-Democrats in Congress passed the final version
of a $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill,
as well as a bill that would strengthen unions,
both of which would deliver huge benefits
to the poor and working class.
But the GOP and Fox News have been much more focused
on "Looney Tunes" and the royal family.
For more on this, it's time for "A Closer Look."
Millions of Americans are currently in crisis
thanks to the pandemic and economic crash
with poverty and food scarcity on the rise
and millions losing their health insurance,
and yet nearly the entirety of the right wing media
apparatus has been laser focused on Dr. Seuss,
The Muppets, the Looney Tunes and Joe Biden's dog.
-Even today, we heard about Biden's dog biting someone.
Can you imagine if President Trump
had a dog at the White House and it bit someone,
the press would go crazy.
They say this dog is working with Russia
and we got to have an investigation.
-Forget that. I can't imagine Trump having a dog, period.
Like, if I close my eyes, my brain won't do it.
Trump's the guy that every dog barks at
because they can't see anything behind his eyes
and they must think this is some kind of reanimated corpse
or a mannequin or something,
so they try to warn their owners.
Now, if Trump had a dog that bit someone,
do I think the Lincoln Project would have made a crappy meme
that your aunt sent around? I do.
But let's remember, while Donald Trump didn't have
a real dog, he had plenty of metaphorical ones,
including his lapdog, Lindsey Graham,
his junkyard dog, Steve Bannon.
And if you don't think Don Junior is a group of friends
in college other than Dog Pound,
well, I don't know what to tell you, pal.
His lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is such an attack dog,
he had to pass the bar exam and bark exam.
[ Barking ] Whoa, whoa.
Whoa.
I think it was that bad, fellas.
And if somehow Trump did have a dog
that was a Russian spy,
Trump still would have been too dumb to notice.
This is my dog Petroff, gift from Vladimir.
Hates tennis balls, loves secret files.
Makes the cutest clicking sounds.
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
[ Laughter ]
Again, not a -- not a Photoshop. But, yeah, it's true.
Joe Biden's dogs were sent back to Delaware
after one of the major Biden engaged in aggressive behavior.
And I don't know the specifics of what happened,
but since he's a Biden dog,
I'm betting he was at a dive bar late at night in Scranton,
knocking back a few cold ones after a tough day at the plant
when a local drunk started hassling a lady at the bar.
So Major decided to intervene. "Hey, leave that lady alone."
And the drunk guy was like, "Screw off, old man, dog."
And Major was like, "See this scar?
I got this in 'Nam. You don't want a piece of me."
And then the drunk guy was like, "[Bleep] you."
And Major bit him.
Anyway, the point is, this is the kind of thing
the right is focused on right now,
but don't worry, it's not just Dr. Seuss and Joe Biden's dog.
They're also obsessing over children's toys and cartoons.
-Well, first it was Mr. Potato Head
and Mrs. Potato Head.
Now it's Dr. Seuss.
They want to cancel the Muppets.
They want to cancel Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.
-You see last week they tried to cancel Kermit the Frog
and Mr. Potato Head? You see that?
-Look out, Mr. Potato Head. You're next.
-This week alone, they canceled Mr. Potato Head.
You know, this week alone, they canceled the Muppets.
You know, they're canceling Dr. Seuss.
First they outlaw Dr. Seuss,
and now they want to tell us what to say.
-Cancel culture takes on cartoons. Yes.
Pepé Le Pew will not be featured
in the upcoming "Space Jam 2" movie.
Bugs Bunny better watch out. They're coming for him.
-Who gets to decide these things for us?
You know? You got Pepé Le Pew now.
-Pepé Le Pew now has a bad reputation
and therefore has to be cut out.
-Personally, I can't believe Fox News
is defending someone who's French.
If this was 2003, they'd be referring to him
as a freedom skunk.
For those of you too young to remember,
that was a joke referencing a period of time
when [whispering] conservatives canceled French fries.
[ Normal voice ] In fairness, this outrage might just be
because Fox News has lost so many advertisers
that their last major sponsor is the Acme Corporation.
That's why Hannity tied himself to that rocket last night.
I guess my anvil boycott is back on.
You know what Fox News? If you really want
to defend a Looney Tunes character,
how about the sadistic psychopath
known as the Road Runner?
That guy's Jigsaw and
Hannibal Lecter, rolled into one.
You know how many times he tried to kill a coyote just for fun?
This [bleep] is so barbaric,
he tricked someone into walking off a cliff
and falling into a ravine not just once,
but hundreds of times.
If they made a Road Runner movie, it would have
to be played by Michael Shannon.
Beep-beep, [bleep]
Why do you sweep yourself into a dust pan
while I go have sex with your wife?
Pretty bad Michael Shannon.
[ Laughter ]
Seriously, imagine being an actual adult
and spending any amount of time at all complaining
about a decades old cartoon character
being left out of a movie.
You think I haven't been cut out of movies?
Oh, I've been cut out of movies, friend.
I had a part in "Training Day."
Remember when Denzel gives that big speech
where he screams King Kong ain't got nothing on me?
Well, after the speech, it was supposed to cut to me
saying this, "King Kong."
And then I go to the premiere, bring my whole family.
That scene comes on, nothing. I was devastated.
Marched up to Denzel at the after party
and say, "Hey, what gives?"
He tells me it took people out of the scene.
And I said, "Well, you just took me out of the theaters
because no one's going to pay to see that turd."
Anyway, movie's a smash hit, he wins an Oscar,
and that's probably why he's never been on the show.
Point is, guys, there's a pandemic raging,
millions suffering or out of work
and you're spending your time defending the Looney Tunes.
The whole thing is just, well, I want to say looney tunes,
but that seems redundant.
The whole thing's Mickey Mouse.
The Republican Party conservative movement
have turned entirely to nonsense cultural BS
because they have nothing else to talk about.
They don't have a convincing criticism of the Democrats
massive Covid relief bill because it's overwhelmingly
popular, even with their own voters.
75 percent of Americans,
and 59 percent of Republicans
said in a new poll that they support the bill.
So remember that when people complain it's a partisan bill,
they're only referring to elected Republican officials
not voting for it.
It's popular among voters from both parties.
It's a historic achievement that will, among other things,
fund vaccinations, send thousands of dollars
directly to the vast majority of American families
and cut child poverty in half.
The GOP and Fox News can't criticize it,
so they'd rather not tell their voters about it at all,
which is why a new poll out today
found that Republican voters were more likely to hear a lot
about Dr. Seuss than any other story in the news,
including the Covid bill.
Great, so one of our major political coalitions
is concerned mostly with the deadly disease
rampaging the country and the ensuing economic crash,
and the other political coalition cares mostly
about a minor Dr. Seuss book called "McElligot's Pool,"
which,along with the cats quizzer,
haven't sold in years anyway
according to The New York Times.
And I have to say, as someone who has read
many Dr. Seuss books to my kids myself,
I don't know who this McElligot is,
and I don't care much about his pool.
Let me guess, it's got a bunch
of weird animals in it with made up names
that just happen to rhyme. Pretty [bleep] handy.
Fox News and the GOP can turn literally
anything into a culture war.
For example, the same channel
that proudly championed right wing rallies
where so-called Tea Party Patriots
wore tricorn hats and waved "Don't tread on me" flags
is now taking the side of the British royal family
and anyone who defends them.
-Is America's cancer culture crossing the pond?
Are we to blame?
Are we responsible for the wokeness
that's now overseas?
-I'm afraid this seems to be an element of that,
and now we see the example of Piers Morgan
simply saying something that a lot of people
in Britain think, like a lot of people around the world,
which is that Megan Markle was at the very least exaggerating,
most likely just lying in a range of things
she said in her Oprah Winfrey interview.
And for that now, Piers Morgan has lost his job.
I never thought I'd have to defend Piers Morgan,
but here we are.
He's one of the hills we have to die on, it seems.
-No, you don't. First of all, he didn't lose his job.
He quit. He canceled himself.
He literally walked off the set on live TV in front of everyone
like a real housewife of New York during a reunion show.
Normally when you see someone storm off seat,
it's because there are a few cocktails in and Andy Cohen
just ask them a question about a fight
they had with Ramona in season three.
He walked out and quit his TV job,
all because one of his co-hosts criticized him.
That's insane.
You know what any normal person
would give to have a job as easy is that?
In fact, if they're looking for a replacement,
it doesn't even need to be a person.
I hear there's a certain presidential dog
who suddenly got a lot of free time on his hand.
In that same Fox segment,
they continue to insist that Americans
should act like Morgan and the British royal family
and stand up to so-called cancel culture.
-He stood up for himself. Is that what's got to happen?
-That's exactly what has to happen.
You know, what is happening is a set of bullies
with a very nasty ideology are pushing their way
into everything in American life and now in British life.
They've now got the monarchy having to defend itself
against totally unproved charges of racism,
and basically the royal family have got to do
what everyone has to do, in America and elsewhere.
We've got to stand up to this.
-Thank God we didn't have American patriots
like Brian Kilmeade during the Revolutionary War.
As soon as the first red coat showed up,
it would have been like, "Oh, I'm glad you're here.
These guys want to start their own country.
Can you believe that? But I'm with you.
Tea is delicious, and I do not blame you for taxing it."
That's Fox's message to the poor and working class Americans.
They pretend to stand up for or be more like
the British royal family.
Lose your job at a restaurant because of the pandemic,
or get laid off from a factory Trump promised to save
but didn't, do exactly what the Queen would do.
Stand up for yourself by quietly nibbling a crumpet
while staring out the window of your throne room
and say, oh, dear.
Seriously, Fox, you guys pretend to be
champions of the working class,
and you've decided to join forces
with a cartoon French skunk,
a well-paid TV pundit who quit his job
because he doesn't like criticism
and the British royal family.
Who else are you going to defend against cancel culture?
Mr. Monopoly and Smaug?
What no one ever says about Smaug, love him or hate him,
he earned that gold.
When Fox hosts was willing to move on
from the British royal family.
-We'll be honest. We didn't plan to talk about
the British royal family tonight.
We're Americans, and the idea of bringing you the details
of some dispute within a decayed monarchy,
it's a little too much like European history class.
Who cares?
So we're going to take a hard pass on the whole thing.
-So let's fast forward, I don't know, three minutes later
and see what he chose to talk about instead.
I bet it's child poverty. You know what?
I bet it's building wireless infrastructure in rural America.
I, for one, can't wait to find out.
-You're definitely not allowed to mock the oppressed Duchess.
Our friend Piers Morgan did just that on television in the U.K.
and had to resign from his job.
Rich people are oppressed, period,
and if you claim otherwise,
they will use their total powerlessness to get you fired.
-if you claim otherwise, they'll get you fired.
They'll evict you from your house.
They'll take away your car, your bank accounts,
your water, your food.
They'll blacklist you from Applebees and embarrass you
when you ask for a table for one.
And you'll say, "Is this because I criticized Meghan Markle?"
And they'll say, "No, it's because the last time
you were here, you ordered jalapeno poppers
and then stuffed them in your pockets
and ran out of the restaurant until security chased you down
and tased you in the parking lot.
And when you called them popper coppers
because you thought it was a funny joke, they didn't laugh.
They arrested you because of cancel culture.
And when word gets out that you got arrested at Applebees
by a bunch of popper coppers,
your kids start calling you a popper pooper
and everyone laughs and your wife leaves you
all because you criticize Meghan Markle."
Also, once again, he didn't get fired.
He walked off set and quit,
all because he didn't like what someone else said.
That's like me walking off the set of my show
because Wally doesn't laugh at one of my jokes.
Don't tempt me, Wally. You know what? That's it.
I quit...being canceled,
just like the British royal family and Pepé Le Pew.
Wow, my wife caught wind of that immediately.
[ Laughter ]
She watching the feed.
Anyway, the point is this is what
the right has chosen to focus on.
As President Biden prepared to sign
a historic Covid relief bill into law that sends
thousands of dollars directly to families,
funds vaccinations and cuts child poverty,
among many other things, and on top of that,
House Democrats also passed a bill yesterday
called the Pro Act that would help working class people
by strengthening unions.
In fact, if they'd wanted to,
the self-proclaimed champions of the working class,
the GOP and the right wing media
could have focused on this part of Meghan Markle's interview.
-I went to Human Resources,
and I said, I just realized I need help
because in my old job there was a union
and they would protect me.
And I remember this conversation like it was yesterday,
because they said, "My heart goes out to you
because I see how bad it is,
but there's nothing we can do to protect you
because you're not a paid employee of the institution.
-Okay, first of all, I can't believe
the royal family has H.R.
Has Prince Andrew at least gotten like a reprimand?
Do you know why you're here today, Andrew?
Is it improper use of the company car?
No, it's the Epstein stuff.
Right, right, right, right, right, right,
right, right, right, right.
Second, think about that.
The royal family, one of the richest
and most powerful institutions on Earth
when protector, but her union would.
That's because unions give working people the tools
to protect themselves from predatory employers
and the ability to collectively bargain
for better wages and benefits,
but they have declined in this country
over the last half century, due in large part
to concerted attacks from hostile corporations
and the politicians those corporations support.
When the House passed the Pro Act yesterday
with only a few Republican votes,
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan
gave them a righteous ass kicking.
-Heaven forbid we passed something that's going to help
the damn workers in the United States of America!
Heaven forbid we tilt the balance
that has been going in the wrong direction for 50 years.
We talk about pensions, you complain!
We talk about the minimum wage increase, you complain.
We talk about giving them
the right to organize, you complain.
But if we were passing a tax cut here,
you'd be all getting in line to vote yes for it.
Now, stop talking about Dr. Seuss
and start working with us
on behalf of the American workers.
-Damn, you know that's it big deal
when a guy whose presidential campaign merch
literally said you don't have to yell goes off like that.
Even Bernie Sanders was like, whoa, Tim, keep your voice down.
This is the place of business!
But he's obviously right, and he should be pissed.
One of our two major political coalitions
would rather spend its time
whining about Dr. Seuss and Looney Tunes
then help poor and working Americans who are hurting.
They need and deserve actual relief.
Now, if Republicans had their way,
instead of a union and a check,
every worker would get a copy of "The Cat's Quizzer"
and a giant catapult with a boulder in it.
This is what the Republican Party and right wing media
have been reduced to.
It's a movement of 24/7 cultural outrage
and imagined grievances about children's books and cartoons
that don't actually mean anything to working people.
The Covid bill the Democrats just passed
will make a major impact
on the lives of actual Americans.
Meanwhile, Fox News is more interested
in defending the British royal family and...
-Pepé Le Pew.
-This has been "A Closer Look."
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