Comedy Central’s Tuesday version of The Daily Show ended on a somber note as host-of-the-week Josh Johnson welcomed the founder and executive director of Black Girl Environmentalist, Wawa Gatheru, to the program to lament that under the Trump Administration, left-wing environmental groups are no longer being bankrolled by the federal government.
A solemn Johnson wondered, “There is all of this climate work that needs to be done and you would think that your greatest ally would be the government and the country. But unfortunately, we, you know, are here. And so, what do you do when you not only don't have support, but there is active hostility towards climate science or climate activists?”
Gatheru’s group bills itself as a, “national organization dedicated to addressing the pathway and retention issue in the climate movement for Black girls, women, and gender-expansive people. By empowering emerging climate leaders of color, we are committed to supporting Black girls, women, and gender-expansive people in realizing their full potential in climate leadership.”
As for her response, she lamented, “It's tough. It's a lot of whiplash. So, we’re coming off of a Biden administration that was really committed for putting million—hundreds of millions of dollars into the hands of grassroots organizations, through the Inflation Reduction Act and Justice40 and so we saw organizations that were awarded tons of funds, around $29 billion, and those funds have now been frozen or canceled without due process.”
Those grants often appeared to be a self-enrichment scheme masquerading as an “environmental justice” crusade, but Gatheru continued, “I have some friends that found out their organizations lost funding from newspapers before they even got notified by their emails. So, we have a lot of organizations in the green economy space, organizations and workers who are at the front lines of deploying and scaling climate solutions, really scrambling for funds.”
Gatheru concluded by declaring, “It's difficult, but at the same time, there has been good movement happening. There is a coalition called America's All In, which is a coalition of different businesses and academic centers and cities and municipalities and states who are still committed to the Paris Accords and still committed to climate targets that are going to hopefully get us to where we need to go. But we definitely need philanthropy to stand up, corporate America to stand up, to really help fill the gaps that the federal government is pulling back on.”
If a Republican president gave grant money to conservative organizations under the guise of “community change,” the media, including The Daily Show, would have a meltdown that would do more to cause global temperatures to rise than canceling $29 billion worth of grants.
Here is a transcript for the October 7 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
10/7/2025
11:27 PM ET
JOSH JOHNSON: There is all of this climate work that needs to be done and you would think that your greatest ally would be the government and the country.
WAWA GATHERU: We hope. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
JOHNSON: But unfortunately, we, you know, are here.
GATHERU: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
JOHNSON: And so, what do you do when you not only don't have support, but there is active hostility towards climate science or climate activists?
GATHERU: It's tough. It's a lot of whiplash. So, we’re coming off of a Biden administration that was really committed for putting million—hundreds of millions of dollars into the hands of grassroots organizations, through the Inflation Reduction Act and Justice40 and so we saw organizations that were awarded tons of funds, around $29 billion, and those funds have now been frozen or canceled without—
JOHNSON: See, you clapped too soon.
GATHERU: Without due process, so I have some friends that found out their organizations lost funding from newspapers before they even got notified by their emails. So, we have a lot of organizations in the green economy space, organizations and workers who are at the front lines of deploying and scaling climate solutions, really scrambling for funds. So, it's difficult, but at the same time, there has been good movement happening. There is a coalition called America's All In, which is a coalition of different businesses and academic centers and cities and municipalities and states who are still committed to the Paris Accords and still committed to climate targets that are going to hopefully get us to where we need to go. But we definitely need philanthropy to stand up, corporate America to stand up, to really help fill the gaps that the federal government is pulling back on.