Comedian Trevor Noah skewered Fox News on Tuesday night for its coverage of "silly" scandals facing 2020 Democratic candidates.
On The Daily Show, Noah accused the network of turning Kamala Harris's music-listening habits and Cory Booker's veganism into scandals, while failing to properly question outlandish statements made by President Donald Trump, Mediaite pointed out.
"Fox News is priceless," Noah said. "Every day, President Trump will come on and say some crazy shit like Ted Cruz's dad killed JFK, and they're like, well, we will never know for sure, I mean, nobody knows."
The comedian was referencing a 2016 Trump swipe at Cruz, in which the now-president linked his adversary's father to President John F Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald in a phone call to Fox News. As Politico noted at the time, Trump was citing a tabloid conspiracy theory peddled by The National Enquirer. Trump went on to reiterate the claim in other interviews.
Noah lambasted the Fox News coverage of Harris's recent admission on radio show The Breakfast Club that she smoked cannabis in college. Harris claimed to have smoked weed while listening to Snoop Dogg and Tupac in college. But Fox News, as well as other outlets, pointed out the acts didn't release their first albums until the 1990s—years after the 2020 candidate had graduated.
"Kamala says she got high while listening to Snoop in college and suddenly they're the Robert Muellers of Hip Hop," Noah quipped.
Moving on to the network's coverage of Booker, Noah played several recent Fox News clips in which commentators suggest the New Jersey senator wants to push his veganism on others. In one video, Sean Hannity questions whether Dems are "trying to take the White House on a platform of banning meat."
"Lock your freezers, save your meat now. You may need it. It will be very valuable—a great investment for years to come," the host continued in his February 12 Hannity opening monologue.
Noah laughed at the video and remarked: "I feel so bad for people who take Fox News seriously. It's gotta be so much work because they're always telling you, like, 'The Democrats are coming for your shit, you gotta stockpile a lifetime supply of meat…guns…fossil fuels…Bibles, American flags, Confederate statues."
"There must be one closet at your house that's just chaos," he continued. "Fox News is like reverse Marie Kondo. Just put everything in your house as long as it sparks rage!"
Kondo is an organizing consultant who authored of 2011's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and helms Netflix hit reality show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. She created the "KonMari" organization method, which encourages followers to decide whether or not to throw things out by asking if an item "sparks joy."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Katherine Hignett is a reporter based in London. She currently covers current affairs, health and science. Prior to joining Newsweek ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
