“Daily Show” correspondent Jordan Klepper, known for interviewing many of President Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters for his man-on-the-street segments over the years, says they have changed in significant ways between his first and second terms, telling People in an interview published Friday that it started “right after the inauguration” last year.

The change, he said, is “the lack of defensiveness on the part of the MAGA faithful.”

“There was always a fear in some of these conversations about some of the cruelest and most aggressive actions taken by a Trump administration that, in the early election cycles, sometimes, as I pushed on MAGA, there would be a defensiveness there,” he said.

“And usually, they would find something else to talk about in this new wave with the fact that he won this election, pardoned the J6ers, and took these aggressive actions,” Klepper continued, but added that MAGA is no longer “hiding its intentions,” but rather “celebrating.”

Many in the MAGA base and pro-Trump pundits have celebrated these policies. However, some Republicans have joined Democrats in condemning ongoing attacks on suspected drug trafficking ships from Venezuela.

Another change Klepper has noticed since joining the “Daily Show” in 2014 was “right before the Trump era began.” He told People that the show typically had “a couple of days” to decide on its material and was “really able to craft the stories” they wanted to cover.

“We entered this new Trump era,” Klepper added, noting that they are now simply “catching up.”

“It seems like an important time to comment on what’s happening in the news,” the 46-year-old continued. “I feel like it’s more a part of the culture and more a part of our lives than it ever has been since I’ve been alive.”

Klepper also said he has seen a difference in the Democratic movement in recent months.
Klepper also said he has seen a difference in the Democratic movement in recent months.

Left: Kris Connor/Comedy Central/Getty Images; Right: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Klepper has attended many Trump rallies over the years, asking Trump supporters to explain some of their most deeply held beliefs and conspiracy theories. He also covered the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.

While he was surprised by Trump supporters’ new lack of defensiveness, he was also stunned to witness “the backlash.” Klepper said the Democratic movement “has been stunted” since Trump’s re-election, but that he found some hope in October.

Klepper covered an “Emergency Naked Bike Ride Around the World” in Portland, Oregon, at the time, where swaths of naked people protested Trump’s immigration policies outside an ICE facility “with such joy and vigor,” cheekily adding, “It takes balls, for lack of a better term… that was a response I hadn’t seen in person.”