News Covering: April 4, 2025 – April 10, 2025
What a tariff-ic week (terrible, I know I know).
So, obviously we saw a lot of back and forth this week, pause tariffs, don’t pause tariffs, but also pause them. It’s been very hectic as per usual. And while we’ve seen quite a lot of yay or nays over the last week, I think this brings me back to my comments a few weeks ago on selecting reliable, and reputable sources for news. Now of course, I don’t solely use our late-night shows for news, but oh boy do they give a plethora of content in a week.
One of my favourite moments this week was Thursday, when Seth Meyers did an imitation of Bernie Sanders doing an airline safety video:
“I know you’re not listening, so I’m going to keep this short. Fasten your seat belt and if a mask falls down, put it on your face.” – Seth Meyers (as Bernie Sanders)
To Meyer’s point, Sanders has a really good way of taking a complex idea, and parsing it down in a way that is straightforward, clear, and simple. In communications we reference the KISS principle, Keep It Simple, Stupid. And that’s what Bernie does, love him or hate him, he is a good communicator.
But another important thing that I want to talk about, and have for a while is Fake News, misinformation, and disinformation. Now I’ve loosely touched on these before, without necessarily using the terms exactly. Keeping it simple, misinformation is information that is unintendedly incorrect. Disinformation is information that is intentionally incorrect. If we look at the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, they additionally add the idea of harm, misinformation has no intention to harm, it’s just false, whereas disinformation seeks to cause harm intentionally.
The term Fake News, is an interesting one. Generally, the idea would be that it refers to news that is purposely false and/or misleading. But we’ve also seen this used in more of a malicious way in the last several years as Donald Trump has labelled news outlets that don’t agree with him, or portray him in an unfavorable way Fake News. We’ve also seen terms such as Fake News Media or Lamestream Media be used as well. I feel like attacks on the media further dampen the trust that audiences might have for journalism and news media. I think there is a real challenge for legitimate journalists these days. There is so much information available online, that it can be really hard to pick out the good from the bad. On top of this, I think it can be very easy to fall into an Echo Chamber. Where we surround ourselves with media, influencers, and friends who share the same beliefs as us, and reinforce those beliefs. And I know, this is also coming from me, as someone who is consuming a lot of late-night news programming, which very much swings to the left.
Which is why again, I am hoping to explore alternative shows, podcasts, and sources, to see if we can find comparable right leaning media that covers similar topics, and do a deeper dive into analyzing the differences and similarities between them.
But for now, onto this week’s news.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Episode 7 – Monday, April 7, 2025
Minor Story Mentions:
- Trump’s launch of reciprocal tariffs.
- Oliver breaking down the way that the administration calculated the estimated tariffs on the US for each country.
“We all knew it was a matter of time before this show became me literally teaching you math, I’m just surprised it took us twelve seasons.”
- The tariffs on Heard Island and McDonald Islands (islands of literal penguins).
Main Story – Trans Athletes:
- Trump’s executive order which sought to “rescind all funds from educational programs” that allowed trans women and girls to compete.
- The difficulties that Oliver and his team found when working on this story to find adequate research reports on trans women and the impacts their transition had on their athletic abilities.
- A report that is often cited as published by the UN, not actually having been published by the UN and instead was submitted by a special rapporteur, that may have not used proper research to support their claim on how many Olympic medals were won by trans women over cis women.
- A growing movement against trans women participating in sports.
Monday, April 7, 2025
Jon Stewart on Trump’s Botched Tariff Rollout & The Stock Market’s Meltdown | The Daily Show
Stewart covered:
- Donald Trump’s trade war tanking the economy.
- Trump calling anyone who is worried about the tariffs stupid and a “PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!).
- Trump playing a three-day golf tournament of golf over the weekend, while the stock market was crashing.
- Trump originally stating that if Kamala won the election, that they would have a stock market crash of 1929.
- Right leaning media expressing that the stock market going down didn’t matter.
- Benny Johnson, a conservative commentator stating: “losing money costs you nothing,” to which Jon Stewart replies: “Except money. Losing money, costs you money. It’s the definition of losing money.”
- White House Press Secretary and Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro stating that the use of tariffs was not to negotiate, followed by Trump stating that “the tariffs give us great power to negotiate.”
- Howard Lutnick suggesting that iPhone production will happen in the United States, and that the system will be automated and that American workers will be repairing the robots making the phones.
Nationwide “Hands Off” Protests | Wall Street Panics As Trump Intentionally Crashes Markets
Colbert covered:
- Weekend protests against the Trump administration.
- The falling stock market.
- Wall Street’s displeasure with Trump’s economic policy.
- China and the US’s new trade war.
- Trump doing a golf tournament while the market was crashing.
- The economic investor that Peter Navarro often sites economist Ron Vara… an expert who doesn’t actually exist, and is an anagram of Navarro’s last name.
Trump’s Wall Street Allies Turn On Him Amid Stock Market Chaos; Protests Sweep Nation: A Closer Look
Meyers covered:
- Trump participating in a three-day golf tournament while the market was crashing. He also claimed to have won the tournament.
- Nationwide protests against Trump’s administration for DOGE cuts, Tariffs, and ICE arrests.
- Trump calling for people to “HANK TOUGH” through the tariffs (yes, that his typo, not mine).
- Conservatives supporting Trump through the tariffs.
“Yeah, it’s like if you were rushed into the hospital and you flat-line, it might not be a bad thing, it just means your heart is taking a nap.” – Seth Meyers
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Nintendo Switch 2 Delayed Over Tariffs | Lutnick: Only Jobs For Robots | Trump’s Gone Full Dictator
Colbert covered:
- Tariffs continuing to impact the stock market.
- Trump suggesting that tariffs could be permanent but also not permanent.
- Howard Lutnick suggesting that the US will have iPhone factories in the country, but they’ll be fully automated.
- Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, suggesting that retiring Americans don’t look at the day to day of their savings accounts.
- Elon Musk attempting to get Trump to reverse tariffs.
- The Dodgers visiting the White House.
- Trump’s plan for a military parade on his 79th birthday, with a suggested cost of $92 million.
- Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, requesting staff bake him chocolate chip cookies.
Meyers does not have a closer look on Tuesdays.
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Trump Pauses His Trade War | “BE COOL!” | China Threatens To Ban Hollywood Movies
Colbert covered:
- Trump pausing tariffs for 90 days to negotiate with trading partners, after insisting on the weekend that this was not a negotiation, and policies will never change.
- The raising of tariffs on China.
- The EU’s intended retaliatory tariffs.
- Trump speaking at the National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner.
- Trump ensuring people say “beautiful clean coal” rather than “coal.”
Trump Caves and Pauses Tariffs After Market Crash, Backlash from Wall Street and GOP: A Closer Look
Meyers covered:
- The Trump administration’s tariff numbers not really making any sense.
- An interview between CNN and Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, who was unable to answer a question on the administration tariffing an island of penguins.
- The White House stating that there would not be a pause to Tariffs, and then the following day pausing tariffs.
- Wall street originally being very supportive of Trump’s election win, they then thought the tariffs would be well thought out, and then once the tariffs were out, expressed extreme confusion.
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Colbert did not have an episode this past Thursday.
Trump Accused of Market Manipulation After Tariff Surrender, Fox News Admits He Caved: A Closer Look
Meyers covered:
- A meeting of the Trump cabinet.
- The 90-day pause on tariffs.
- The possibility that Trump partook in insider trading and market manipulation, by posting “this is a great time to buy,” shortly before announcing the pause.
- The absolute chaos of the stock market and tariffs.
And there you have it…
Another busy any chaotic week covered comedically.
Comedy Communications 