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All the notable people and politicians Sacha Baron Cohen has 'duped' for his new TV series, 'Who Is America?'
All the notable people and politicians Sacha Baron Cohen has 'duped' for his new TV series, 'Who Is America?'
John LynchJul 16, 2018, 21:52 IST
Showtime
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Sacha Baron Cohen's new Showtime series, "Who Is America?," caused a stir before its premiere on Sunday, as several Republican politicians felt the need to get ahead of the show last week in explaining how Cohen "duped" them to appear on it.
Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former congressman Joe Walsh, and former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore were among those who preceded the show's premiere with statements explaining their appearances on the series, and criticizing Cohen.
For the show's first episode, Cohen, disguised as an Israeli "anti-terror expert," roped several Republican congressmen and former elected officials into voicing their support for a program that would arm toddlers with guns to prevent school shootings. He also interviewed Senator Bernie Sanders as a different character.
Last week, Matt Drudge of The Drudge Report tweeted an extended list of political and media figures that Cohen had "finked" for the series. The list included Palin, Dick Cheney, Ted Koppell, and Howard Dean - all of whom we can expect to see in the show's subsequent six episodes.
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Here are the notable people and politicians who have appeared on "Who Is America?" so far:
The show's first episode began with Cohen interviewing Vermont Senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as a right-wing conspiracy theorist character called Billy Wayne Ruddick, Jr.
Sanders, with a perplexed expression, politely dodged and shut down various absurd questions from Cohen's Ruddick on income inequality and other topics.
Larry Pratt, executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America
In the strongest segment on Sunday's episode, Cohen's Israeli "anti-terror expert" character, Col. Erran Morad, introduced Larry Pratt, the executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America, and a number of other conservative political figures to a fake program called "Kinderguardians," which would arm children as young as 3 years old.
Pratt endorsed the program and, reading off a teleprompter, said "toddlers are pure, uncorrupted by fake news or homosexuality. They don't care if it's politically correct to shoot a mentally deranged gunman. They'll just do it."
Florida congressman Matt Gaetz
Cohen's Morad character interviewed Florida congressman Matt Gaetz for the segment on arming toddlers, but Gaetz wisely side-stepped the topic, saying, "typically members of Congress don't just hear a story about a program and then indicate whether they support it or not."
Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott
Trent Lott, a former Mississippi Senator and Republican Senate Majority Leader, endorsed Cohen's program for arming children in a montage of endorsements from conservative politicians. "I support the kinder-guardian program," Lott said on Sunday's episode, adding that the US should consider arming "talented children or highly trained preschoolers."
California congressman Dana Rohrabacher
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California said in the same segment that training school children how to shoot a gun "might actually make us safer."
South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson
Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina also chimed in on the "Kinderguardians" segment, saying, "A three-year-old cannot defend itself from an assault rifle by throwing a Hello Kitty pencil case at it," and adding, "our founding fathers do not put an age limit on the second amendment."
Former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh
Former Illinois congressman Joe Walsh, now a conservative radio host, also voiced his support for arming children.
"The intensive three-week Kinderguardian course introduces specially selected children from 12 to 4 years old to pistols, rifles, semiautomatics, and a rudimentary knowledge of mortars," Walsh said in the episode. "In less than a month — less than a month — a first-grader can become a first-grenade-er. Happy shooting, kids."
In an interview with CNN on Saturday, Walsh elaborated on a series of tweets he wrote last week by explaining how Cohen "duped" him into appearing on the show by offering him "an award from some Israeli TV station because I'm a great supporter of Israel."
