Trevor Noah is convinced that America is headed the way of an African dictatorship under the Trump administration.
“The Daily Show” host, who is originally from South Africa, picked apart what he said were the most dangerous aspects of President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey on Wednesday night’s episode and his outlook was grim.
“People, I’m not going to sugarcoat this,” he said. “This is bad for democracy.”
As Noah suggested Tuesday, that’s because “Dictator Trump,” as he has dubbed the president, has become emboldened enough to get rid of the people investigating his campaign’s ties to Russia, according to the host. Even if the president claims it’s because Comey had wronged the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
“I’m sorry but that’s straight-up bullshit,” Noah said. “You don’t need to be a genius to figure out why Trump really canned Comey. It rhymes with Russia.”
“It’s like breaking up with your girlfriend right after she asks you if she could look at your phone,” the comedian added.
But the real group that Americans should be worried about are the Republicans in Congress who refuse to employ the checks and balances that are supposed to keep Trump in check, Noah said. He pointed out that that’s what Congress did when former President Richard Nixon was embroiled in the Watergate scandal.
“In America, you specifically have checks and balances for this reason,” Noah said. “So if a president makes a dubious decision like this you could trust Congress to step in and do something about it.”
So far, Noah continued, Congress has shown no interest in checking Trump’s controversial decision ― and that could prove devastating for democracy.
“Here’s the thing: Democracies don’t go away in a flash,” Noah said. “You don’t just wake up one morning and tanks are rolling through the streets. That’s not how it works.”
“It’s a slow burn with many steps along the way, and this is a big step,” he added.
In the clip above, watch “The Daily Show” host discuss why accountability is now virtually non-existent under the Trump administration.
Related
Before You Go
