The Daily Show's Trevor Noah marvels at the audacity of Donald Trump's post-election honesty
On Thursday night, Donald Trump took his "Thank You" victory tour to Pennsylvania, announcing that Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) is his official pick for interior secretary, giving a 20-minute recap of his Election Night victory, and saying "thank you to the African-American community" in Pennsylvania for staying home in large enough numbers to let him eke out a victory in the state over Hillary Clinton. "Smart" black voters not coming out to vote "was the big thing," he said. That kind of honesty caught The Daily Show's Trevor Noah by surprise.
"I thought the 'Thank You Tour' was a waste of time, honestly I did — until I watched it," Noah said on Wednesday night's show, "and I realized that the Thank You Tour is actually some of the most important speaking Donald Trump has done all year." He started with Trump straight-up saying he likes House Speaker Paul Ryan only as long as Ryan plays ball with him, explaining: "What we're seeing here is a character I like to call Truth Trump. You'll notice it if you watch him closely: The Donald voices some political opinion, and then Truth Trump slips out and tells you the real deal."
"It throws everyone off, because politicians aren't supposed to be honest about their lying," Noah said. "You don't even get mad, you just get confused." He played a clip of Trump telling a Thank You Tour crowd in Iowa that he didn't like or mean his "drain the swamp" line until it got cheers at rallies, then he embraced it. "Trump's campaign's central appeal was that he was an outsider, a man whose main mission was to 'drain the swamp' — he said it all the time," Noah marveled. Some of the people in his crowds appear unsure if they are in on the joke, but others don't care, Noah said. "You know what Trump is like? He's like a magician telling everyone how he did the trick — and still, some people are like 'Wow, magic! It's magic!'" Watch 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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