Somehow President Trump has turned a question about four U.S. soldiers dying in Niger into a weeklong blowup about his respect for fallen service members and his predecessors, Trevor Noah marveled on Thursday's Daily Show. By the sound of it, families who lost a child or spouse in combat "may start out hoping that the president would reach out, and they end up wishing that they had let his calls go to voicemail," he said, recapping the saga involving Trump's call to the family of Army Sgt. La David Johnson.
"Now look, in Trump's defense — and I know people don't like hearing that phrase — Donald Trump is the worst at words," Noah said. "He was probably trying to convey a heartfelt message but instead the people interpreted it as him disrespecting the troops. That's what they said: He was trying something, and then people are now like, 'Donald Trump, you disrespected the troops!' I bet you wherever Colin Kaepernick is right now, he's probably like, 'Well, ain't that a bitch.'"
"Trump can't be faulted for not being articulate, but he can be blamed for making an unnecessary problem worse," Noah said. He acted out Trump's surly refusal to own his presumed verbal misfires and the stern response from a parental electorate, ending with a joke about accidents. Watch below. Peter Weber
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