Jordan Klepper, MAGA’s “Anthropologist,” Is Ready for the 2024 Republican National Convention

Jordan Klepperfirst Republican convention as a reporter for Daily program It happened in 2016, in Cleveland, when the party’s nominee was widely seen as a rich source of comedic material but a hopeless candidate for president.

This week, Klepper is in Milwaukee with Daily program team covering the Republican convention, where former president Donald Trump will accept the nomination and is favored to win in November against President Joe Biden, who—until this point—was still a potential Democratic candidate.

“The year 216 seems like a million years ago,” Klepper told me. “I remember being in the arena when Trump spoke, with 1984-head size is projected in a very ominous way. If you told me I’d do this again eight years later and Trump would be the favorite, and given me a little bit of information about a riot in the middle, two impeachments, and a conviction—you know, I couldn’t even get through this with a straight face.

The Daily program The team has been traveling to summer political conventions since 2000 (something I wrote about in Daily Program: The Book). This cycle, “Hesitation 2024,” brings the return of Jon Stewart, who will host the live show Thursday at Milwaukee’s Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Klepper and others Daily program Regulars will take turns behind the editorial desk during the week and, of course, cover the MAGA circus on the ground.

This is familiar territory for Klepper, who in a recurring segment, “Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse,” has humorously and insightfully captured Trump loyalists on the campaign trail, at CPAC and outside the Manhattan courthouse. He has even traveled to the far right in Hungary, which has kinship ties to the MAGA movement. In an interview, which has been edited for length and clarity, Klepper talks about his role as a MAGA “anthropologist” and his plans for the Republican convention.

Vanity Fair: It’s been a strange few weeks in American politics. I thought I’d cheer myself up by watching a bunch of Daily program bit. Doesn’t work. They’re pretty funny, but the subject matter is still boring.

Jordan Klepper: If you’re looking for fun, you might need to go back to the silent movie era.

The Daily program Employees and artists consume more news than is healthy. How have you managed to stay sane all these years?

I feel so grateful that I can go to work and really try to decipher everything that’s going on with interesting and funny people. We took a week and a half off around July 4th, after the first debate, and I was glued to my phone, reading all the details and predictions, just begging to get back in the studio to do a show or just talk to some people about it, because my wife didn’t want to talk to me about it. My four-year-old was completely uninterested in my witty banter. I was ready to launch into a rant about what a rigged Democratic convention would be like, but no, it was Octopus Travel, Octopus Travel, Octopus Travel.

You’re about to go to the opposite extreme: all politics at the Republican National Convention. The party’s nominee says Milwaukee is a “terrible” city that suffers from rampant violent crime. How do you plan to survive?

I’m a Midwesterner, and I’m going to make it my mission to prove former President Donald Trump wrong. I’m going to eat cheese, I’m going to drink beer, and I’m going to prove that the horrors of that city are completely untrue. Honestly, the conventions are fun. It’s a surreal look at American politics. There will be tanks on the streets. There will be talk of revenge inside surrounded by good ol’ Midwesterners and people dressed like Eagles. I’m excited.