'Daily Show' is packing up to come to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention

When "The Daily Show" comes to Milwaukee to cover the Republican National Convention July 15-18, it'll be on a mission.

Well, a couple of missions.

The first is to employ the Comedy Central news/satire show's mix of humor and insight to reveal the surreality of American politics and its practitioners, often by letting the faithful speak for themselves, as part of "The Daily Show's" election-year "Indecision 2024" coverage.

Another mission: to take on former President Donald Trump's reported statement (denied by him) that Milwaukee is a "horrible" city.

"We shall not be denied … , " Jordan Klepper, correspondent and sometimes host of "The Daily Show," said in his best anchorman voice. "We (will not) move past this, and let ‘horrible city’ live on in people’s minds. We will go to bars, we will go to nightclubs, we will drink your beer and eat your cheese … and prove that ‘horrible city’ is a false moniker.”

'The Daily Show' has hit the road before

"The Daily Show" has been covering political conventions live and in person since 2000 (well, except in 2020). In a Zoom interview this week, Klepper and other key members of the show talked about their plans in Milwaukee.

"For us to get the entire show and take it on the road, that in itself is such a huge undertaking, and it really changes up the dynamic of what we do every day,” said Jen Flanz, executive producer, showrunner and writer of "The Daily Show." "We never get to be that close to the action. We’re always watching from afar. So it’s really an exciting time."

"The Daily Show" will have its full team of "reporters" in Milwaukee for the RNC, including some who will get their first taste of convention coverage, said Elise Terrell, supervising producer on the show.

Klepper's first convention for "The Daily Show" was the 2016 RNC in Cleveland.

"The conventions are so fun," Klepper said. "They’re dynamic, everybody comes together, they’re excited. They put the best and the worst of American patriotism all in one giant convention center or sports venue. … I really missed it in 2020, so (I’m) jazzed about seeing what it’s like up close again, the dying embers of our democracy.

"I want one last go-around."

Tapings will be at the Marcus Center

While "Daily Show" correspondents will be on the convention floor and around town, the show that they'll be feeding will be taped live at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, which also is operating as the show's production base during the convention.

“At the Marcus Center, we’re going to have about 1,500 people in our audience — which is so much bigger than our audience at home … ," Terrell said. "We’re so excited about how much energy we are going to feel in that room every night for four nights."

The tapings Monday through Wednesday will start at 4 p.m.; the Thursday show, hosted by Jon Stewart, will be taped live at 9 p.m., immediately after former President Trump's acceptance speech at the convention. ("The Daily Show" airs at 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday on Comedy Central.)

Tickets for the tapings are free, but registration is required. See 1iota.com/show/1728/the-daily-show-in-milwaukee for details.

In addition to the broadcasts, Comedy Central is hosting a voter registration/pet adoption event in Milwaukee. The free event, "InDogCision 2024: Rescuing Democracy," is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 14 in Cathedral Square Park and includes giveaways, "doggie swag," pet adoptions, voter registration opportunities, a meet-and-greet with members of "The Daily Show" team and more.

The event is being co-hosted with HeadCount, a voter registration organization, and the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC).

While moving the show's entire operation to Milwaukee poses logistical challenges — the show's production office is being set up at the Marcus Center this week — "The Daily Show" crew knows how to adjust.

During the 2008 RNC in St. Paul, Minnesota, the show's venue was in the path of the protests, as well as the police response to them. “During taping, we actually had a protest coming up the street, so we had to pivot with how we unloaded the audience that evening,” Terrell said.

Adjusting also means accounting for the ever-changing state of American politics. Until last week, writers and producers had been preparing to get reactions to Trump's sentencing. But then Trump's sentencing was postponed until September.

As a result, the "temperament" of the convention will be very different, said Ian Berger, supervising producer and segment director at "The Daily Show."

One thing that will be the same, Berger said: "Daily Show" correspondents will find willing interview subjects.

“People who go to the convention want to talk, and that makes it so much better," said Berger, whose work with Klepper included a trip to Racine last month for Trump's first rally after his convictions.

Klepper, who was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is expecting the Milwaukee setting could make for a different convention flavor.

“As a Midwesterner, one of our great attributes is our Midwest Nice," he said. "And I think the RNC, though, is going to have a convention based on retribution and vengeance, underscored by Lee Greenwood music. So to see Midwest Nice hopped up on vengeance is going to be a really interesting cocktail.”

Jordan Klepper is coming back to Milwaukee after the convention

Speaking of cocktails, Klepper has at least one stop in mind for when he comes to town. The last time he and Berger were in Milwaukee, they stopped at a bar "that serves cocktails and ice cream" down the street from a "hard rock" bar — Bay View destinations At Random and the Cactus Club, respectively.

"That was such a nice one-two punch of the loudest music we could have and lovely cheap beer … and then go to have cocktails and ice cream," Klepper said. "By the end of the week, if you see a panic and a bloat in my face, it’s the At Random/Cactus Club two-fer that’s happened way too many days in a row."

Klepper will have another chance for that two-fer the weekend after the RNC. His "Suffering Fools" tour, in which he relates stories from his travels across America's political landscape, makes a stop at the Pabst Theater at 8 p.m. July 21.

“I can’t get enough — keep me in the Midwest away from these elites on the coast,” Klepper said.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Daily Show' is ready to put its focus on Milwaukee and the RNC