Trevor Noah has been sitting with us on The Daily Show for a while now, and he’s finally come into his element, redefining his own version of The Daily Show. It goes beyond his witty humor and infallible ability to make everything he touches turn into a sarcastic or a politicized joke, and really comes down to his unwavering commitment to not shying away from the truth in the world of politics. He continually debunks misconceptions and calls voices from the media out on all ends, a necessary measure for today. As students, we have a lot to learn about pushing ourselves to see other perspectives, making sure we’re critically analyzing news stories, and truly standing up for what we believe in.
Some say Jon Stewart was really the only person who could tackle the dawning of the Trump campaign, which was in its early stages just as he was vacating his seat and passing off the baton. While the OG host undoubtedly would’ve thrown punches from every direction at The Donald, and maybe he would’ve even gotten to make Donald Drumpf again first, Trevor Noah didn’t just attack the man in power. Trevor has gone further to reach all branches of the spectrum, and hasn’t just focused on Fox News either (thanks Tomi Lahren). In this regard, Trevor didn’t even just target other channels but went beyond that to cover actual news and do his own type of digging, and in this crusade reached out to expand his demographic.
Instead of preaching to those already deeply informed, Trevor targets the persuadables, a crucial role in this past election cycle. Post election, this trait even shone through as he took us step by step through Trump’s travel ban, explaining the implications with just the right amount of hinted absurdity and witty critique. Yet, in this neutralization, Trevor didn’t shy away from harsh and necessary critiques like many other hosts did (you might remember when Jimmy Fallon humanized Trump with kind language and head pats in one of his segments). Trevor calls out the absurdity, and reveals offensive and ridiculous aspects of our status quo politics. For example, Trevor brings up race in nearly every episode and is able to deliver hard truths in unexpected ways.
In his ability to see all sides and effectively communicate the right messages, Trevor addressed the post election cycle by posing the idea that the election results weren’t necessarily just a bout of white power, but could’ve been people who simply wanted to be paid attention to. This perspective offers a critical train of thought for people of all ideologies, making us question the status quo of our politics. He takes a stand and doesn’t normalize the actions of politicians and big voices in the media. This is something we need right now, especially as young leaders to learn that we shouldn’t silence our voices and should always question our inclinations and stand up for what is just.
Some may say Trevor Noah hasn’t had the smoothest start, but as time has gone on it’s clear that 20 years from now, people will be saying that nobody can replace Trevor Noah’s spot in that Daily chair either.
