Appearing on Wednesday’s NBC Today, new Daily Show host Trevor Noah described his eagerness to mock the Republican 2016 field: “Yeah, a great gift, the campaign. Great gift, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, these are all gifts, these are beautiful – I couldn't ask for more.”
Co-host Carson Daly had teed up Noah by remarking: “Plus, what a gift, he’s starting his job during a presidential year. So you’re going to have lots of great characters, obviously, in the running.” In August, the morning show lamented Jon Stewart not being around to mock the GOP debate.
Fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie wondered if Noah would continue to focus on “current events” on the late night show and asked: “...has there been a moment in any current news event where you’ve thought, ‘I wish the show was tonight, I wish I could really get a crack at that one’?”
Noah replied: “The debate. Definitely the debate. And every single time Donald Trump has spoken I’ve gone, ‘Why aren't we on the air?’”
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Daly followed up: “...what is your take on Donald Trump?” Noah touted the Republican front-runner as comedy gold:
Well, I mean, he's an interesting guy. I never know. Sometimes I think he's – I think he’s almost working as a double agent. Sometimes I think he's just doing that to make the other candidates look really good. He’s almost like a pacesetter in the Olympics. That's what he's doing, he’s just going, “This is the craziest thing” and people go, “You know what, actually that guy’s not so bad after all, let’s look at the other guy.” I think he's doing that. Sometimes I think he's doing it for Democrats. I don't know what it is and that's what makes him exciting. So in my world, I’m going, “I support Donald Trump,” that's our angle. I support Donald Trump for going the opposite way because he's good for us. I don't know about you guys, but he’s good for The Daily Show....I’d love to have him as a guest.
Near the end of the interview, Guthrie briefly noted the controversy surrounding Noah: “You were announced and there was all this fanfare. And then people were looking at old tweets and you kind of got in some trouble for things that you had tweeted a long time ago. Did that kind of sour it at all?”
Noah declared: “It’s an extremely difficult thing to go through, but it's one of the best things that can happened to you because you then realize what world you're coming into, you realize how people take things. So, you know, obviously that was something I did when I was really young and stupid...”
Here is a portion of September 23 exchange:
(...)
8:20 PM ET
DALY: Are you going to change your stand-up humor for this TV show?
NOAH: No, I'm going to try to change the TV show to meld with my stand-up humor, you know? That's what Jon did and that’s what he told me to do. And so, that’s what I’m going to be working on.
GUTHRIE: His show obviously was big on current events, ripped right out of the headlines. Do you think you'll do that, too?
NOAH: Oh yeah, of course, why would you throw that all away? All the news comes to you as entertainment, so why not use all of it?
DALY: Plus, what a gift, he’s starting his job during a presidential year. So you’re going to have lots of great characters, obviously, in the running.
NOAH: Yeah, a great gift, the campaign. Great gift, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, these are all gifts, these are beautiful – I couldn't ask for more.
GUTHRIE: I was going to say, has there been – because I know you've been preparing all summer – has there been a moment in any current news event where you’ve thought, “I wish the show was tonight, I wish I could really get a crack at that one”?
NOAH: The debate. Definitely the debate. And every single time Donald Trump has spoken I’ve gone, “Why aren't we on the air?” And they go, “Just wait, just wait, take your time, relax,enjoy the thing.” But it's just so exciting. You see everything that is happening out there and we're all sitting in the room and we’re writing stuff and going, “If only we could say this,” and you can't say it and then you think there’s gotta be another way. But we’ll wait.
DALY: Everybody is talking about Donald Trump. Every show has their own take, the late-night guys, how hard is it to find your own lane and what is your take on Donald Trump?
NOAH: Well, I mean, he's an interesting guy. I never know. Sometimes I think he's – I think he’s almost working as a double agent. Sometimes I think he's just doing that to make the other candidates look really good. He’s almost like a pacesetter in the Olympics. That's what he's doing, he’s just going, “This is the craziest thing” and people go, “You know what, actually that guy’s not so bad after all, let’s look at the other guy.” I think he's doing that. Sometimes I think he's doing it for Democrats. I don't know what it is and that's what makes him exciting. So in my world, I’m going, “I support Donald Trump,” that's our angle. I support Donald Trump for going the opposite way because he's good for us. I don't know about you guys, but he’s good for The Daily Show.
GUTHRIE: Would you like to have him as a guest?
NOAH: I’d love to have him as a guest.
(...)
