Trevor Noah is embarrassed by the government shutdown, and Jimmy Kimmel shows the White House afterparty

Trevor Noah and Jimmy Kimmel on the government shutdown

(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live)

last updated 23 January 2018

Trevor Noah recapped the brief government shutdown on Monday's Daily Show, and he was really unimpressed with the whole ordeal. After failed negotiations, "lawmakers left the Capitol unsatisfied, like it was a salad night at Paula Deen's house," he began. "And no one was more upset than the toddler-in-chief, because the shutdown ended up running his 1-year birthday party." But Trump didn't just have to skip his anniversary party at Mar-a-Lago, "he had to work on the weekend — or at least pretend to work." Noah made fun of the White House photo purporting to show Trump "working" by talking on the phone, comparing it to more successful "I'm working" shots by Trump's predecessors.

For whatever reason — the House gym running out of towels "or the threat of voter backlash — Democrats and Republicans reached a deal this afternoon to end the shutdown," at least for a "pathetic" three weeks, Noah said. "American lawmakers are priceless. They want credit for fixing the thing that they broke? And not like really fixing it, like barely fixing it. ... America is the richest country in the world, and the government is out here basically paying rent week to week." This is not normal, Noah added, using his native South Africa as an example. "You don't hear of governments in the rest of the world just shutting down because they refuse to fund themselves. Where I come from, if the government shuts down, it's because the rebels have taken over."

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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.