News Satire Roundup: July 2nd

Sunday, July 2 – John started with Trump’s latest controversial tweets, pointing out the smoke screen they’re forming against bigger news, like parts of the travel ban being reinstated.  The main story was on the Sinclair Broadcast Group, a media corporation that’s been buying up local news stations around the country.  John provided copious evidence of the group’s far-right bent, which they force on the stations they own through must-run pieces made by their headquarters and copy they’ve written to introduce stories with a certain bias.  I was particularly appalled by the daily “Terrorism Alert Desk” – especially egregious was the fact that, when there’s no terrorism news to report, they simply fill the segment with other “Muslim-related” news.  Fortunately, we ended on a high note with the show’s recent acquisition of five wax replicas of US presidents, complete with a trailer for a biopic starring their replica of Warren G. Harding.

Another Daily Show-less week – back soon!  This week, I want to appreciate just how much of an asset I think Trevor’s nationality is to the show.  It was naturally a topic of discussion before the show rebooted and a ways into Trevor’s first season – the “African perspective,” is Trevor well-versed enough on US politics to cover an election cycle, and so on and so forth.  But really, I think that African perspective brings so much to the show, both in general and in the specific political climate.

The “Trump = African dictator” piece ran in one of Trevor’s first few episodes, and it was an early indicator of the slant he could bring to the show.  Very early in the game, he recognized those similarities between Trump and several prominent African dictators.  Sure, the segment was peppered with joke inclusions, like the montage of Trump and Idi Amin both talking about their “excellent brains,” but it highlighted more troubling similarities as well.  Throughout the campaign, the show kept leaning into this view of Trump – making fun of him, of course, but also acknowledging him as the potential threat he was and never losing sight of the possibility that he could actually win the election.  I feel like The Daily Show saw this long before other shows, both comedy and straight news, and it’s in no small part due to Trevor’s experience in having lived under presidents like that.

I also really enjoy the Africa jokes sprinkled in here and there.  Whether they’re putting things in perspective (#ThirdWorldProblems) or exposing ignorance (Africa jokes:  because you can’t tell if I’m kidding,) they’re entertaining, clever, and most importantly, unique.  There’s no one like Trevor on late-night, and that opens the door for humorous insights that other shows either don’t see or don’t have the knowledge to make.  Where else are you gonna find a late-night host delivering a punch line in Xhosa?

Finally, Trevor’s experience as a relative newcomer to America helps shed a different light on stories people who were born here can become numb to.  Part of the reason Trevor’s commentary on, say, gun control and mass shootings is so sharp, is because he’s coming at it from a vantage point of just how supremely messed-up this problem is, and his coverage of racism in America, while incisive enough on its own, gains even more weight when you stop and think about how this is someone who lived through the tail-end of apartheid.