You're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalist at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show with your host, Desi Leiden.

Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Desi Leiden. We've got so much to talk about tonight. Donald Trump says he doesn't know all the people he knows. There's a new season of Project 2025. And did you know that politicians don't have to be a thousand years old? Let's kick things off with another installment of Indecision 2024. There's one thing we all know about Donald Trump, it's that he's not a policy guy. He's more of a boobs guy, or a she'll have a salad guy, or a babe, I swear I have a latex allergy guy. He's definitely not a policy guy. So last year, the Heritage Foundation put out a policy for him. It's called Project 2025, and everyone's talking about it. It's really having a brat summer. It's essentially It's essentially a blueprint for transforming the government from a neutral bureaucracy to a conservative death star. I'm going to be honest, it's very upsetting. But the most upsetded was Donald Trump. Well, on Truth Social, Trump wrote, I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who's behind it. They come up with this, I don't know what the hell it is. It's Project 25.

I don't know anything about it. I don't want to know anything about it. Okay, now I'm suspicious because the last time Trump said, I don't know anything about that, he was talking about Stormy Daniels. So did Trump say Project 2025? Trump has consistently said he doesn't know anything about Project 2025, but that might be hard to believe after this. This week, we got new evidence of the connections between Trump and Project 2025. Reporters for documents presented, and ProPublica obtained 14 hours worth of private training videos from the group, and many of the people in the videos have worked for Donald Trump and remained close to him.

Hello, my name is Jeff Small. I was a presidential appointee in the Trump administration.

I am a former political appointee in the Donald J. Trump administration.

I served in the Trump administration.

Was on the Trump campaign team early on.

You stayed until the final hour. Yes. During the Trump administration, I served as the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security. Are you sure that you were at the Department of Homeland Security and not the guy they brought in to throw holy water on Giuliani? Because you say you're a Trump staffer, but you look like the last thing a Russian Tsar sees before he's thrown into the back of a carriage. So this guy worked in the Trump administration. Can you imagine how often Mike Penns tried to confess to him? Father, today I saw a pair and had impure thoughts. The point is, 29 out of 36 speakers in these videos worked for Trump. There is no way he doesn't know who they are. You think he wouldn't remember meeting a guy who looks like ZZ Top, joined a monastery? Anyone would remember meeting this guy. You're telling me he's got a nickname for Joe Biden, but not libertarian Gandalf? Come on, I don't think so. Look, I want to get to the videos themselves. These are internal training videos for people who want to join a new Trump government in the hopes of someday being kicked off dancing with the stars.

But they won't just hire anyone. If you've been convicted of a crime, you will not be serving in the federal government. Crimes such as fraud fraud, embezelment, and tax evasion show a lack of moral character. Yeah, we'd hate to have fraudsters and tax evaders work for the Trump administration. Go on. To obtain employment in government, it is not favorable if you have accumulated debt and filed for bankruptcy You might want to run this up the chain to the boss because it's starting to feel personal. No tax evasion, no bankruptcies, no weird hairstyles, no one who had a cameo in Home Alone, too. Definitely. Definitely nobody who constantly brings up Hannibal Lector like it's a real person. But hiring standards aside, these videos also delve into Project 2025's agenda and policies. For a party that's who's recently been fighting back against allegations that they're weird, this won't help. Hi, I'm Katie Sullivan, and just a normal American woman. Are you sure? Because now that you said it, I'm wondering. Hi, I'm just a normal American woman, wearing normal woman's skin, as we normal women do. Okay, you were being normal? And just a normal American woman.

But to the left, that makes me a cisgendered, ethnoimperialist, birthing person with pronouns she/her. Oh, my God. Is every sentence going to be like this? I'm sitting in a chair, or as the left would call it, a quad leg abled, upcycled, non-binary, wood-based booty ally. Okay, got it. She doesn't have pronouns, but that's all culture war stuff. What about something less personal and more policy, like climate change? And remember, don't make it weird. Climate change, allegedly, is everywhere. This is an issue to pay attention to as it has infiltrated every part of the federal government. Now, when I think of climate change, I immediately think of population control, don't you? No, I don't. No, I don't think of population control. When I think of climate change, you weirdo, I I think of forest fires and smoky bear in his tight little bear bod, like a normal American moment. What makes these videos clear is that Project 2025 plans to remake the entire federal government into an organ the conservative movement. But because they know how unpopular that is, they're also teaching the recruits how to keep it a secret.

What you probably want to do is if you need to resolve something, you're probably better off going down to the canteen, getting a cup of coffee, talking it through and making the decision, as opposed to sending them an email and creating a thread that accountable. Us or one of those other groups is going to come back and seek, and you're going to have to explain why you're withholding it, and you're going to fight in court. It's going to be a lot of expense.

It's an an email that's better resolved with a meeting. Yeah, got you. No paper trail. You're recording this, right? Sound, audio, we're rolling. Good. By the way, this video might actually bring Project 2025 to a breaching halt, because I don't care how badly you want to ban abortion. If you have to physically meet someone for coffee to do that, that. No, let him have the right. Let him have it. Now, again, there are 23 of these videos, and we're not going to show them all to you, but there is one more that we found exclusively, and it was made for one particular government employee.

Hi, President Trump. I'm Benson Winchester IV, Director of Project 2025. I'm introducing myself because Obviously, we've never met. You might be asking yourself, what's my role in Project 2025? I'm here to tell you that as President, your role is not to worry about it. On the day you take your oath of office, Project 2025 will get right to work, so you can go back to the golf course. You might hear some noise from the White House basement while we install the IVF prisons and migrant fight pits. But don't worry, because we're also installing a new pinball machine in the oval office. Elvira wouldn't mind pinballing that. While you have fun at state dinners and pardoning turkeys, we'll get to work demolishing the Department of Education, the EPA, and the National Oceanic and Atmosphoric Administration. The what? Don't worry your pretty little head about it. Just sign on a few dotted lines, and then it's time for some TV. Oh, Sean Hannity? I wouldn't mind pinballing that.

Now, you might have heard a ridiculous rumor that our plan calls for banning pornography.

Well, rest assured this will not apply to you. In fact, as part of our plan, we're going to give all the porn that we confiscate to you. Enjoy, big guy. That about wraps it up. If you have any questions, don't ask them. Just know that Project 2025 is the future of America. Isn't that right, Alexi?

It is a future that can't be stopped. A future of blood and sword. A nation stripped of its decadence while its people run screaming to their doom. Their children onto seven generations, cursing our names and the dark Messiah, Trump, that brought about this glorious ecstasy.

Thanks, Alexi. When you come back, we'll find out if politicians be even longer. Welcome back to The Daily Show.

Like any late night show, we love the 18 to 35 demographic. You guys rock. Turn off your ad blockers. You're missing a lot of great stuff. But did you know that there are some people who are older than that? And a lot of those people run the country. It's called gerontocracy, and Grace Fuhl and Schmidt found out more.

America's democracy may not be the strongest, but at least it's the oldest.

There seems to be some gerontocracy.

We have the oldest leaders among rich countries, and we love all of them. Joe Biden, Donald Trump, this guy. But are there drawbacks to having our leadership with one foot in heaven? I spoke to Mark Fisher, NeuroPolitics researcher at UC Irvine.

We know that brain function tends to deteriorate with aging. One of the first to go of all the cognitive functions is called executive function. It's decision-making. I see. What can be more important for a political leader than decision-making?

What am I going to have for freaking lunch? I'm President of the United States. What the heck am I going to have for lunch? That's a hard decision. I hope that I have a burger for lunch. I guess I've had this freaky misconception that old people are wiser and smarter than me. And it feels like what you're telling me is that that's not true and I should never trust them.

Oh, I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. No, I think that the experience that one gains over the course of a lifetime, extraordinarily important. But there are some measurable cognitive functions that do begin to decline over the age of 60.

So even though you have more experiences, you are still getting dumber.

I'm neurologist. Dumb is not a word that we use.

Okay, all right. I'll say it then. Don't worry. So having a bunch of old brains in charge might be a bit of a problem, but this wise old neurologist actually has a solution. Our NeuroPolitics Center, we came out with a recommendation that cognitive testing should be done on all politicians, not just older politicians, all politicians.

Woman, man, camera, TV.

Unsurprisingly, Trump says he aced his cognitive test already.

If you get it in order, you get extra points.

An individual is given a number of things to remember, and then after a period of time, 3-5 minutes, they're asked to repeat that.

I mean, those aren't hard things to remember, right? Person Mama, dad.

It's only one part of the exam. Yeah, thank God. And by itself, it doesn't determine a whole lot. No. You have to look at the entire exam.

And you have to look at someone's personality. I mean, I have a really good personality.

Absolutely. Thank you. But that's really not assessed in no cognizance.

It doesn't need to be. Without seeing his test results, we can only guess how well or not well Trump's brain is doing.

He's eating by a lot, including Obama. I'll tell you what.

But it did make me curious. Could my brain be President? My name, Grace. My date of birth, June 30th, 1995.

This first part of the exam, this isn't scored, so this is just identification material.

Okay, God. I would like to be scored on those two, actually, if possible, because I think I got them right. Do you have more difficulties doing everyday activities due to thinking problems? No, I have almost nothing to do on a daily basis. At the bottom of the very last page, write, I have finished on the blank line provided.

So this is a test of delayed recall.

Got it. This one is so easy. Can I call my mom to just double-check?

Last question. In the course of just a few pages, we've covered many cognitive domains. Sir. Did I pass?

Let's hear it, brother. Come on, come on.

You got it. Let's go.

Now, if only someone could go to Washington and get our elected leaders to take this test. Okay, fine. I'll do it. Hello.

Hey, how are you doing?

Good to see you. You, too. My name is Grace.

I'm Maxwell.

I'm looking for a congressperson. Well, I am a congressman. So who does your Botox or your work? You look incredible.

I appreciate it. I'm actually 27.

Yes, most junior congressperson, Maxwell Frost, is the only person who would talk to me for this story. So how would you feel about having a cognitive test required for politicians?

I don't think we should have that.

Okay, why not? You're worried you'd fail, dude? What is a cognitive test? For example, I could show you one. Yeah. Yeah. What are these?

A rhino and a harp.

Congratulations, sir. You get to keep your position. They told me that if you screwed this up, that this office would be mine.

I'll be honest. I had to think for just two seconds about what animal that was.

Yeah, of course. In this baby politician's view, the issue with politics isn't old brains. It's the lack of young ones.

I do think it's an issue that young people are as a representative. I don't think we should boot out all the old people and just have young people running the country.

So you're not ageist? I'm not an ageist. When do you feel like you would retire? I don't know when I would retire, but I do think we need term limits. Do you think if you stay in Congress for 34 years, you'll be able to bring Congress to term limits? Because of how this place works, maybe.

But my hope is we'll have it way before that.

So it's not hopeless. We just need our young politicians to stick around until they'll be able to change the system however long it takes. You know what? I think I'll vote for you.

You can't.

Why not? Because I live in Orlando. I represent Orlando, Florida. If you move to Orlando, though. I could go on a paid business trip to Disney World and leave my vote there. Yeah, that's illegal, too. Thank you, three. When we come back, Mark Duplass will be joining me on the show, so don't go away. Welcome back to The Daily Show.

My guest tonight is an actor who is currently nominated for an Emmy for his work on the Apple TV Plus series, The Morning Show. Please welcome Mark Duplas. They love you.

Oh, man. How much did you pay for that?

That was-not a dime. That was expensive. Not a dime, baby. Congratulations. Thanks, man. Emmy nominated. This is your second nomination for The Morning Show. It is. And this time, you're alongside your co-stars, Billy Crudup and Jon Hamm. Tell us why you feel you deserve the award more than them.

Well, there's a couple of things. The first is a smaller thing, but it's just my talent.

Sure. Yes, obviously.

That's generally it. Then, this is like a Hollywood thing. We like to talk about it a lot. Do go on. But there's a penis size issue as well. Hands down, so to speak. They do these. These aren't their real names. It's like John ham. Like, oh, maybe that insinuates Billy Crude Up. Up. I see. I'm just like, I'll just go Duplaç. I don't need to brag.

I love it. It is well-deserved, very well I'll deserve. Congratulations. I imagine being on the morning show, you have to do a lot of research by watching all the other morning shows. Do you have a favorite? Keep in mind, Gail King does watch The Daily Show, so careful what you say.

I like Gail King's show.

That's it. I like Gail King's show. We love you, Gail.

We love you, Gail King. It's the best of all the shows. You know what? I'm not a big research actor. I'm I would say, Chip is a 20 to 30% more stressed out version of me and how I am. But what I did discover when I was talking to people about this show is how freaking stressful the live news thing is. Because I produce independent films, and I'm like, I know what it's like to work on time constraints and budget constraints, but the live thing. I really got a sense of that. I was like, Oh, that's real shit your pants material. That's where it goes down.

Oh, for sure.

I'm sure right now you're sitting in a hole.

Oh, there's a whole shit your pants situation happening under here.

I thought I smelled it. I can't avoid it.

I got a whole stack of diapers down here.

Listen, I'm right there with- All the bourbon.

I got all the tools. It's so funny because in season one, your character, Chip, goes in, and it feels like he's the audience in a way. We see ourselves in Chip. He has great journaling journalistic integrity. He's level-headed. He's the every man. And throughout season three, we get to watch your character unravel completely. And Chip gets messy. He does. He gets a little messy. Slopy. A little sloppy. Yes.

Well, That's a great thing about Chip, in my opinion, why he's so fun to play, because you're right. He was essentially the moral center of the show. He was the bastion of journalistic integrity. But he's got this wonderful Achilles heel, which is that he is completely codependent upon and obsessed with Alex Levy, which is also easy to play because I'm completely obsessed with Jennifer Aniston. Who is it?

Who is it?

Who is it? Yeah, really hard getting into character on that one. But that's the great thing about Chip is he's got it all right until it comes to his relationship with Alex, and that really is his downfall.

You're getting ready to start up on Season 4?

Yeah, we're a few weeks into shooting. I know some stuff about plotting. What can you tell us? I feel like if I said something, I could even really try to say it, and I feel like Apple is inside of that camera, that camera right there. They're all watching. I think we might both get zapped.

That's probably true. They do have zappers at Apple.

They have Apple zapper.

Yeah. Once you sign those terms and conditions, it goes straight to zapping.

Do you guys have the new iZap? It is incredible.

It's amazing. You need a new charger for it.

I know, but you can kill people from across the street. It is really, really something That's what I'm saying, guys.

Don't worry, Apple. We'll edit this part out. Oh, my God. You're not only such a talented actor, but you're an insanely talented writer and producer and director. You and your brother Jay essentially defined an entire sub-genre of indie film, and that's really important to you still. It is. Why is championing those projects, indie film and TV, so important, even with that sweet Apple cash?

Well, here it comes. I'm going to be like, Chip, on the morning show, I'm going to get up on my high horse now because that stuff is going away. Our business model is failing, the streamers are reducing. When that happens, all they're going to do is make the big stuff, like the Game of Thrones, that they know can work. The really exciting things like I May destroy You and Baby Reindier. They're just cutting that stuff away. So what I'm doing right now is taking the money I make from the morning show, and I'm just going to go and invest and make my own TV series independently. I made a show recently called Penelope. That's really close to my heart because it's about a 16-year-old girl who leaves behind the trappings of her modern life to go live in the woods. I did it because I have teenage daughters who deal with mental health issues, and I deal with mental health issues. Our technology and the way we're living is destroying us right now. I don't know if you guys have read The Anxious Generation. It's an incredible book.

You should read it. We had him on. Jordan Lepre interview.

It's incredible. I really wanted to make something that could contribute to that story. The only way I can do it now is get rich on the morning show and go blow it on my stuff. That's it.

It's so awesome that you do that. You mentioned that you've talked very openly about struggling with anxiety and depression. How did that feel to share that? Were you surprised by the reaction that you got?

100% surprise. Here's the thing. It didn't feel weird to share because I live in Los Angeles amongst a group of artists where this is just dinner table conversation. We're all anxious and depressed, and we're always talking about it all the time. We're trading therapists. Oh, yeah.

My therapist is right under the set right now.

She's just waiting on call. Yeah. It's like, What medication are you on? I'm switching over to Selexa now. Totally. These are our conversations. But what I didn't realize is that, as you well know, because I don't know if you guys know, Desi was with me on The League 10 years ago as a guest star. It was amazing. But it's a great show, and a lot of the men who watch that show are not the men who are comfortable with talking about their mental health because they're football dudes and whatnot. When I started going on my social media, I got this outpouring, particularly from men, just being like, I can't believe you're saying this out loud. It makes me feel really good to know that someone that I view as somewhat successful is still on their feet despite this, and it offers hope in that way. I never really planned on being some mouthpiece for it. I was just whining on social media, and then it had this effect. So I'm like, Oh, well, this is something.

So not only brave, it's a generous thing for you to do to help support others. So it's really meaningful that you did that. I have one final question. The Morning Show. Is there any thought about spinning it off into doing a behind-the-scenes late-night show? I'm just curious.

So there's this one little thing that we've pitching. It's about a woman who- Fine.

I'll do it. I'll do it. Yes. I accept.

The only thing is the title. It's called Diarrrea, Diarrrea, Diarrrea.

Say no more. Good? Contracts already signed. Okay, great. I'm in. Mark Duclas, everyone. Oh, man. All episodes of The Morning Show are coming now on Apple TV+. And from now to you will be available to stream on Netflix. September 24th, March second. I'm going to take a quick break, so it'll be right back after there. Thank you. That's our show for tonight.

Now, here it is, your moment of bed. Kamehameha Day keeps the journalists away, so they hope, while Harris spends her time hanging with hip hop podcasters, or when the campaign does it, Zoom in with celebs.

It's all about grooving with the giggler. It's a national nonstop dance party, you all.

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