Al Franken used his trademark brand of humor on “The Daily Show” Tuesday to highlight a seriously dire development leading to global warming, after the United Nations released a report saying the problem is already worse. It was more important.
Franken, a former actor and screenwriter, “Saturday Night Live” star and US senator from Minnesota, called the situation “the story today that makes all other stories meaningless.”
“According to the United Nations, we’re all going to die,” Franken gasped.
“The Daily Show” rolled clips of newscasts covering the report earlier Tuesday, with CNN calling it “a dire warning about the state of the planet” and ABC’s “Good Morning America” presenting the facts of the matter. In which “every world country must reduce emissions at a rapid pace to try to curb the warming of our planet.
“Wow, that’s terrible,” Franken replied on his second day as guest host of the Comedy Central show. “But I guess a shoutout to my Baby Boomers — looks like we got the last helicopter out of Saigon, doesn’t it. And it’s a reference we Baby Boomers understand.
The joke is of course in reference to the final American withdrawal from Vietnam in 1973 after a decade of war.
“Now, part of the problem is the UN’s expectation of collective action,” Franken said. “It’s easy to play your part when everyone has something to contribute. So the solution is to call people separately.
“The next UN report should not say, ‘We must all reduce our emissions.’ It should say, ‘Gary stop driving your car so much. You don’t need to go to your wife’s grave every day. She’s not keeping track.
Watch the video of the entire bit below.
