Chelsea switched back to dinner party mode in this episode where she and her guestss talked political rhetoric over food and alcohol. As this is an “election year” the emphasis was once again on the issues of Trump and Clinton. The show also acted as a sort of Politics 101 with informative slides on other issues, like “Affirmative Action.”
(On a personal note, it is fascinating to see that a lot of the things brought up during the dinner party as topics of discussion were the same issues that were topics over 32 years ago, when this reviewer moved to the United Kingdom. Namely Affirmative Action and abortion as well as separating church and state.)
The dinner guests were an eclectic choice from different political parties and beliefs. Interestingly, the women at the meal are both Republican”s although each had wildly differing ideas about how things should be done.
Cupp, while being an atheist, believes that abortion is wrong. Life, she asserts, begins at conception. Her solution is for unwanted babies to be given up for adoption, to gay couples.
Roberts, a gay married news anchor, made it clear that he does not want someone else’s baby to adopt. Underwood, who is not an atheist also believes that abortion is not for her, but that each woman should have a choice. The Republican woman from CBS show The Talk also reminded her dinner companions that church and state should be separated.
The main topic, with the presidential election looming large in everyone’s mind, was Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton. Cupp was not shy in revealing that she finds Clinton “contemptible” and that she will not be voting for her. She did make a valid and very astute observation about Trump:
“He wears the Republican party like a rented tux.”
The dinner party all agreed that Trump is not of the Republican party or even from it. He chose the conservative party to be his path to the white house, ready to be discarded at a moments notice.
David Axelrod, who has been on Chelsea enough to almost be classified as a “regular” also made an appearance, Not at the dinner party but at an interview with Chelsea. They talked President Obama and the healthcare act.
A pre-recorded segment had Chelsea meeting Ted Lieu; a congressman born in Taiwan who is represents the people of Los Angeles. The USAF reserve veteran is a member of the Democratic party and one of only three “naturalized” citizens to be a congressman.
Lieu and Chelsea talked about what a congressman’s duties are and it was another Politics 101 moment. There was an amusing bit where Chelsea asked questions that were outside of Lieu’s realm of knowledge. The congressman “got it” and gave the audience some excellent insight into his duties.
Back at the dinner party, Chelsea and her guests also discussed President Obama. Many felt that history will be the president’s friend. As Thomas pointed out, the man did not accomplish everything he set out to do, but that is the nature of the beast called politics.
At the end Chelsea promised that politics will be left behind for awhile and that the next episode will deal with something other than the presidential race.
Chelsea airs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on Netflix. Tomorrow’s episode will feature Jim Gaffigan and the kids from “Stranger Things.” As a treat, here is a glimpse of the kids and “Barb” from the Netflix series:
Guests:
Mikes Film Talk 