Samantha Bee explains why Trump's Obama wiretapping story is bananas, and dangerous
President Trump gave a speech to Congress last week that didn't involve shouting or his Electoral College victory, and "for this astonishing feat, the pundits rained golden compliments down on him in the warmest shower he's ever had outside of Moscow," Samantha Bee said on Wednesday's Full Frontal. "Sadly, presidential Trump didn't have long to enjoy his victory over his own tongue," Bee said, pointing to the flap over Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Russians and, on Saturday, Trump's tweet-storm accusing former President Barack Obama of tapping his phones during the campaign. "To be fair, there's a good chance Trump fell asleep watching news, rolled over on the remote, and woke up during The Wire," she joked.
Bee broke out the sarcasm. "I mean, I get why you'd think Obama would tap your phone — just look how angry he is and obsessed with you," she told Trump, over photos of Obama's post-presidency. "He can barely stay up on that surfboard from all the rage and hatred for your administration. While Trump is flipping out on a daily basis, every picture of Obama looks like he's about to sip a piña colada, laugh, and paraglide off to a photo shoot for Essence magazine."
The source of Trump's accusation was reportedly a Breitbart article based on right-wing radio host Mark Levin's claim that Obama perpetrated a "silent coup" against Trump. Bee rolled her eyes: "Yeah, just one of those classic coups where a president uses the might of the government to spy on an opponent, and then doesn't release any of the information he found, lets the other guy win, and then isn't president anymore — classic coup, exactly what that word means."
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"So, to recap," she recapped: "President Tough-Guy got his feelings hurt because his special Bridezilla moment got stepped on by drama between his two boyfriends, so of course he fished up a victimization narrative from the right-wing propaganda swamp and hysterically ugly-cried it all over the internet, forcing professional journalists to spend the next 72 hours talking to Mike Huckabee's daughter about whether the most scandal-free president in living memory is a bigger criminal than Nixon. It's bananas." But those pundits "so eager to declare Donald Trump presidential" do have a point, she conceded: "Namely, when he spouts nonsense, it has immediate global consequences and makes us less safe, because he's the f—ing president." Watch below — and yes, there is NSFW language. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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