Trevor Noah says that one of the “first things you lose” in totalitarianism is comedy, and that fellow comics are “deceiving themselves” under President Trump.
“When I was growing up, until I was six years old, maybe even closer to 10 years old, free speech was not a thing,” South Africa-born Noah said during a stand-up routine.Posted onHis YouTube channel on Wednesday.
“You couldn’t say what you wanted. There was no stand-up comedy in South Africa because you would have gone to jail.”
Noah said, “The first thing you lose in an authoritarian regime, funny enough, is comedy – this crazy trend you can take the whole time. Go to Russia, South Africa.”
The former “Daily Show” host’s comments came in response to a question from an audience member asking about Noah’s reaction to several high-profile American comedians. Performed at Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
Saying that the Middle Eastern country is far from “perfect”, Noah told the crowd that “in a weird way, I almost feel like [Saudia Arabia] It is moving in the right direction by allowing comedy shows.
“Meanwhile, over here, comedians are making trouble for themselves,” Noah said before making the reference.shot to deathCharlie Kirk’s. The 31-year-old conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA was murdered while speaking at an event in Utah last month.
In the wake of his death, Noah said, comedians were repeatedly advised not to “say anything about Charlie Kirk” because “there was nothing funny about it.”
“Now you tested me – I mean, there’s nothing funny about it?” Noah said.
“Don’t say that, because then I’ll say, ‘I’m sure there’s something funny in it,'” he added.
Noah, 41, said, “The guy was shot while defending the gun. Do you understand? I’m not even writing this as a joke. As a human being, you have to admit, it’s a crazy weird thing.”
“It would be like the captain of the Titanic giving an impassioned speech about icebergs just before the incident,” he said, laughing.
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” Noah said of Kirk’s death, before hitting back at critics who told him to “don’t say anything.”
He said, “That’s really what comedians do. That’s the whole point of it. There’s nothing funny about most things in our lives: there’s nothing funny about death, there’s nothing funny about life, there’s nothing funny about struggle. No, the whole point of it is to find a moment of solace.”
The “Born a Crime” author also criticized gun violence and the reaction to Kirk’s death.
“It’s very strange that America’s response to that man being shot was to limit speech rather than limit the thing that ended his life,” Noah said.
“What happened to Charlie Kirk? He was shot. Okay. Tell people to shut up,” Noah said.
“We’ve got to have some control over the words on these streets,” he quipped.
“Let me tell you something: Jokes will never kill you. Never.”
Noah also told the audience that comedians “don’t have the authority” that political leaders are given.
“These comedians, they’ll tell a joke, and people will say, ‘Don’t you dare! Ah!’ And then [Trump] Literally said, ‘Maybe I’ll go for a third term.’ maybe I will. Maybe I’ll stay.’ And people are like, ‘What?'” Noah said.
“And then when he asked [Trump’s] People, they’re like…’No, he’s kidding.'”
chairmansaid inMarch said he was “not joking” about seeking a third term, which is constitutionally prohibited. in August,Trump saidHe “probably” will not seek a second term.
“I was like, oh, so…the president’s kidding,” Noah said. “Comedian, no.”
