Trevor Noah finds the spookiest thing about a Florida Halloween, and it isn't Trump's birthright citizenship gambit

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

last updated 1 November 2018

Wednesday was Halloween, Trevor Noah's Daily Show audience in Miami was pumped, and Noah had mixed feelings: "Because of 'stand your ground' laws, I don't know how anyone can enjoy Halloween in Florida. No, because the law is that someone can shoot you if you frighten them. That's the whole point of Halloween! You dress scary, you go to people's houses, and you rob them of candy. I feel like in Florida, it doesn't matter what you dress as, you're leaving as a ghost."

On the subject of spooky, ill-considered things, "President Trump is in the news again," Noah said. "He doesn't need a special day to scare people, he does it every day. And his latest trick has everyone spooked." That would be Trump's suggestion he can end birthright citizenship with an executive order, bypassing the 14th Amendment.

"Basically, Trump wants to make it so if your parents aren't American, and then you're born here, you won't automatically be American anymore," Noah explained. "And honestly, part of me thinks that Trump is only doing this because he's hoping it will kick his kids out." He imagined that conversation between Trump and his son Eric. Trump "wants to white-out the Constitution so he can whiten America," he said. "Unfortunately for him, there are some people who read who disagree with him," including Fox News' Shep Smith and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). "So look, as spooky as this Donald Trump news is," Noah added, "like most things on Halloween, it's scary when it first pops out at you but on closer inspection, it's some bulls--t."

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Meanwhile, Daily Show correspondent Desi Lydic traveled around Florida trying to discover "what makes a man Florida Man?" Her answers began to sound like a Jimmy Buffett lyric — alcohol, woman, alligators, the weather — before she hit on a plausible, half-exculpatory explanation for all the bizarre stories you hear out of Florida. 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.