Trevor Noah wryly lays out how Trump's 'whole origin story' of self-made wealth has been exposed as 'a total lie'

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Daily Show)

Trevor Noah took a mental health break from the Supreme Court nomination battle on Wednesday's Daily Show — "If you took a shot every time the news mentioned Brett Kavanaugh, you would be Brett Kavanaugh" — and circled back to President Trump, elected in part because "he sold himself as a self-made billionaire who would do for America what he did for himself." He dryly proclaimed himself "devastated" by The New York Times exposé that exploded that myth.

"This exposes Trump's whole origin story as a lie — and I mean, like, a total lie," Noah said. "This is like finding out that Superman was actually born in Cleveland and he can't even fly, it's just an elaborate system of pulleys." This wasn't just Trump's dad, Fred Trump, giving him "a leg up in life," he added. "He was basically all of his limbs." Trump's dad gave him three trust funds, made him a millionaire by age 8, and gifted him millions a year into his 50s.

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Noah recounted how, according to the Times, "Donald Trump — the president, by the way, remember? — stole half a billion dollars from the American government" through tax dodges, "needed his father to repeatedly bail out his failing businesses," and "will definitely not go to prison" thanks to the statutes of limitations. "And the worst part is, the Trump who blew through a fortune and stuck his dad with the bill? That Trump never went away," he said, pointing to Trump's ballooning national debt. "I guess what I'm saying is, we're all Fred Trump now." 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.