Trevor Noah begs news networks to treat climate science as seriously as Maury Povich does genetics


On Friday, the Trump administration tried to quietly drop a bombshell. "Thirteen agencies, all part of the Trump administration, have released an official report saying that manmade climate change is not only real, but its effects are already here," Trevor Noah said on Monday's Daily Show. "So ... surely the Trump of the administration will finally come on board?" Nope.
Noah wasn't impressed that "the president of the United States is throwing away four years of scientific work which is endorsed by his own administration," but he was confused as to why news networks keep paying "climate change buffoons" to offer their similar and openly unscientific skepticism of climate science. "Think of it this way: When Maury Povich brings someone on, if the DNA test says you are the father, then that's it, the science has spoken," Noah said. "So all I'm saying is, American news, maybe you should respect science as much as Maury Povich does."
Jimmy Fallon has a slightly different take on Monday's Tonight Show. "Leave it to America to release a report about saving the planet on 1,600 pieces of paper," he quipped, before touching briefly on the migrant caravan: "And today, Trump threatened to permanently shut down the entire U.S.-Mexico border. In response, migrants said, 'Relax, man, we're just trying to get to Canada.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Noah said what he found interesting about the story of U.S. Border Patrol agents using tear gas on migrants at the Mexico border "is how much it changes depending on where you get your news." He showed two examples. "This wasn't an invasion," he said. "It was frustrated asylum-seekers at the border, throwing stones — which, we can be honest, probably isn't going to help their case. ... Unless you can throw them, like, really fast, like 95 miles an hour, because then maybe the Yankees will help you get in."
Noah explained why the Central American migrants are getting desperate, and made Michael Kosta eat his words about pepper spray tasting good on nachos. Watch below. Peter Weber

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.