‘Daily Show’ finds NC voters who will NEVER vote for Trump. Well, about that vow ...
In a clip from Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” that aired Tuesday night, roving correspondent Jordan Klepper cornered the Triangle’s never-Trump voters and found them firmly opposed, openly hostile and deeply committed to never casting a ballot for GOP front-runner Donald Trump — unless the choice is President Joe Biden.
Klepper, famous for challenging diehards in the reddest of red territory, ventured into Nikki Haley’s Saturday rally in downtown Raleigh. As the camera rolled, he buttonholed supporters in its “quaint train station,” pinning them down on the looming decision.
“Do you think Donald Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy?” he asked one woman outside the train station.
“I really do,” she replied.
“So, you’re like, Donald Trump, I’m done with him?”
“No, done, yeah. Completely done.”
“Hypothetically, if it is Biden vs. Trump, who do you support?” Keppler asked.
“It’s really gonna be a toss-up for me, ‘cause I, it’d be Trump.”
Nearly every voter Klepper questioned issued the same ultimatum: Not Trump, ever.
Unless I have to.
“Do you think Trump poses an existential threat to the American way of life?” he asked Mike Pitruzzello of Durham.
“I think Trump will sell Ukraine to Putin,” he replied, adding, “It’s a threat to global security, and to me it’s big issue.”
“If we get to the place where it’s just Trump vs. Biden, who do you support?”
“Well, I don’t want to vote for either one of those characters,” Pitruzzello said.
“One person you just described as an existential threat to global security, but even with that, voting for an old man is too much?”
“That’s voting for nothing.”
“If you had to choose feeling nothing or punched in the nuts, it’s feels like a no-brainer,” Keppler said.
“At least if you get punched in the nuts, you can fight back. You’re still there.
Despite their doom-laden descriptions of Trump — “He’s out of control” and “He’s chaos” — almost none of those in Haley’s crowd could commit to pulling a lever for Biden.
“It’s just hold my nose, close my eyes, tie me up, you know?” one man told Klepper. “Would you rather have rat poison or ... fish tank cleaner?”
Out of eight people quizzed on the street, only one would toss the incumbent president his support.
He did so only after a long pause.
And a grunt.
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 12:37 PM.