(michael) and that is why the idea of a cage match is so universally appealing. but here's the thing about cage matches. sometimes you have to open the cage. and that is something that toby will never understand. captioning by captionmax www.captionmax.com ♪ ♪ >> announcer: from the most trusted journalists at comedy central... it's america's only source for news. this is "the daily show" with your host, jon stewart! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪

[cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> jon: hey! come on! [cheers and applause] show time! welcome to "the daily show!" my name is jon stewart. we have a fabulous show for you tonight. you know what i'm not going to do tonight? i'm not going to overthink it, honestly, i'm just going to come out here like pacino at the oscars, mumble a few words, eventually you'll figure out what i was getting at. it's fine! the big event we need to talk about is the oscars of politics: the state of the union address. last thursday night. joseph raisinette biden

the 12th! [cheers and applause] he had the unenviable task of having to lay out his vision for the nation, whilst also demonstrating that he is not too old, not too tired to be the president of the united states, and that he wouldn't rather just die thousands of balloons to the white house and head to paradise falls. [laughter and applause] and so, president biden entered the house chamber! navigating through our divided congress, and barely, barely, barely getting past the bridge troll who guards the podium. what say you, sir? >> i say to the american people, when america gets knocked down, we get back up. my message to president putin, who i've known for a long time, is simple: we will not walk away. banning books: it's wrong! i say, stop it. stop it. stop it. stop it. pass universal background checks!

send me the border bill now! the state of our union is strong and getting stronger. [crowd chanting "four more years"] >> jon: which one of you pricks wants to fight? put up your dukes! biden is back, baby! i know all that all the haters have been out there, talking they are shit -- he is too old, he is too weak, he won't be able to make it, he is -- i see you haters. i know who you are! really. you know, we said in rehearsal, can you get me a prettier mirror? and boy, did they deliver. that is -- [cheers and applause]

of course, by the way, the state of the union was just the democratic message. board that message survive a concise and intelligent reb rebuttal? it happened on thursday. i should read the whole thing, though, i should. would it survive a concise and intelligent rebuttal from the g.o.p.? or whatever it was that alabama senator katie britt, to the kitchen, batman! >> our families are hurting. our country can do better. president biden's border policies are a disgrace. mr. president, enough is enough. end this crisis and stop the suffering. we see you.

we hear you. and we stand with you. >> jon: if you are going to stand with me, could you stand a little bit further away? i imagine one of her kids just came downstairs and was like, i'm sorry, mom, i just came down to get a bowl of cereal. i didn't realize you were losing your [bleep] mind. i will come back when the xannies kick in. everyone has had a little bit of a go at senator britt because her rebuttal was objectively terrible, but there was one 11 moment in her rebuttal that did not get as much attention that i thought was quite interesting. >> we are the party of hardworking parents and families. so i am asking you, for the sake of your kids and your grandkids, get into the arena.

never forget, we're steeped in the blood of patriots who overthrew the most powerful empire in the world. >> jon: two things. one: who smiles when they say the line "steeped in the blood of patriots?" and number two, this is just one more entry in the republican mythology that they are the inheritors of the american revolutionary tradition, that they somehow are more americany than nonrepublican americans. >> we are the party of the real american people. >> real america where people work hard. they're patriotic. they don't want to transform america like the democrats do. >> this liberal bubble in new york or in california that

don't understand where real americans are at. >> the democrat elite very simply hate america. >> jon: i don't think they hate america. they hate to room yogurt, is really -- yogurt is supposed to be very hot. just out of curiosity, what is it about the republican party that makes it american-er than the rest of us? >> we are the party and the ideology of the constitution. >> every decision that i make starts with asking this question, is this constitutional? >> i believe in this document. i carry it with me next to my heart because i refer to it daily. >> as we all know, the constitution starts with the three most important words outside the bible, "we the people." >> the power of we the people. >> we the people. >> the constitution, we believe in it, they do not.

[laughter] >> jon: why did you [bleep] rip it up? that was your copy! you said that that's what they do but you did it! you ripped it up! like, sinead o'connor is going, i believe in the pope! rip oh, yes, it is an article of faith that republicans love the constitution. they give speeches in front of the constitution. they cover their bosses in the constitution! they dress up like the people who wrote the constitution! do you, communists? with your on constitutioned buses and zero cornered hats? that is why these patriots love donald trump, for he alone will restore the rule of law in our

constitutional republic. >> trump's lawyer claimed the president has a legal license to murder his american political rivals. [laughter] >> jon: just going to check my -- [cheers and applause] i actually keep my heart next to my constitution. [laughs] that is how important. my hands are shaking! i'm so nervous! i don't see anything in here about assassinating your political rivals. here it is, hold on. oh, yes. it says the president must faithfully execute -- well, i think we are done here.

sorry, the laws of the land. never mind. i don't want to be a nitpicker, but i do not remember the assassination episode of ""schoolhouse rock"." under the constitution, wouldn't you get in some trouble for that? >> i feel that as a president, you have to have immunity. very simple. >> jon: yes, it is the bedrock of american constitutional principle. the president must be above the law. out of reach of the law! look, forget the constitution. accountability to the law of the land is basic magna carta shit. [cheers and applause] i keep a tiny magna carta in my -- you know what, sorry, this is just a flipbook. hold on. [laughs] that dog's never going to catch that car. maybe they like trump because

he's more of a bill of rights guy. >> president trump attacking the first amendment and freedom of the press. >> you take the writer and/or publisher of the paper, a certain paper, you know. and you say, "who is the leaker? national security." and they say, "we're not going to tell you." they say, "that's okay, you're going to jail." and when this person realizes he is going to be the bride of another prisoner very shortly -- >> jon: i believe it was thomas jefferson who once said, "our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, though obviously as with any right, there is some wiggle room for nonconsensual ass [bleep]. don't blame me. that is jefferson. he said that! thomas jefferson. look it up.

hold on. let me get -- but that is the press. the press or the enemy of the people. how do trump feel about freedom of assembly? >> he says, "can't you just shoot them? just shoot them in the legs or something." and he's suggesting that that's what we should do, that we should bring in the troops and shoot the protesters. >> the commander in chief was suggesting that the u.s. military shoot protesters, american protesters? >> yes, in the streets of our nation's capital. that's right. >> jon: huh. they'd still be free to assemble. just the assembly would be more a pile, that's all. but that's just hearsay from trump's secretary of defense at the time. look, how about the fifth amendment? due process? >> very simply, if you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store. >> jon: what the [bleep] are we doing? [cheers and applause] you know, i am pretty sure that shooting a guy on suspicion of

stealing a pair of khakis violates not only the constitution, but the ten commandments, and the gap employee handbook! [laughter and cheering] all right. i promise you, that is the end of the things. now we have had our fun, dancing around the former presidents rather eccentric interpretations of our country's founding documents. may i offer you something more explicit? >> i only want to be a dictator for one day. >> jon: just so you know, that is how it starts. i'm not saying anybody has to do the arm salute! [applause] let's just start with a few people doing the arm salute and we will see if the arm salute catches on.

ignoring the bill of rights. tearing up the constitution. pining for a brief stint as a dictator, well, that settles it. when the good, patriotic constitution-loving real americans here trump's disrespect and disdain for our sacred constitutional principles, they will be outraged. >> donald trump, a dictator for 4 years. speak of this country needs a dictator. i hate to say it, but it's the truth. >> he could stand on the front steps of the white house and commit murder and i am with him. >> if he says it, then i'll go with it, and if he wants to be a dictator, then so be it. >> jon: this is it! the thomas nast cartoon, "patriots festooned and american flags, cosigning dictatorship. remember, we the people? you know, there is more words after that. smaller font, still binding. look, if you want to love trump, love him. go to the rally is rallies, buy

for sneakers. you want to give him absolute power, you want him to be the leader uber alles, you want him to have the right of kings, you do you. but stop framing it as patriotism. [cheers and applause] because the one thing you cannot say is that donald trump is borrowing the tradition of the founders. he is advocating for complete and total presidential immunity. his words, not mine! that is monarchy shit. and it is your right to support it. but just do me a favor for historical accuracy. next time you want to dress up at the rallies, where the right [bleep] colored codes. [cheers and applause] that is what you are! and i just want to tell you this -- [applause] and i want you to know --

[whispering] we see you. we hear you. [whispering] when we come back, scholar steven levitsky will be joining me on the show. stick around. [cheers and applause] your wyndham is waiting. ♪ when bucket lists need checking... points need redeeming...

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only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ we are trying really hard to get you reese's peanut butter cups but there is only so much we can do here. you're gonna have to meet us halfway. (♪♪) well, the whole way, actually. (♪♪) [cheers and applause] >> jon: welcome back to "the daily show." my guest tonight is

professor of government at harvard university. he's the co-author of two bestselling books, "how democracies die" and "tyranny of the minority." please welcome to the program steven levitsky. sir! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ how are you? [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ let's go! look at this bad boy. the book is called "tyranny of the minority." what is -- so you wrote "how democracies die," a recipe to kill our democracy. and now "tyranny of the minority." what is "tyranny of the minority" about? >> well, when we wrote "how democracies die," many years ago now, before it seemed so imminent to so many americans that democracy is in danger, we wanted to write a book that described for americans what it looks like when a democracy gets into trouble. so the book is an effort, first of all, to better understand how

we got into this mess, but also to think a bit about how to get out. >> jon: so when you tell me about how we got into the mess, the constitution is really our touchstone. is that the document that actually got us into this mess? >> the constitution, as you say, is a brilliant document. >> jon: don't hedge, sir. >> it is the world's oldest written constitution. it has done us a lot of good. >> jon: yes. >> but it is also part of the problem today. we, a majority of americans, support democracy. a majority of americans support the really interesting experiment with multiracial democracy that we are evolving into in the 21st century. a majority of americans every day since donald trump came down the golden escalator have opposed trump. but we have a constitution that protects, that enables, and that empowers an authoritarian minority party, and that is

the problem. >> jon: but isn't that the very nature of the constitution, it was a balance between that ideal and the practicalities of, well, how do we let the southern states who have less population not to be steamrolled by a pure democracy? >> right. it was a couple things. first of all, it was a document created by people who feared democracy, who feared majority rule. because majority rule didn't exist in the world in the 18th century. >> jon: what did they think, if it wasn't kings, what did they think it was going to be? >> they didn't know. they were in completely new terrain. they had never been in a republic like this before. we had never had an elected leader before. the electoral college was a third choice. so they were scrambling. they couldn't reach a majority and they didn't know how to elect a president. so the electoral college was an improvisation, an experiment. >> jon: was it an improvisation to bring a compromise to the southern states? >> those smaller states. >> jon: the smaller states, the more industrialized. this was a compromise to bring the union together?

>> this was a really tough problem. 13 colonies that were -- and there was a fear that they would break apart, that there might be civil war, that there might be violence. the articles of confederation failed miserably and there was a real fear that if we did not hang together, the brits or the french would come in and make things very difficult for us. the whole project could be blown to bits. these guys had to forge a compromise and they made concessions that were imperfect. in fact, george washington, just weeks after the philadelphia convention, wrote a letter to his nephew, describing the constitution as an imperfect document and saying that it would be up to future generations to improve it. >> jon: do you think it is strange, then, that a lot of the constitution really is, how do we do this mechanically, logistically, and yet, we almost view the founders now in kind of a fundamentalist way of, it was spoken through them, from god.

they were absolutely sure, this is scripture. >> we didn't always see it that way. for much of u.s. history, americans, both politicians and american citizens of all types, have worked to make our system more democratic. the expansion of suffrage, the reconstruction reforms, the progressive era -- >> jon: a lot of times, that was brought through violent people. i mean, the civil war is what brought that about, suffragette, even the vietnam war when they lowered the voting age. if there hadn't been the draft, people hadn't gone to vietnam, i don't think you would've seen the expansion of voting to 18-year-olds. >> constitutional reform is tough, it is costly, it takes work. but we've done it throughout our history. it is really only the last 50 years, only our lifetime, that we have kind of stopped thinking about how to make our system more democratic. we stopped doing the work of improving our democracy. >> jon: but is there also an issue that, as the world changes so rapidly, is democracy

foundationally an analog system? and that in an increasingly, digital, and fast world, it is unwieldy, even in its best iteration, and is that what also gives a kind of shine to the idea of dictatorship or authoritarian principles, where things can be mobilized more quickly? decisions can be made, you know, democracy is painstaking. it is a grind. >> it has. and this is not the first time we have been around this bend. right? a century ago, whether it was the russian revolution or the rise of fascism, during a period of dramatic change, industrialization, the entry into the modern era, people looked around and said, yeah, stalin, that works better. hitler, mussolini. >> jon: they made the trains run on time. >> turns out, in the long run, there are costs to dictatorship. dictatorships don't -- they may shine for a while but in the long run, you don't much like the result.

we always have to be -- we've got old institutions and we have to constantly be thinking about how to improve them. but the basic idea of electing our governments and electing our governments in a context in which we enjoy a wide range of individual liberties, i don't think that is outdated. >> jon: right, that stays no matter what the kids say on, i'm going to say, instagram. [cheers and applause] "tyranny of the minority." it's available right now. steven levitsky, thank you so much for being here. we'll take a quick break, we'll be right back. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ [busy street sounds] ♪(tosca, act ii: vissi d'arte)♪ ♪(artist: maria callas)♪

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[cheers and applause] >> jon: that's our show for tonight! before we go, let's check in with your co-hosts for the rest of the week, desi lydic and michael kosta! [cheers and applause] so excited. what are you guys got planning for the week? [speaking at the same time] >> jon, we'll be looking at the latest inflation report coming down, which the democrats are hoping will provide a needed boost for the biden campaign. >> jon, we'll be diving into the debate over tiktok and whether the possible legislation banning it might spread to other social media platforms.

[cheers and applause] >> jon: you guys going to be doing that all week, with a talking at the same time? [laughter] [speaking in unison] >> of course not, jon. that would be ridiculous. >> jon: looking forward to it. desi lydic and michael kosta, all week this week! here it is. your "moment of zen." >> what does president biden do? well, he bands tiktok for government employees, but he creates an account for his own campaign. y'all, you can't make this stuff up. >> sorry. captioning made possible by comedy central - ♪ i'm going down to south park ♪ ♪ gonna have myself a time ♪ both: ♪ friendly faces everywhere ♪ ♪ humble folks without temptation ♪ - ♪ i'm going down to south park ♪ ♪ gonna leave my woes behind ♪ - ♪ ample parking day or night ♪ ♪ people spouting "howdy neighbor" ♪