch, so they don't want to watch him kill himself, so then they can kill him later, even though they're too soft to even kill them in the first place.

[Josh Johnson]

It's totally wild.

[Michael Kosta]

It's wild.

[Josh Johnson]

It's wild.

[Michael Kosta]

Yeah. Thank you for writing this. It's a tremendous book. The volunteer is available now. Gianna Taboni. We'll take a quick break. Be right back after this. Thank you very much. So great. Wow. That's our show for tonight. Now here it is, your moment of Zen. In my head, it is April 1st, but I didn't want to be hit for April Fool's Day. I'm a very superstitious person. This is a crazy administration. This is like April Fool's Day. I want everything to be woke and the opposite, like April Fool's Day stuff that it's like. Is this April Fool's Day? Yes, sir. It's cheaper, sir. I thought he was, you know, another April Fool's deal, right? Explore more shows from the Daily show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount plus.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

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