Comedian Jordan Klepper praised Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis late Tuesday on “The Daily Show” for a new social media law he signed in his state.
DeSantis signed a bill Monday banning minors under the age of 14 from using social media platforms. The legislation requires social media companies to stop children below the threshold age from creating accounts without parental consent and to delete existing accounts of individuals below 14. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Klepper said that he agrees with DeSantis’ new law, stating that he should have “run on” his social media stance during the 2024 Republican presidential primary.
“This makes me… so mad,” Klepper said. “This asshole Ron DeSantis might have done something I agree with.”
“I mean, what does this say about me? I don’t know what this says about me,” he continued. “I do think maybe this law isn’t a bad idea.”
“I think we can all agree that social media is a nightmare for kids. It increases their risk of depression, it exposes them to predators, it harms concentration, it gives you wildly unrealistic expectations of how easy it is to prepare meals,” Klepper joked. “Just throw in the potatoes, some scallions, some boiling water, a couple of fast edits, voila, beautiful dinner and your entire family loves you, you’re a great father!”
“No, it’s not that easy! Turns out, there’s a lot of prep work,” the comedian continued. “The videos don’t show you that, that you got to blanch the onions, julienne the carrots, now it’s 10:00 p.m., your kids are starving, they hate you. Why am I supposed to be all the cooking anyway? I was at work all day! I’m not a failure! I’m on TV, goddamn it! Hypothetically.”
Klepper said that without social media, teenagers in DeSantis’ state can focus on “classic Florida teen shit.” The comedian listed “wrestling a gator at prom,” “going to the library and reading the four books that are still legal to read” and running into Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz “on your walk home from school” as examples. (RELATED: ‘Did Anyone Film That?’ Jon Stewart Weighs In On Biden Age Concerns, Says He Does Not Appear ‘Full Of Enegery’)
“Honestly, I wish Ron DeSantis had run on this when he was a presidential candidate,” Klepper said. “This is a much better message than his platform of wearing high heels and smiling like a demon in a horror movie. There’s always 2028, Ron.”
DeSantis suspended his 2024 presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump in January. Since then, Trump has secured enough delegates in March and became the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.
Congress has recently focused on imposing greater restrictions on social media companies. The House of Representatives passed a bill on March 13 that would force Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok in order for the social media platform to remain viable in the United States.