Name: Dave Smith on Why People Stopped Trusting the Traditional News
Uploaded: 2026-01-08T13:45:01.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Dave Smith on Why People Stopped Trusting the Traditional News' from Theo Von Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2026-01-08. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Dave Smith on Why People Stopped Trusting the Traditional News' from Theo Von Clips on Comedy Buff. Published 2026-01-08. Transcript available.

Dave Smith on Why People Stopped Trusting the Traditional News

There's a big trend. I think we talked about this a little bit last year, but
this was a big trend.
One of the things that I'm really optimistic about that I just think is really
interesting is that.
So like one of the crazy things and you were a big part of this, but one of the
crazy things that happened in the 24 election was that the whole like the whole
corporate media, what used to be called the mainstream media, which seems like
a ridiculous title for them now, because like they're not the mainstream at all.
But they kind of had to admit it was over. Like if you, there was, there was a
CBS clip.
Yeah. Yeah. We're like, which is crazy. That's the first one that like it's, it's,
you're the first one who mustered up the thought courage here, here, play.
Yeah. And they sent this white guy to do it too. And this is CBS says that
starting today, they will be reporting the news more from the average American
perspective rather than solely the opinions of the liberal elite.
It's just such a funny thing to announce that CBS is going to do news.
Like, okay guys, we're going to try something new here. All right. And this is
a crazy thought. I had a crazy thought. We were workshopping this for a little
while.
What if we reported the news and not through an angle that always protects, uh,
you know, Goldman Sachs.
Maybe we'll do it through an angle. That's like for you. Yeah. Is that crazy?
Yeah. Let's hear it.
A lot has changed since the first person sat in this chair. But for me, the
biggest difference is people do not trust us like they used to. And it's not
just us. It's all of legacy media. And I get it. I get it because I've been
hearing about it from just about everybody for more than 20 years as I've
traveled America on this assignment or that.
My mom's neighbors in West Virginia, my own neighbors in New York City,
thousands and thousands of conversations in between.
Sometimes people want to talk to me about our coverage of NAFTA or the Iraq war.
Other times it's all about Hillary Clinton's emails or Russiagate or more
recently, COVID lockdowns, Hunter Biden's laptop, or the president's fitness.
I just can't even, it's like, you mean when you ruined the country, does that
come up? Does it come up that you destroyed the greatest country in the history
of the world?
Yeah.
That you had people fighting about shit that you knew wasn't real and never
even an apology in any of that.
Yeah.
Dude, my neighbors and I didn't talk for like a year and a half because of the
Russiagate shit. I was like, that's complete bullshit. I could just,
immediately I knew when I saw it, I was like, none of this makes any sense.
Russia. Russia's a bunch of fucking rusted out vehicles. And kids carrying
stone dolls made out of stone, which I respect because there's a lot of like,
you know, you really learn to do something if the doll is heavy. You know,
there's something about that that I really respect. But this, I just knew, it
just seems so ridiculous. Maybe 50 years ago, maybe, but not today.
Right. And then just like, as he just casually mentions, like, or lockdowns, it's
like, oh yeah. Like when they, when they turned our country into a totalitarian
state, remember they did that for a year plus. And you guys did what? You guys,
you're sitting here, you're the journalist. You have this role as the media and
you always talk about how important this role is. Right. And then they locked
down the country and you decided in that moment, here's what we'll do. We'll
demonize anybody who's skeptical of this.
We'll call you names. We'll, we'll shame Americans for, for demanding some
degree of basic liberty during a crisis. And then, by the way, you know what
happens as a result of that when you do it, which by the way, there's been a
ton of studies on this now. They didn't even, the lockdowns didn't even slow
the spread of the goddamn virus. It wasn't even like there was a benefit that
you got this cost in exchange for. It did nothing. The lockdown areas, the
things spread just as badly as they did through non-lockdown areas. Mass
compliance had nothing to do with anything.
But, you know, what was real is how many families got broken up over lockdowns.
How many AA rooms were closed and people couldn't go to get recovery and ended
up relapsing.
How many people fell off the wagon during, during lockdowns? How many people
who were like on the edge ended up losing their apartment, ended up living
outside on the street?
Now, no, all those guys, they got to live with that tragedy. And you, but your
response is to go finally, after all these years, I'll acknowledge some people
were upset about this. We'll do it a little bit differently going forward. Like,
shouldn't you resign and disgrace? Like, just, just, I mean, like, listen, I'm
trying to be reasonable here. I really think you should fall on a Japanese
sword in public in front of a lot of people.
But I, I will accept resigning in disgrace, uh, and picking up garbage on the
side of the road for the rest of your life.
And they've shunned that dude. They got caught jerking off in the zoom meeting.
Remember?
Yeah, that's right. That's right. He, he faced more consequences to Ben face
more consequences than any of these guys that dude. They, at least they made
him come on because he was jerking off during a zoom meeting, which first of
all, who doesn't want to jerk off during a fricking zoom meeting?
And who hasn't? If you're, if you're most of your body's off screen, how do you
not? Yeah. It's an impossible challenge. But, um, is it crazy Theo that I get
now? Cause I do this, you know, whatever the weird career that I have is, but
like, I'll get all these people now, like high profile people who will be like
talking shit about me. It'll be like Dave Smith. Who, what does he know? What
does he know? What does he know what he's talking about? He's some comedian. He's
not an expert. He get, and look, fair enough. What the fuck do I really know?
Right. I am just a comedian. Who's read a lot about this stuff. And I get on
shows and I talk about like, it's like,
It's like this. It's not like that. So like, fair enough. Call me out. I'm just
a guy. And if people want to listen, they can, if they don't, they don't have
to, but I'll be arguing. Like I'll be arguing on Twitter with, um, Dinesh D'Souza
or recently David Worms are the remember last time I was on here. So I, I told
you about the, uh, the clean break memo that, uh, uh, it was, uh, the neocons
wrote to Netanyahu to get away from the peace plan and to overthrow Saddam Hussein
for Israel. So the guy who wrote it is now talking shit to me.
On Twitter. The neocons. He was at the Pentagon. He was at the state department.
And they'll say things to me. Like they'll be like, they'll be like, Dave, you,
this guy's a comedian. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You go, dude,
you were the architect of the war in Iraq. Go away forever. Like you don't get
to tell you get to come out here and go, who does this guy think he is? Who do
I think I am? You got a million people killed and didn't get punished for it.
Just kindly go away. Is that an unreasonable request?
I know. Like I, it's, but anyway, the CBS guy, I guess what's interesting is at
least he's acknowledging it. I guess. At least it's bizarre. By the way, also
in the background of this is that CBS news was just purchased by the Israel
lobby. Yes. And so this is there. I'm sure we can really trust you now. Yep.
Let's play a little bit more of that clip of the guy that was talking.
Fitness for office. The point is on too many stories. The press has missed the
story because we've taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the
average American, or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or
elites and not enough on you.
And I know this because at certain points I have been you. I have felt this way
too. I felt like what I was seeing and hearing on the news didn't reflect what
I was seeing and hearing in my own life.
You're living in a dystopian time, bro.
Yeah. It's like, and then is it too much for me to ask that you resign in
disgrace?
Right.
You know, like in disgust, I should say, like, I'm saying like, if you, if you're
going, I've felt that same way too, at times. Well then what the fuck, man?
Like no one's putting a gun to your head. So, so leave and blow the whistle and
become all of our hero and go have the biggest podcast ever. You know, like, it's
not even like a difficult thing to have done. It's not even like, like there is
more culpability for you than there was for the average Nazi soldier.
At least the average Nazi soldier was like, I'll get shot in the head. If I don't
do this, you know, like you had nothing except giving up a $10 million salary
or something like that. Like, you know, and, and, and by the way, you could
still go make lots of money because the people would rally around you if you
did something like that. And like, it's like when there's that tape of, um, if
you're not going to tell the truth, what are you like, you know what I'm saying?
I mean, that's your job. Right. It's like, but it's like, if you're not going
to try your best to figure it out, I don't know. It just, I couldn't imagine
sitting there.
Getting there regurgitating lies, like just how much it would make you crawl on
the inside.
Yeah. Yeah. No, it's an, it's an amazing ability. I mean, I've been close up
with it and it's a, it was one of the things when I debated Chris Cuomo, it was
like one of the things that really was like, it was startling to see because it's
how comfortable he was just lying.
Like lying through his teeth, uh, uh, um, uh, uh, demonstrable a lot. Like I
would, I would say like, there was one point in it and the Patrick Bitt David
production staff always be grateful to them. Cause man, they got my back that
day and they had the clip.
They pulled it up real quick, but I went, he went, look, I don't think the guys
at CNN should have mocked Joe Rogan for taking ivermectin. And I went, you did.
You mocked Joe Rogan for taking ivermectin. And he goes, no, I didn't. I go,
yes, you did. I've seen it. I've watched you do it.
And then he goes, no, I didn't. And then they pull up a clip of him going, Joe
Rogan, ivermectin. I mean, horse dewormer and the entire room. Cause it was a
live show. The entire room goes, Oh, and then he goes, Oh no, no, no. I was
saying like the veterinary version, not the regular version. You go, what
version do you think Joe Rogan was taking? You think Joe Rogan went to the pet
store? Like, yeah, he's got a few bucks. I don't know if you've heard, you know,
but they're at a fucking pet co.
Do you think he drove and parked at a pet co and walked in there past the gerbil
cages?
You're like, believe it or not, Joe Rogan can afford doctors.
That's the part where they're grooming the dogs right in the front when you
walk in.
Hi, I'm world famous Joe Rogan. I was here to pick up some ivermectin. I have a
prescription for my dog. I'd like to fill.
Oh, you got worms, Joe, huh?
But these people who work in corporate media, man, they get real comfortable
just saying like a knowing lie that they will just repeat because that's the
business.
But the thing that's interesting to me, and this is the last year, right, is
that they admitted it because this was true five years ago, too.
Five years ago, four years ago, three years ago, Rogan had a much bigger
audience than CNN had, but they would still pretend like he was the fringe and
they were the mainstream media.
But after Trump got reelected, they admitted it. They all said, we need our own
Joe Rogan.
Like they admitted that the podcasting is where it was. And part of that is
because Trump very wisely, and I guess I've heard that it was his son who
convinced him to do it.
But he went on your show and Joe's show and Andrew's show and, you know, like
some of the other ones.
Nelk Boys.
Nelk Boys. Yeah, I don't know them. But like, yeah, they're a huge I've learned.
And