Samantha Bee Says 3 Female Impeachment 'Wo-Managers' Demonstrate 'Optimism'

“They did an incredible job,” the “Full Frontal” host told TheWrap of impeachment managers Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Sylvia Garcia and Val Demings of Florida

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In a segment airing Wednesday, late-night TBS host Samantha Bee talks to and praises three history-makers in the House of Representatives’ fight to impeach President Donald Trump: the first-ever female impeachment managers, or, as she says, wo-managers. (In the clip, the representatives in question seem less-than-impressed with the label.)

The “Full Frontal” host thought it was important to talk to Reps. Zoe Lofgren of California, Sylvia Garcia of Texas and Val Demings of Florida, she told TheWrap Tuesday, because “they did an incredible job.”

“Obviously,” she said, “we didn’t get the result that we were all hoping for but they are three incredible women who argued a very difficult case before an audience of deeply — people deeply uninvested in the process. And I think they argued their case incredibly well.”

The style of the segment was still undeniably “Full Frontal,” with the representatives presented more like storied sports heroes than elected officials. Bee nodded to the fun presentation, saying “We knew that the material was slightly wonky, and so, we’re always in search of fun ways to frame things.”

Trumps acquittal in the Senate trial “felt like a pretty epic defeat,” Bee pointed out, which helped it take on “the mythology of sport.”

The representatives, she added, aren’t well-versed in pop culture references, but they all used sports analogies when they talk, so the framing was a “natural fit.”

As for what she learned from the segment, Bee said she was surprised to find that the impeachment managers themselves were surprised by the ultimate trial results.

“If you’re going to argue, if you’re going to be a prosecutor or you’re going to argue a case like that, you have to have optimism that you have a chance to win the argument, you know what I mean?” she said. “You have to believe truly, deeply, in your body that there is a chance that you will sway senators to your side. Otherwise, you would feel hopeless every day.”

Bee admitted she tends to see situations in a glass-half-empty kind of way, but she’ll take their optimism with her as she keeps doing “Full Frontal” into the election season.

“If I can flip my perspective, I do need to have hope that change is possible, and you need to remember that we do have a chance to make something happen. This is our last best chance to make something happen and it’s a huge opportunity if we treat it properly. It’s a huge opportunity to make the change that we really need. We just have to believe that it’s possible and do the right thing. And by do the right thing. I mean get behind whoever the nominee is on election day,” she said, already rallying voters behind whoever ends up challenging the now-acquitted Trump.

Samantha Bee's 7 Most Hilarious 'Daily Show' Moments (Videos)

• Bee used Sarah Palin supporters’ own words against them to perfectly skewer McCain’s anti-abortion running mate on the issue of women’s rights.
• With minimal effort and straightforward questions, Bee made supporters of Long Island’s secession from New York look completely ridiculous.
• Nothing was more surreal or more memorable than Bee’s interpretative dance homage to Fox News’ “The Five” talk show. This is 8 minutes well spent.
• Bee expertly dismantled the U.S. government and its inability to keep track of how many police shootings of civilians there are nationally. Bonus: Bee started off this segment bantering with husband and fellow “Daily Show” correspondent Jason Jones.
• “Have you ever met a woman before?” Bee asked in her interview with author Kingsley Brown, ridiculing him for his stance against women serving in combat positions in the military.
• Bee made Congress’ repeated attempts to stop Medicare funding of contraception look ridiculous in a segment investigating the importance of penis pumps, which are covered by the insurance program.
• In 2015, Bee received a fitting send-off from the show. After a few highlights from her 12 years as correspondent, Bee came out one last time for an emotional final bow.

The former Comedy Central correspondent debuts on “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” on Monday

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