How Noah found his footing
“Only an idiot would take over from Jon Stewart as the host of ‘The Daily Show.’ And luckily, I was that idiot,” Trevor Noah told the Los Angeles Times when he stopped by a few weeks back.
Noah says he had doubts, but he managed to find his own voice on “The Daily Show,” guiding Comedy Central’s late-night institution to its first series Emmy nomination with him as host in 2017.
The following is an edited transcript.
“It’s an interesting relationship, like Harry Potter has with Voldemort.”
Q: Did Trump’s election give “The Daily Show” its focus?
A: Definitely. Satire works best when it has targets. And it’s very difficult to fake that target. So, when you’re living in a world where everything seems to be going right, it’s difficult to be in a space where you are feigning anger, because there really is no need for any. It seems like a vestige of a previous time.
But once Trump came into office, the show immediately had its relationship with the White House, not dissimilar to how “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” really started its tenure with George Bush. So, in many ways, that’s the journey that the show has with the White House. It’s an interesting relationship, like Harry Potter has with Voldemort.
Q: You’ve interviewed a number of presidential candidates. What’s your strategy in talking to people who avoid questions they don’t like?
A: Every politician’s going to come in with their talking points. They’re selling who they are. They’re trying to get the job.
And so what I’m trying to do is ask the questions that the employer, aka the voter, should be asking.
And what I try to do is just steadily chip away at the talking points and try to get to the human being behind them.
I think a lot of politicians focus too much on how much they can remember, how many facts they can regurgitate, and not enough on the message. What are they actually saying? And that’s where, hate him or love him, Donald Trump is really good at delivering a message. He may not be good with his words. He may not be good with the English language. But his message is always crystal clear to those who are listening to him.
Q: Not being good with words and language is part of the appeal, it seems.
A: Oh, yeah, definitely. He plays into it. And he plows through any foibles that the rest of us would be stuck up on. He just goes with it, creates a new reality. And that’s part of his strength, and that’s what people like in him, a leader who goes, “No, there is no wrong, there is no mistake, we just make this a new path.”
Actor Bryan Brown is 72. Former “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson is 63. Actress Frances McDormand is 62. Director Joss Whedon is 55. Actress Selma Blair is 47. Singer-songwriter Jason Mraz is 42. Singer Duffy is 35.
June 23 birthdays: