“Daily Show” correspondent Jordan Klepper believes MAGA voters are already “searching” for a new leader to rally around, predicting on “Obsessed: The Podcast” that they could even “flip to liberal values” amid disappointment in President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump is an identity,” said Klepper during Wednesday’s episode. “He created a brand that people can put on their heads and be a version of that bold, brash, cruel id. And they like that, and they’ve lived that identity for 10 years. I don’t know where that gets passed.”
The Emmy-nominated comedian, who has spent a decade interviewing Trump voters, is noticing dwindling enthusiasm for even senior Trump officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance since the 2024 election.
“I saw somebody like Elon Musk for a while — obviously not going to run for president — but he had a larger-than-life personality mixed with success,” Klepper said. “He was an easy symbol for the MAGA folks to rally around for a little while.”
He continued, “And I think it’s a person like that that they’re searching for.”
Klepper argued MAGA voters aren’t constrained by party affiliation or policy but are mostly drawn to showmanship — meaning former Trump supporters could even turn to a liberal candidate.
Klepper said he has frequently interviewed MAGA rally attendees who previously voted for former President Barack Obama, explaining both political figures had promised people “a true change” for a better life during their campaigns.
“They were performers,” he said. “They were larger than life; they were people you could hang symbols on top of and could draw crowds. They were people who led parades, and I don’t know if I see a lot of people who are grand marshals in parades in the … MAGA field.”
He continued, “But that’s what I see a lot of people gravitating towards, and I could see a real flip to liberal values with people who could lead that parade. People want to be excited about a person who could represent something more than them.”
Catch the bulk of his comments around 14:28:
While he went on to acknowledge that “the MAGA faithful” are still “fighting the same fight” from last decade when subverting political norms was all the rage, Klepper argued the movement itself has changed — and that “the party” just “ain’t fun anymore.”
“And if you remember a year and a half ago when Donald Trump won the election, there was this talk that this is the MAGA culture, that people are embracing what MAGA is, what the right is,” said Klepper. “And fast-forward a handful of months later.”
He explained, “As far as policy goes, we’re in another forever war, the inflation numbers are still high, gas is high, all of these things they ran on. But culturally? Right-wingers are fighting over whether ‘The Odyssey’ — the most popular movie in the world — is accurate enough.”
Klepper concluded, “And that is the lamest shit I have ever seen.”