The Daily Show was supposed to come to Milwaukee during last week’s RNC. But following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the shows were canceled. The Daily Show host, Jon Stewart, addressed the cancellation, saying their venue, the Marcus Performing Arts Center, was moved inside the hard security perimeter.
While the security perimeter wasn’t ever changed, a Marcus spokesperson said it was discussed. The show went on — just not here in Milwaukee.
Before the shows were canceled, Daily Show news team member, Ronny Chieng talked about navigating the current political landscape and some of the best things about Wisconsin.
For Chieng, the jokes themselves are the easy part. "I think the way to elevate the comedy is to have a a good point of view," he says. "I think it's pretty easy to show a a silly clip and then make some jokes about it afterwards ... I think where we add to culture and comedy is when we can tie it all together for point of view. I think that's the real skill."
"One of my big thrills is I love visiting American cities, famous American cities. Milwaukee is a famous American city."
-Ronny Chieng
Though the Daily Show ultimately didn't get to come to Milwaukee this time around, Chieng has been to the area during previous comedy tours. Before moving to the U.S., Chieng had already heard of Milwaukee thanks to references to the city in That 70's Show and through sports recognition with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Prior to his arrival here, "I expected to find heavy drinking, middle of America people. And what I found was very happy and friendly, heavy drinking middle of America people," says Chieng. "The happiness and friendliness was something I did not quite expect."
Another unexpected surprise for Chieng was 'the great food scene' that Milwaukee offers.
