Ronny Chieng Doesn’t Want The Daily Show to Be Your Only News Source: ‘I Wouldn’t Like That’

Yes, I understand. It’s a problem. I think that [acting] it’s an art form, so I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules. Most of it is just atmosphere and context, as well as the overall mission statement of the project, and who else is playing what in that movie.

Let’s talk about the Daily Show – you joined long before Jon Stewart returned to the program. How was your first meeting with him?

I had met him years ago at the Comedy Cellar when I first took the job, and he just left. I remember saying, “I’m a big fan of yours and I’m a new correspondent on The Daily Show.” And he said, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard good things about that show.” [Laughs]

He was still very friendly to me outside of the Daily Show, but I didn’t know he was coming back this year. The day you found out is the same day I found out! But it was great. It’s such an accessible sounding board for ideas, and it created the format for modern American satire. So it’s nice to learn from him and see how he does it. When I have creative questions, structural questions, or just very technical questions, he is always available. He also trusts us to do our own thing and say what we want to say.

It’s funny to me that he’s never covered a Trump campaign — or a Trump administration — until this year. Since you covered Trump’s first term, did you have any tips for him?

Oh no, not at all. He doesn’t need any directions from me, of course! But honestly, it’s not that hard to figure out how to cover Trump, unfortunately. This news dominates the headlines, which I don’t think is a good thing. He’ll say something that’s relevant to the American people in the news, and then you’re kind of forced to talk about it or you’re forced to make fun of the coverage of it. So you don’t really have to study too hard to figure out how to cover Trump.

In an interview with Fresh Air recentlydid you indicated that you weren’t worried about making fun of Trump since the Daily Show was unaffected during his first administration. This week, we watched ABC News settle a defamation suit and Trump also sued for a poll affiliated with the Des Moines Register. Do these developments make you feel differently?