On the first day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Samantha Bee, the late-night host, was back from hiatus, and she didn’t waste any time, focused on what she described as “the 41st, and possibly the last, Republican National Convention.”
She attacked Trump’s running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence.
“Indiana voters hate Pence as much as Indiana Jones hates snakes,” the host of TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” said Monday. She showed a clip of people booing Pence when he threw the first pitch at an Indiana baseball game. Noting Pence’s vehement anti-abortion stance, she later said, “If you’re a lady Hoosier, you may recognize him as the governor who inspected your reproductive organs every 30 days to make sure you weren’t using them in ways that would make Jesus sad.”
After spending some time roasting the GOP over the long list of prominent party members who declined invitations to speak, as well as the convention’s money problems, Bee went after the Republican party’s declared platform at this year’s convention, which includes several ultra-conservative stances on issues ranging from same-sex marriage to reproductive rights.
“It’s not so much a platform as it is the Republican party’s suicide note,” Bee said, adding that GOP leaders decided on the platform by “locking a bunch of cranky church elders in a room, turning off the air-conditioning, and asking them who should go to Hell.”
Later on Full Frontal, Bee traveled to Cleveland to find out whether or not the city was prepared for the RNC. “The whole city believes it’s ready to host the most magical, old white guy hoedown in GOP history,” Bee joked.
However, Stephen Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, also told Bee the city’s police force could have a difficult time controlling the crowds at the convention, especially considering the fact that Trump’s rallies over the past year have often attracted a passionate, sometimes violent, mix of supporters and protesters. “We’re screwed,” Loomis said, matter of factly.
Meanwhile, Ohio Governor John Kasich has refused local police unions’ calls to suspend the state’s open carry gun laws in order to prevent large numbers of gun-carrying civilians from congregating near the convention. With regard to 2nd Amendment supporters who would look to show up at the convention heavily armed to make a statement about gun laws, Bee said: “Listen to the cops who will save you when the s–t goes down and you’re running away in your pee-stained mom jeans. OK?”
“Alright, Cleveland,” Bee continues. “You’ve heard what people are saying—that you’re a ‘mistake by the lake’ getting hit by a ‘Trump-quake’—but, we can show the world you’re going to be OK... Probably.” Bee then makes her way across the city, facing off against hordes of violent protesters (and, at one point, a zombie) while a song plays with the lyrics “Cleveland, we’ve mostly got this.”
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Like several of her late-night TV colleagues, Bee is doubling down on her coverage of this week’s GOP convention. On Wednesday, the comedian is hosting a special edition of her show, called “A Very Special Full Frontal Special,” that follow Bee and her staff as they travel to Cleveland. “Along the way, they accidentally discover America and the concerned, excited and largely baffled people who live in it,” TBS said in a press release. “Their trip culminates at the Republican National Convention on the eve of Donald Trump accepting the party’s nomination for President of the United States.”