Jon Stewart covers Obama's Africa trip with birther and Trump jokes, one sharp elbow
On Wednesday, President Obama returns from a five-day trip to Africa, including the first visit ever by a sitting U.S. president to Ethiopia and his first presidential trip to his father's homeland, Kenya. "His father's homeland, the place where his father was born — wink," Jon Stewart said on Tuesday's Daily Show, trying to make a birther joke. Then a clip of Obama making his own birther joke in Kenya.
"Well, that stole a lot of the joy out of my joke," Stewart mock-griped. "You host The Daily Show, Obama, how about that? When you leave, you just host this show, and I'll just pack up and move to some farm in New Jersey." When his fake earpiece told him that's what he's actually doing next week, Stewart deadpanned, "Wow, that's f—ed up." But Obama wasn't the only one pre-empting his jokes — an African anthropologist's Donald Trump joke almost made Stewart abandon his own Trump joke. Almost.
Stewart took a similarly lighthearted approach to the rest of Obama's "Wet Hot African Summer" until the end, when he noted that Obama chastised Kenya for its record on gay rights and women's rights, but declined to make similar criticisms of Saudi Arabia during his 2009 visit there. His ending jab includes a reference to oil, and lubing America up. You can watch it below. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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