As if the show doesn’t have enough to cover during this bizarro world of election season, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee released an extra episode Wednesday, covering the journey from New York to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
Watch: Samantha Bee’s interview with a Republican politician who can barely say Trump’s name
“It’s not enthusiasm. It’s toxic.”
Caroline Framke wrote about culture, which usually means television. Also seen @ The A.V. Club, The Atlantic, Complex, Flavorwire, NPR, the fridge to get more seltzer.
The series is undoubtedly still filming at the convention for segments to air in a later episode, so this installment was basically an excuse to air several reports Full Frontal did along the way in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania.
(Also, Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn — aka President Fitz — was there to drive the bus, for no reason other than the fact that Bee and company could get Scandal’s Tony Goldwyn to drive the bus.)
The episode’s main highlight didn’t feature Tony Goldwyn — though he did give Bee his best Fitz speech as a pep talk — but, instead, a politician fighting to keep his job. Bee’s interview with Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Jim Christiana was unexpectedly fascinating, if only because the man is so obviously exasperated and exhausted by how fraught politics feels right now that he would have said anything.
“The temperature [of the political climate] is off the charts, and it’s not enthusiasm,” Christiana said. “It’s toxic.”
When Bee asked if Christiana could say Republican nominee Donald Trump’s name out loud without looking so sad, it took him several tries before he could crack even the faintest scraps of a fake smile. (He draws the line at Bee asking him to add a cheer.)
“So we’re stuck with this shit sandwich, let’s eat it?” Bee suggested as a way to sum up his feelings.
Christiana laughs, sure, but he doesn’t deny it: “I think that’s a fair characterization of what I said.”
Watch the full interview above.
