The cast of Comedy Central’s Wednesday installment of The Daily Show managed to hit all the wrong notes as it reacted to conservative criticism of President Joe Biden recognizing Easter Sunday as Transgender Visibility Day. Temp host Desi Lydic tried to suggest that Biden had nothing to do with his own proclamations and butchered multiple Biblical references, while correspondent Michael Kosta claimed Christians should be happy because the controversy brought attention to Easter that it normally doesn’t receive because it is just “shitty Christmas.”
Lydic didn’t see what the big deal was, “Yes, by total coincidence, Trans Visibility Day happened to fall on Easter this year. Which seemed like, I don't know, a good fit to me. I mean, Jesus did identify as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So, live your truth, queen! Now you wouldn't think Easter falling on a holiday that's been on March 31 for 15 years would be that big of a deal, but conservatives processed this like a child meeting the Easter Bunny: By losing their [bleep] minds.”
Two things. First, Lydic is spreading heresy to own the cons because God the Son never claimed to be God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Second, nobody forced Biden to issue a proclamation recognizing Transgender Visibility Day. He could have simply ignored it, but he chose not to.
Later in her diatribe, Lydic claimed that “I’m not here to pick a fight with Easter, Easter's great, probably our best holiday featuring a bunny who crawled out of a nightmare, but the level of outrage over this is totally out of proportion to what, ultimately, was an innocuous scheduling conflict. I just-- I wish I knew the real reason they were upset. Luckily, they left us some Easter eggs.”
A clip of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Fox was then played where he declared that “It's absurd and Joe Biden should be ashamed of himself. And all these people say, ‘yeah, but this is the day we've always recognized Transgender Visibility Day.’ Well, recognize it another day, not on Easter Sunday. It's an affront to the Bible and, quite frankly, it's an affront to biology. There are two genders. People can't just go in and out of one like a revolving door. It's not normal.
In response, Lydic added, “Ah, there it is. Thank you, least interesting man in the world, for saying the quiet part out loud. They don't think Transgender Visibility Day should be moved. They think trans people shouldn't be visible at all. Trans Day of Visibility could have been on National Pasta Day and they'd be like, ‘This is an affront to fettuccini!’”
She also claimed “there's a false premise at the heart of this entire controversy, which is that there's even a conflict between trans people and Christianity to begin with. There isn't! In fact, the Bible doesn't say anything about trans people. It does, however, say to love thy neighbor, to not judge other people, and perhaps the most famous of Bible verses, please do not sell me for $59.99 to pay off your rape fines.”
The Trump whataboutism aside, loving your neighbor does not mean affirming destructive behavior, and not judging people does not mean throwing logic out the window.
Further on in the segment, Lydic welcomed Kosta, who referenced another clip of Fox’s Jesse Watters confusing Good Friday with Resurrection Sunday, “Desi, this was good for both holidays. When was the last time you saw people this fired up about Easter, AKA, shitty Christmas? But now, thanks to this controversy, everyone, and I mean everyone, except for Jesse Watters, knows what Easter is really about.”
And The Daily Show, because nobody who knows “what Easter is really about” would label it “shitty Christmas.”
Here is a transcript for the April 3 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
4/3/2024
11:01 PM ET
DESI LYDIC: Yes, by total coincidence, Trans Visibility Day happened to fall on Easter this year. Which seemed like, I don't know, a good fit to me. I mean, Jesus did identify as the Father, the Son, and the Holy spirit. So, live your truth, queen! Now you wouldn't think Easter falling on a holiday that's been on March 31 for 15 years would be that big of a deal, but conservatives processed this like a child meeting the Easter Bunny: By losing their [bleep] minds.
…
Look, I’m not here to pick a fight with Easter, Easter's great, probably our best holiday featuring a bunny who crawled out of a nightmare, but the level of outrage over this is totally out of proportion to what, ultimately, was an innocuous scheduling conflict. I just-- I wish I knew the real reason they were upset. Luckily, they left us some Easter eggs.
MIKE HUCKABEE: It's absurd and Joe Biden should be ashamed of himself. And all these people say, “yeah, but this is the day we've always recognized Transgender Visibility Day.” Well, recognize it another day, not on Easter Sunday. It's an affront to the Bible and, quite frankly, it's an affront to biology. There are two genders. People can't just go in and out of one like a revolving door. It's not normal.
LYDIC: Ah, there it is. Thank you, least interesting man in the world, for saying the quiet part out loud. They don't think Transgender Visibility Day should be moved. They think trans people shouldn't be visible at all. Trans Day of Visibility could have been on National Pasta Day and they'd be like, "This is an affront to fettuccini!"
And for what it's worth, there's a false premise at the heart of this entire controversy, which is that there's even a conflict between trans people and Christianity to begin with. There isn't! In fact, the Bible doesn't say anything about trans people. It does, however, say to love thy neighbor, to not judge other people, and perhaps the most famous of Bible verses, please do not sell me for $59.99 to pay off your rape fines.
…
MICHAEL KOSTA: Desi, this was good for both holidays. When was the last time you saw people this fired up about Easter, AKA, shitty Christmas? But now, thanks to this controversy, everyone, and I mean everyone, except for Jesse Watters, knows what Easter is really about.
