Samantha Bee on How the Funny Can Fight Trump and Republicans

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

Crooked Media

Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Late night comedians have become some of the most recent high profile targets for Donald Trump and Republicans, because like most wannabe authoritarians, they can dish it out, but certainly can’t take a joke. This week, Stacey is joined by comedian, podcast host, writer, and former host of Full Frontal, Samantha Bee to discuss comedy’s role in pushing back against political censorship with relentless humor. They take on the current state of late night comedy, the very real threats to truth and free speech, and how we can all process this very fraught moment. Learn & Do More: Be Curious: Take a listen to Samantha Bee’s podcast, Choice Words to hear inspiring stories from people we all admire about the power of the choices we make. Solve Problems: Keep up the pressure to demand affordable healthcare, especially since the government shutdown is coming to an end without solving the issue. Visit https://10stepscampaign.org/JUST-FIX-IT and make your voice heard. Do Good: Help families who are struggling to put food on the table and in the crosshairs of Trump and Republicans who are targeting SNAP benefits. Ask local businesses if they can set up a community fridge to donate to, in addition to contacting food banks and anti-hunger organizations in your area.

Transcript

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1:37.5	Welcome to Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams from Cricket Media. I'm your host, Stacey Abrams.
1:47.5	On Sunday night, seven Democrats and an independent who caucuses with the Dems, voted to invoke
1:53.8	cloture, the first step towards ending the Republican government shutdown. In regular times,
1:59.9	this show of performative pragmatism might be
2:02.8	heralded. It demonstrates that once again, Democrats show that they are the only adults in the
2:07.6	room. But these are not regular times. America is undergoing an authoritarian overthrow, and business as
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