a level, a level, level threat. he's the greatest hockey star i ever seen yet. threat level what? midnight. threat level who? michael scarn. threat level why? apartheid. gotta fight it. free mandela. peace, i'm out. from comedy central's world news headquarters in new york, this is "the daily show" with trevor noah! ( cheers and applause ) ♪ >> trevor: thank you for being here! i'm your host trevor noah! our guest tonight, a fabulous actress, america ferrera is here, everybody! we'll be talking about her new book, "american like me." but first, let's get into the

only story anybody was talking about today. and, no, i'm not talking about me getting my third dimple. i'm talking about the big showdown everybody has been waiting for. >> the moment of truth, the senate showdown between brett kavanaugh and christine blasey ford. >> all networks watching dr. christine blasey ford. if you're talking about the historic import and rating it one to ten, you would give it about a 79. on social media, a ton of pictures of commercial airlines where every television set in the seat back is tuned to these hearings. >> even people on planes were watching the hearings, and it was so gripping it was the first time people were praying for a delay. even the flight attendance were watching -- get your own peanuts! yobt time for this shit right now! ( laughter ) emotionally, it was taxing, like

a sad super bowl, and what was sad about it was, like, everything that was going on because today was all about christine blasey ford, right? the woman who came forth and accuseed brett kavanaugh of sexual assault. there was someone who stole the spotlight, judiciary committee chairman and human cornbread chuck grassley. at times he acted like he was the one on trial. >> i think it's important to make sure you're properly introduced. >> if you want to introduce her, i would be glad to have you do that but i didn't forget to do that because i would do that just as she was about to speak. >> thank you. you have another 30 seconds now because i was rudely interrupted. something happened here in between on your side that the whole country -- well not the whole country should have known about it -- no not know about

it, we should have investigated it. >> trevor: no, not -- no, no -- what i meant was -- no -- i feel bad for chuck because he's trying so hard not to look like a sexist asshole that he's looking like a sexist asshole. shut up lady while i tell you how much i respect you! ( laughter ) today, no one cared for senator grassley as much as he did. everyone's attention was on dr. ford, and she didn't the st, she was ready to respond to all the people who asked, how can you even remember something that happened 35 years ago? >> you are very clear about the attack, that it was brett kavanaugh that covered your mouth to prevent you from screaming, if you are so clear, how are you so sure that it was he? >> the same way i'm sure i'm talking to you right now, basic

memory functions, also just the level of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the brain that as you know that nerve transmitter encodes memory into the hippocampus and that trauma awe-related experience is locked there where other details kind of drift. >> trevor: oh, snap! ( cheers and applause ) people were asking how the lady can trust her brain. she's a brain scientist! yeah, those senators were probably like, oh, yeah, we're also familiar with the hippo hippopotamus, let's move on! ( laughter ) and dr. ford had a response for those who thought she was here as part of the 2020 campaign. >> apart of the assault, these couple of weeks have been the most difficult of my life. i have been accusedov acting out

of partisan political motives. those who say that don't know me. i am an independent person and i am no one's pawn. my responsibility is to tell you the truth. ( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: you see that? that's something that a lot of people forget -- dr. ford isn't some politician who's running for office. she's a woman whose life had been turned upside down since she stepped into this supreme court battle royal. she has gotten death threats, reporters flooding her house and she's being called a political pawn, which is unfair to her and also to pawns. ( laughter ) i mean, i know this is not the time for me to address this, but still i'm going to go in on this. people act like pawns areton only pieces that get moved around the board, but you realize that's every piece. if you're a bishop, your ass could be zigzagging all over the place but you're still taking orders. i just say pawns are getting the short end of the stick. now's not time for chess.

forgive. one of the main things that made today's hearings -- a hearing different was that the republicans brought in an outside sex crimes prosecutor to ask their questions, right, because they wanted to avoid the optics of a sexual assault victim being interrogated by the world's most wrinkly boy band. and even as dr. ford sat through hours of grueling questioning, being asked to remember the tiniest details of something that happened over three decades ago, she still managed to remain surprisingly gracious and dpreebl. >> i would be happy to answer any further details you want me to. >> i wish that i could be more helpful and that others could be more helpful and that we could collaborate in a way that would get at more information. i'm just happy to describe them if you want me to, and i'm happy to not, whatever you want. >> trevor: after all she's been through, like, she still has such a good, warm attitude. i feel like after the hearings, she would be in the parking lot offering to jump start people's cars. if you want me to, i can help

you get home. ( laughter ) after four hours of dr. ford giving her side to have the story, it is brett kavanaugh's turn. i don't know if he's got something going on in his life but he seems really angry. >> this confirmation process is a national disgrace. you have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy. the behavior of several of the democratic members of this committee in my hearing a few weeks ago was an embarrassment. last-minute smears designed to scare me. i wanted a hearing as soon as possible to clear my name. i demanded a hearing. >> trevor: that's right, i demanded a hearing! ( audience reacts ) you didn't give it to me! i demanded it! anyway, if you will put me on the court now, i'm prepared to put my emotions aside and rule fairly and soberly. i think we can all agree i know how to handle my emotions, yeah. i'm not going to lie, the contrasts were striking, where dr. ford was open, this dude was

behaving like the whole thing was a waste of time. >> it's an outrage that i was not allowed to come and immediately defend my name and say i didn't do this and give you all this evidence. i'm not even in d.c. in the weekend in the summer of 1982. >> you're saying there's never been a case where you drank so much that you didn't remember what happened the night before or what are -- or part of what . >> if you're asking about a blackout, i don't know, have you? >> could you answer the question, judge? that's not happened. is that your answer? >> yeah, and i'm curious if you have. >> the swetnick thing is a joke. that is a farce. >> trevor: good lord. this guy was such an asshole, looked like he was auditioning for a snickers commercial. how dare you accuse me of sexual assault! mmm! i did it, yeah... ( cheers and applause )

>> trevor: you could feel real brett coming through because i don't know if you saw the interview on fox but he was all chilled out. today you could see the anger. i don't know what the full story is here, all right? what i do know is brett kavanaugh has been consistently shady about his history of partying as a teenage boy. >> did you consume alcohol during your high school years. >> yes, we drank beer. my friends and i, the boys and girls, yes, we drank beer. i like beer, still like beer sometimes probably had too many beer and other people had too many beers. >> what do you consider to be too many beers? >> i don't know. you know, whatever the chart says. the blood alcohol chart. >> trevor: oh, yes, of course, of course. the blood alcohol chart, yeah. the chart we all have at parties when we're drinking, you know that chart? like, yo, man!

hey, man! you ready, dude? you want to shotgun another beer? i would, buddy but the chart says we've reached our legal blood alcohol limit. get the ( bleep ) out of here, man! this guy was running around with calendars and charts? a 17-year-old ac chew ware? we aren't learning anything from this. after watching this exchange, i don't know if finding out the truth is on kavanaugh's calendar calendar. >> judge kavanaugh, turn to don mcghan and this committee and say for the sake of my reputation, my family name and to get to the bottom of this, i won't be an obstacle to an f.b.i. investigation. >> i'm telling the truth, i'll do what the committee wants to do. i want to know what you want to do. >> i'm innocent of this charge. why would you resist this

kind of investigation? >> i'd welcome -- i wanted the hearing last week. >> judge kavanaugh would you support an f.b.i. investigation right now? >> i will do whatever the committee wants to -- >> trump: personally, do you think that's the best thing for us to do? ( audience reacts ) >> trevor: it was at that moment that brett knew he had ( bleep ) up. he wanted a beer so badly but the chart said he couldn't have one. you could feel him coming out. so crazy to watch. i don't know about you but i feel like we all hoped, maybe naively, that today's hearing would get us a step closer to learning the truth about whether brett kavanaugh is fit for the supreme court. but from the beginning, today was never going to be enough time for us to get closer to the truth. this whole thing is rushed. there's not enough time. it was only going to be enough

time to make both sides feel better about how they were already going to vote anyway. no one dug in harder than lindsey graham. >> what you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. you said that, not me. you've got nothing to apologize for. when you see soto sotomayor andn tell them lindsey said hello because i voted for them. i would never do to them what you've done this this guy. this is the most unethical sham since i have been in politics, and if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn't have done what you've done to this guy. >> trevor: really, lindsey? the most unethical sham that you've ever seen in politics? uh, phone call coming in, merrick garland says hi. we'll be right back. ( cheers and applause )

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( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: welcome back to the sow. even before today's hearing, it was obvious brett kavanaugh had a lot of baggage, and now a full senate vote on him could happen within days. so the big question for senate republicans is kavanaugh worth keeping around. to help us analyze republican political strategy is a man who watched a couple of seasons of scandal, michael kosta, everyone. today was a tough day for brett kavanaugh. >> but he scored key points with his base, evangelicals like how he defended his family. president trump liked how he was getting accused of sexual assault, and senior citizens liked how he was talking so loud and clear. >> trevor: yes, yes, but, michael, he's been much more troubled than republicans anticipated. why don't cut bait and pick a

new nominee? >> it's psychology, trevor. the republicans have invested too much in him to just give up now. we've all been there. remember my new year's resolution last year to switch to an all beef diet? i knew in the first week it was a bad idea, but i already had a freezer full of omaha steaks, so i stuck with it, and now i have gout. >> trevor: yeah, but for michael, i'm like you, at some point they have to recognize he's a sunk cause. not worth it to risk a supreme court nominee. too much at steak. >> oh, gosh, please don't say steak. republicans aren't just thinking about the supreme court here, there is also the principle of this whole thing. if the senate holds brett kavanaugh accountable for multiple sexual assault allegations, they will have to hold the next nominee accountable, then where does this end? do you want to live in a world where everyone is held accountable for the things they've done? now i'm going to prison just

because i have been stealing my neighbor's amazon packages for years? is>> trevor: yeah, you should be held accountable. why do you always admit to crimes when you're here, dude? >> this is just between us. this doesn't leave the room. ( laughter ) here's the thing,. >> trevor: sticking with kavanaugh seems short sighted because if he doesn't get the votes republicans might not have enough time to nominate another judge and if they lose the senate they lose the seat completely. >> but if they're looking for a generic white man who makes blind decisions and will stick with it, you don't need kavanaugh. this guy right here is available. and the best part about me is no scandal also. >> trevor: you just admitted to stealing amazon packages. >> yeah, but only you and me know about that, trevor. >> trevor: michael kosta, everyone, we'll be right back! ( cheers and applause ) in april, luke's dad made 25 calls

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cats would do anything for the irresistible taste of temptations treats. what are you doing? hey, check this out. temptations - cats can't resist. ( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: welcome back to "the daily show." my guest tonight is an award winning actor, director and activist who is the editor of the new book, "american like me: reflections on life between cultures." please welcome america ferrera.

( cheers and applause ) ♪ welcome back to the show. >> thank you. >> trevor: so good to have you here. there are so many things that you're working on and today is one of those crazy days where i'm sure you're torn between what's happening in the news, what's happening in life. let's start with the news today. i'm sure you also were watching what was happening in the supreme court nomination hearing. you're somebody who's been involved avidly in politics. just from your point of view, when you were watching what happened today, what would you say was your visceral feeling? >> outrage. first and foremost, i love dr. ford for her heroic actions that she took. i believe dr. ford, and i watched as a survivor of sexual

assault myself a very public display of what happened to survivors when they dare speak up. what happens tomorrow or tonight, it's not just a vote, it's a referendum on what we are as a country, what are we willing to accept, where are we really and how much longer are women's lives and women's dignity going to come secondary to the needs of powerful men? ( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: wow. the story of america is so beautifully contained in this book, and after what you were just saying now, you've collected a group of amazing people, and you got people to write really personal accounts of who they, are what makes them who they are and how being different has helped them find

who they are but also how it's excluded them from the world. how did you begin this journey and how did you get these people to write in the book? >> the more and more i think about our country, the more i believe this american experiment is a story-telling experiment. it's sort of whose story gets told. i grew up feeling 100% american. i believed everything i had been taught, but this is america, and, in america, all you have to do is work hard and believe that you're equal to everyone else and that everyone else is equal to you and that nothing is impossible. >> trevor: right. and i believed that, and it wasn't until other people let me know that i wasn't american like them, that my eyes were open to that. >> trevor: right. and the space that i have inhabited for a lot of my life, the place between feeling 100% american but being told that others saw me not as that, and then also feeling latina and

deeply rooted to my family's culture and history, but also being told that i really wasn't that either, so i sort of lived in a no man's land. i felt so isolated and alone in that experience, and when i realized so many other people felt that way, too, i realized that it was because our stories never get told. >> trevor: it really is a wonderful paradox to try and absorb because, as you're reading through the stories, on the one hand, you are absorbing a world that has maybe told people repeatedly that they cannot be, but you're also speaking to people who managed to overcome that. you are somebody who's done it in your life in multiple ways. you've gone from manager america ferrera, oh, you're this type of actress and this is what you mean, and we've seen you grow up in different roles. you're directing now. are we seeing more of you in these roles, are you going to be

exploring more of that? >> yes, absolutely, i have started directing. i'm directing this season as well. i directed in the past two seasons. you know, i think that so much of what this book and these stories are about and so much about where i am and where i think women and people of color and all kinds of marginalized people in this country are feeling is we should be able to walk into spaces as our whole selves. we shouldn't have to strip away the pieces of us that aren't accepted by the mainstream culture to exist and be accepted in spaces. >> trevor: right. so, for me, that means i'm an actress, a director, a producer, an engaged citizen, and i get to be all of those things, no matter what room i walk into. >> trevor: your dream -- ( cheers and applause ) -- is carried through in the book. we love watching you grow. congratulations on the new little one in your life. i appreciate you being on the show again. america ferrera is available in

the first season of superstore premiering on nbc. america ferrera, we'll be right back! ( cheers and applause ) ♪ ultra. clears his throat. michelob ultra.

michelob ultra. sfx: makes bottle twisting open sound glug, glug, glug ughhh! oh, boy. hey, joy, a lot of people, not a lot of party. yeah, darryl needs to put the play in playlist. i can't stream out here. joy can, she's got the new iphone on verizon. just got it. best phone, best network. nice. and only verizon gives you six months of free apple music. (heavy metal music) darryl, no... read the room. sorry. that's okay. (mid-tempo funk) okay. i did it! yeah! dj! ♪ do nthanks grandma. why don't you fetch me some doritos.

(whoosh - dog barks) fetch me a bare na... (whoosh and dog bark) (bear growl / scream) crunch ( cheers and applause ) >> trevor: that's our show for tonight. thank you so much for tuning in.

now here it is... your moment of zen. >> god help us all as republicans because if this happens to us, it never happens to them. but let me tell you, my democratic friends, if this is the new norm, you better watch out for your nominees. ( cheers and applause ) (karen) oh, my god. you're, like, agoraphobic. really? yeah! you would rather sit on your couch and watch a phillies game then go out to a movie with your awesome girlfriend. absolutely correct. later, jim. kev, have a good weekend. bye. okay, so this is what's gonna happen. you're gonna suck it up... here we go. and we're gonna go to dinner... okay. and then we're gonna go to the movies. sounds good. hey, halpert! hey. roy! ahh! roy, don't! [screams] god! [people coughing]