Why Trump’s No Laughing Matter—Even for Me: Comic | The Daily Beast Podcast

So Indian community has not had the problems with Trump. in the way that America has because, we don't. he for me personally, I don't think he should be doing things the way he's doing them. I have a problem with his execution, I'm trying to Kohl's. This is the Daily Beast podcast. we've got advice for you from the only Indian family that has a family podcast. I'm talking, of course, about the Xbox. Hasan.

Zog is the matriarch. Zoya is her daughter. they're also going to give you a different perspective on Aisha Vance. and how JD is fully integrated into a Hindu lifestyle. And well, that just going to blow your mind. about many, many things and give you a good laugh. So are you tempted to do that? The shows I've seen that you you've done haven't been political? No. Are you tempted to do politics at all? I have a lot of political opinions, but I try not to do it.

I don't do political comedy because it feels like every other comic. wants to, you know, the space that. I'm in, nobody seems to want to be it. There are so many Brown comics today that are married, but they don't want to talk about their loss, right? They're too afraid. So I feel like. So you're going there so that actually that's the elephant. And it's easier to take on Trump than it is your own mother in law. And You're an Indian mom. Another Indian mom. Yeah.

Must be feeling very proud. Yes, son. At the age of 34. Got elected mayor of New York. I'm obviously talking about Mira Nair, the filmmaker. Yeah. What do you think she. She's thinking? She is probably so happy. I mean, look, he's not a doctor, so there's a limit. to how much you can feel pride. But, New York City mayor. Not bad. And I think she's so happy. I think she has a lot of faith in her son. You can see it. Yeah, in the images. And we actually, you know, Zoran is a alum of my high school.

Yeah, he went to Bronx Science. And so, my high school is incredibly happy for him. Even though he has his own issues with my school and the specialized. testing program that gets them into those schools, she wants to know he wants to get rid of, which I really strongly. hope that he reconsiders. Because I think that program. is one of the few meritocratic systems that exists in America. Of course, it has its own issues in terms of like certain. students can get certain levels of tutoring, but it's also one of the few things where it's just a test.

There's no other way to get in. I think that America needs more of those, but one thing that I found. so special was at the end when he got elected, his family came out. His beautiful Indian parents, and they played through Macaulay, which is a very Bollywood song. It's like a remix and no matter who you voted for, to just hear that song played with a big American audience. in the most important city in the country, I was. So I almost cried.

I mean, I was just like, I cannot believe that this song is going to be listened to by so many people. And like I grew up, we grew up hearing that that's a song that's played. at Indian weddings, you know, like an only at Indian weddings. You wouldn't hear it anywhere else. And so it was just really special. Yeah. But I'm sure Mira is excited, ecstatic and and probably a little nervous. Yeah. But it takes as we know, is not it's not like fun and games, right? Winning is a big thing, but it's the start. Is she going to move into Gracie Mansion with him? The mayor's residence probably.

She's a mother in law. At the end of the day. You know what I mean? She's watching that whole situation. Watching. I'm sure she's asking him where, when are the grandkids coming? I listen all the things that every mother, not including me, I will be doing. I was running for mayor, and she is my mom. One day you might run. Well, listen, let it be known. I would love to get into politics one day, but I know she's not getting into. I know nobody is her daddy. Okay? I know that if I was running for mayor, I would be hovered upon 24 seven.

I know she would move in. I know that she would be checking everything that I wrote and said. I know she'd be grading me on what I said. Right. This was actually a B grade. What you said in that interview, that wasn't very good. That's exactly what would happen. And I'm sure his mom was treating him the same way until the moment he got. elected. I'm sure there was like pressure on him at the highest level. Yeah. You know, it's like you weren't a doctor. You may as well be the mayor. Yeah. That's what do something do. Some things are on. so you. also spent two years opening for Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

What did you learn in that experience? I learned that women not only can but should work together. So to watch these two iconic comedic. powerhouses, it is clear to me that one would not. Neither would become who they became without the other's friendship. So even though they have their own. production companies, they have their own projects. The fact that they have each other in their corners has been their superpower. And I came up in a generation where work and friends.

don't mix business and family don't mix. Working with them and watching them in close quarters. gave me the confidence that that is actually outdated. at the very least, if not completely wrong. In a world where so many women are working now and out there building their own. projects, building their own companies, we have to work together. and we will find ways to be collaborative and not competitive. And I, I really love I mean, working with them was bittersweet.

One the sweetest part is just having that experience just. and also knowing that they they could have had anybody there. Tina Fey, the Amy Poehler, the world of confident also in the back of my book I mean them. Yeah. So they got it right. And Amy Poehler invited us on her podcast. She invited me to what she did. not have to do, and she was so inviting and so welcoming. And both times I met them at the shows, they just could not speak. more highly of your talent, which was really like special. I mean, I just still get goosebumps talking about that.

Yeah. And also, I think it's really funny. we talked about in the Amy episode, but she's obsessed with Angiograms. Do you know what the angiogram exam is? And, like, scoring and, Tina Fey and I had the same score, and you had the same score as Amy and I just thought. that was so sweet that they just are, you know, but I learned I really learned. that women have to collaborate because the success is unmatched. If you find that little part of women who can support each other. and, and also not just support like you don't have to, sometimes it's just.

a word of encouragement where you think you had the worst day ever, and you need somebody who understands or can help you get through it. It has been and also you can have big ambitions. I learn from them. They learn they run huge companies. They produce so many projects. It was eye opening to watch how they do it. Like they, they, they don't involve themselves in the low grade decisions anymore. Like that's something I learned up close. that even as they're artists and they truly are like, you know,

and they are running proper businesses, they are proper running. proper businesses with proper structures and systems in place. So I, you know, I was already ambitious when I got into this business. and it kind of scaled a thousand levels up just watching them and how they did it. I feel a little sad because I don't know if I would ever have a friend. who would be my equal that way. That's why she's like my little.

Did you just call it friends? No, no she did. Was that affection she just sort of did. That was the closest. I just want everyone to know that little. That little tap. That's the most we've ever gone. Oh, well, I'm proud that we got it. I know, I mean, thank you daily for letting me on the waitlist. Oh, yeah. One of the funniest moments on our family podcast is, she's my best friend. Everybody on the internet knows that. Everybody in my world knows that. It's been true since I was 12. I remember when I had a crush on a guy.

I was in middle school, I had a crush on a guy, and I knew that he would want to hang out with me if he met my mom, because she would make him laugh. This was way before she was a standup comedian, so I was like, oh, do you want to get pizza at my house? And what I did was I was like, mom, like, for these two hours, can you just be hovering in the living room so we can make conversation? And he had a crush on me back, probably because she was so funny. That's like too. No, I know, and people also like to avoid meeting the parents, obviously, because they're usually so awkward and embarrassing. But in my case, it was like, she was so funny.

But, yeah, I'm on the wait list to be her. best friend, and I'm consistently reminded of that. And based on my actions in the business, if I do well, I rise, but sometimes I fall. Have you ever made the top of the wait list? No. That's always been the eldest son. My brother? Yeah. It's hard to beat him. He's very handsome. Can you. Do you know I have a lot of people on that list. You might be on that list. I be quite. I want to be on the way. I want to get higher up the wireless, high on things.

Oh, yeah. Oh, great. Yeah, we'll exchange. We'll exchange notes. You took can form a support group so we could form our own friendship. Yeah, yeah. And then we can create some leverage. Yes. You need that. See women working together. Let's do that. Operation collaboration. I can give you a hot take. I mean, the Indian community loves Trump. It is what it is. The Indian community loves Trump. We don't have the problems with him that a lot of people in America have.

Why is that? Well, first of all, all our politicians are crooked back home, so that just seems to be a job requirement. So I mean, like they're like of course is a criminal. They all are they. Nobody who is not a criminal wants to do this job. Right. You know, interesting. So that's a weird thing too. Comfortable with that. You know what I mean? Like, of course he's cheated on his wife, like they all do. It's so we're we don't even consider any of those issues.

Now, when it comes to immigration, Indian people, by and large, are legal immigrants in America. Which means it was years of waiting, years of applying paperwork. There. are hundreds and thousands of verifications. And submit this and submit that. So the whole illegal immigration thing was something. that we never really got on board, but we did not understand. what was happening during the Biden administration. We could not understand why.

they were not taking this seriously, because we all ask any Indian person. We have relatives who have been waiting 15 years, in line. because that's the right thing to do. And then yet it felt like anybody who was breaking the law was getting rewarded. So Indian community has not had the problems with Trump. in the way that America has because, we don't. he for me personally, I don't think he should be doing things the way he's doing them. I have a problem with his execution, but.

a lot of the problems that he has highlighted are real problems. And just saying that the problem doesn't exist is not going to make them go away. So let me ask you about Usha Vance. Yes. Let's talk about you. I have a lot of thoughts on her. I want to hear what the Indian community makes of each of us. Yeah, I mean, I, I think Usha Vance is very aspirational, especially as a girl that's dating American guys. She makes me feel confident. that it's not abnormal to be in an interracial relationship,

that it's not abnormal to have conservative points of view. I think it's really special that there's actually one. that's taken such a public position. Her kids are, you know, out there on Instagram constantly. And I think it's really actually a good thing for America. what did you make of his comment that he hoped that she would, convert to Christianity? I think it was taken out of turn, because if that was really true, if that if he meant it in that fully saturated way,

then there is no way that they would have gotten married, right? Like that's a decision that has been made 20 years ago, I would say. And I think the idea that he is so afraid of her faith. and her decision to not convert, like there's no way. that they would be together and have kids at this point. I mean, I just feel like objectively. But a Hindu pandit. Yeah. And I've seen him in the outfits, the those outfits when he is, when you go Hindu, first of all, if he truly needs her to convert.

like the Hindu, Hinduism is the most liberal religion, right? Please go. We got a billion and a half, right? We're never worried about losing a number. Yeah, that's not our issue. We have too many. Were embarrassed. Yeah, so. But I don't think. I think it was. Look, he's a politician, right? Yeah. So he's got to say things a certain way so that his base is not upset. We are looking at the reality of what we're seeing. We actually I have friends who are friends with them in real life.

because they're both Yale professors and Yale graduates. Yale graduate. Yeah, yeah. And I like it from what we know personally, but little. and from a far distance, he's fully integrated into her Hindu life. Like the kids eat Indian food at the in-laws come and go out of the house. So I don't think it's this dramatic. I think he may. have meant it as a you know I wish she did. But like my husband wishes I did 100 things right. Like I wish she talked to my mother like not happening.

And none of this is to say that he's a saint and that he has. He doesn't have problematic positions. Nobody's perfect. Have we not learned that? what the issues. Parents who are Democrats, what are they thinking? Are they just thrilled their daughter's married to the vice president? Do they have anxiety about his positions, do you think? I mean, they were very avowedly Democrats, and they're first, obviously they're immigrants. Yeah. I mean, I think that they trust their daughter. Do you trust me? No, no.

You insure very poor judgment. because I do see what just happened there. That was such a moment of like, wow, my mom is so accepting, but then completely contradicts you with my. You sometimes agree with your dad, which is the first sign. that you married my dad, so I'm trying to undo some damage is over. Yeah, I think they trusted their daughter. I think they trust that the big picture. will work out, even though there will be disagreements along the way.

And I think that that's what we've lost in America as a whole. 100. But every little disagreement seems to threaten the relationship at large. You can't go on like that. It's all or nothing that if she does marry a conservative man, then it's gone. She's out. Right? Like I'm glad to see that that has changed in our own culture. When you look at the pictures of her, the photos of her, do you think she looks terrific? It's a good question. We're Indian. We're not cheerful. I see her stress, but I feel like she's stressed about it for kids are doing well in math. Yay!

I feel like her stress is more to do. See, listen, an Indian kid pretty much wins the national spelling Bee every year. Have you seen what that kid looks like in the. There is no smile. There's. He looks like he's going to pass out. This 15 year old kid. 12 year old kid looks like he's about to have a heart attack. And his mother's proud. She's like, look how hard I worked him. Yeah. No one's smiling. No one's smiling. Okay, so we're looking at the wrong thing. Listen, I do think that the media can tend to skew one way.

That if they don't see every marker of how they see things, something's wrong. Well, Indian people, if you look at our wedding photos, not one person's smiling. You. My own wedding photo. Everybody's crying. Yeah. Why? But I also think it's going to be. I think it's going to really shake up. the snow globe for the Conservative Party of, like, what does it mean? Like, what does this mean for our policy? Does this mean that we're going to accept it. because I think they're going to make a presidential run?

Of course. And so I'm really curious to see. And she is going to be Indian and she is going to be Hindu wherever she is. Yeah. Whether she converts or not is irrelevant. You're not taking 50 years of Hinduism out of somebody because she decided. today, you know, she comes from a value system that is so. textbook Indian. Yeah. 100%, you know. Extreme academic, giftedness, having that. traditional marriage, having the children, having the parents around all the time. You cannot be more Indian than Usha Vance. Yeah.

And that's not going to change no matter what church. she prays to or doesn't pray to Indian people. We are in and out of every every cultures. Like India is a very secular nation like that. Yeah. I grew up going to school with Jewish people, with a Catholic people, with Christian people. We have, because with so many people forget how many of each culture we are. There's 300 million Muslims in India, more than any other country on Earth. And I think that's why. also the Indian community found so much resonance with Trump. Because or President Trump because my dad, for example,

never took an American history class. He's never taken an American history class in his life, not because he's not very well-educated. He went to Ayat, which is like the Harvard, Stanford of India, but it's just not prioritized in the curriculum. Right? There are other things like Stem or history. Yeah. Or like philosophy is like, oh my God, he didn't even know. He still doesn't know what classics is. I think he's like, what is classics? One of my daughters study at Stanford. And so what was admirable was that President Trump could be seen. as like a business person, because that is something that Indian.

people can understand and aspire to in their own families constantly. So that real image really did win favor with a lot. Of Indian people. Support Indian people. You and I. And I know I'll get a lot of hate. Children will get hate for it because it's not cool to support her. And I'm not saying we support it. I'm saying our community understands like we we expect them all to be liars. We're right. That's set them to be corrupt. You expect them to be liars. That's a given right.

Like it's like it's like how we were. Talk about acting right. We Indian people. Not like no proper Indian person is trying to be an actor. So we expect that this person probably failed out of everything else. This is their last. I think Indian people are very used to bravado in like, an extreme sense. Right? Like like Prime Minister Modi is a very like. he he is playing the entertainment card in his political run. I mean, he he takes photos on mountains and like, just has like, you look at his Instagram and it's like it's like.

not propaganda, but it's very positioned in a certain kind of way. And he's learned from the Americans, by the way. Yeah. He's like this work. He is using Bollywood inspiration to run his own campaign. So we're very familiar with like the merging of, like, this entertainment type bravado with politics. And I think that is something that we are familiar with. Yeah. I mean, Modi did a whole photo op in a cave in a mountain. You know, it's a it's like an extremely high elevation.

where he got in religious clothing and just posed as a Yogi, like, eat. Yeah. You know, listen, he's like, they like to he. And then he did a photo op in scuba gear. Yeah. Yeah. You did it. And it got millions of likes on Instagram. Then like, all of Instagram broke for a day because India was so up in arms. About this photo. But have we It's like a borderline thirst trap. Yeah, it's a border. Yeah. This is just people are always like, well, you know, you never know. I wonder how many Indian women slide in his.

DMs, but he. We don't. I will tell you that during the Biden administration, we were the Indian community, the immigrant community that worked, got work visas and stuff. To come here was like, how is this going on? Like what is happening at the south border and the north border, like I do a lot of international touring. So I meet people abroad constantly. And yes, they make fun of Trump. Yes, they do all of that for sure. Especially the Europeans. They love drag and Trump and they write for a lot of it.

But they all were like, what is going on with your border? Like, you cannot just walk into Switzerland, right? You just cannot. You cannot just walk into Canada. Forget anybody else. You cannot walk into India. My son is extremely liberal on some topics. We went to India. Also extremely. Liberal, and we went to India. For the record. She went to India a few months ago. He was blown away with the amount of security at the Indian border. We had to go through as overseas citizens that we all are.

He was blown away. It took a good 20 minutes for all of us to to to get through clearance. So people, as much as they make fun of him, they were like, but how is it that people are just walking in? Also, misinformation is not something the Indian community. generally cares about. That's interesting. I think what the Indian community cares a lot about is like just actions, like seeing things change, seeing things move. They like they already I think you spoke to those. But like there's so much misinformation in India constantly, even like.

one of the biggest magazines, like the most important newspaper. in India, couldn't get accurate where she in America was from. There was like, I'm my book has chapters of how I'm wet. Spent years in Akron, Ohio, and in the reviews there like she was in Detroit. And this is like, this is The New York Times of India. This was in every newspaper. And they got it wrong where she was from. They were like, she hails from the Michigan.

And we were like, what point was she in Michigan? Like their interests. And so I don't care. So and I, I like I was trying to be polite and actually like. make them aware that they're made. So I was thinking at least on the digital they exist. and they're like, oh, it makes no difference. That was your response. It's very it's just wild. So it's so interesting getting your point of view. because it's. so different to the point of view we normally think about, especially around. Usha and her parents and and Mamdani it's fantastic.

They're going to be bringing their Indian ethos wherever they go. They can. I hope they do. I really like I really admire your fans. I really, really admire her. And like, I hope that there are more Usha Vance equivalence in all political parties on. Both sides, on all sides. Like we we were very excited when the Obamas were elected. Yeah, we were like, it's new, it's different. It's like they're really like breaking barriers in not in the cliched. way, like, but look at what they've done, what they've done since.

So we want change on both sides. Yeah, but but we're not there to vilify like the Trumps have done. The Trumps I now say plural because the kids are also doing so. You know, speak about family business. Yeah. I mean truly. And even in that regard it's aspirational. What for example, like this piece negotiated. deal between that they were able to get the hostages out. That was a family affair. I will tell you, nobody abroad was afraid of Biden or Harris,

but everybody's afraid of Trump. That's something you hear everywhere you go. Yeah, like he's crazy. He can do anything. I haven't even asked you about Kamala Harris. But yeah. Half Indian. Yeah. How did you feel about Kamala? So we I was a little disappointed with how little. she actually claimed that part of her identity. and her political run, it was a lot about how, you know, she represents the black community, which she absolutely does. And that's not to take away from that. But her name is Indian Kamala. It's Kamala, right? That's how you pronounce.

It in in Lotus means. Lord, it means lotus. And so I felt like she didn't do a lot actually, to like, mobilize the Indian-American effort not to criticize her and her campaign. But I think that would be objectively not a priority. I think she had to choose because she had so many identities that she was. and so little time. Yes, that she had to make a choice. Who are you going to go for? Who are you targeting? And I mean, she's brilliant. She's a brilliant woman. And again, very textbook in the, you know, academic, professional job.

Succeeded at a professional job for many years. Lawyer. Yeah. Lawyer. And, you know, I, we thought she was great. And had she been president, we would have been equally as supportive of her. Right as we are with Trump. We don't we are not sitting that we. the hate that we. saw for him, we felt like the liberal side was getting vicious. We saw that actually Charlie Kirk's death. All my kids are public school kids, right? I remember my little one was in school when he was shot,

and then when the kids all came out, middle school kids, they all, you know, fired up their phones, and they all saw the actual shooting. And he saw all these girls celebrating. Yeah. The the the death. Right. And it felt like it's it's okay. You don't have to like it. You don't have to agree with him. But it just felt so mean. And they came home so shaken. He was like, I can't believe they were all like, yeah, yeah, why are you shooting again? Well, not just that. What's even more frightening about that is veer, the youngest of the guards.

He's 13 and he's on our podcast and he's a beloved point of view on our podcast. I mean, he's always getting a grades from our audience. He's putting his perspective on things on the internet. every single day on really tough topics. And the idea behind. that is to show that any person of any age should be using their right to speak up. And from our point of view, as people who are podcasting, who are putting our thoughts online for someone to celebrate, someone else. who did that very freely and then got murdered for it,

that was so frightening to my little brother. Yeah, as it should be to all of us. To all of us. It should be. It was terrifying. And like, even for that. For that to be celebrated with his classmates in middle school, which was actively happening, he came back from school and he was like, I've never seen the girls in my grade so happy. And that is a result, in my opinion, of TikTok, like TikTok. has made these narratives like fed to these girls where it's like, oh, like the guy who is pro-life is now gone.

So like, abortion rights are now more safe. And it's like that's that's not what's happening here, actually. And so that was very disappointing. And the Trump's not to bring them back. But they are they were a New York City family right. We have so many friends in common. I have so many friends. The one thing we never saw the Trump kids do. is be drinking, be slobbering all over doubt. We never saw any of that with any of the Trump's. We know so many rich people in New York generally, the kids of extreme privilege.

You see them, you know, doing stupid, crazy things. We hear about it. There are parties where this thing happened and. an ambulance was called because this kid, all we all did on this and that, we never heard or saw. any of that with any of the Trump kids, they must have done other things. But I remember before he even became president, it was always like, the Trump kids are the serious kids, like whatever they're doing, and maybe they're doing bad things. I don't know what they were serious about, but the one thing we didn't see. was that, in fact, the funniest thing I think I saw Melania once,

if I'm not mistaken, I did a Lululemon trying to return an $8 headband. I was like, am I hallucinating? This is really happening. So we as a New York family, also have had our opinions on them, and a lot of people who've dealt with them. in real estate have their opinions because they had all those interactions. We didn't have those interactions. But just as a parent, I remember when we were in private school, we we were in a world where we would talk about each other's kids like, you know,

this big bar mitzvah, $1 million bar mitzvah, and like, what happened there? Or this this kid rented out the whole. something sweet at the next, wherever they play or whatever. Right. But we never heard any of that with these guys. well, listen, this is fantastic. a different perspective on how to think about our second lady. It's certainly given me completely different way to think about things.

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