When Trevor Noah Suggested a Unexpected and Fun Career Option for Donald Trump

So far, Donald Trump has been a successful entrepreneur and a politician, but Trevor Noah has another career option for the Republican nominee. Back in 2017, the comedian appeared at The Messy Truth, a town hall series hosted by CNN commentator Van Jones, and analyzed how Trump engaged with the crowd and suggested he could be a better stand-up comedian. 

Noah recalled Trump's joke while sending a tribute to Carryn Owens, widow of slain Navy SEAL "Ryan" Owens, and said, "During that moment with Ryan's wife, Trump even told a joke and people laughed, people connected," insisting that a stand-up comedian must know how to interact with his audience. Meanwhile, he also noted Jones' criticism, calling it "one of the most extraordinary moments you have ever seen in American politics," per CNN.

He added further, "When you watched Trump, and what you said, my first instinct was, come again, man? But then, when I watched it, I realized what you were saying. The honest truth is that he became presidential in that moment. What's not scary is that he became presidential in that moment. I think what's scary is that it is that easy to become presidential." 

Meanwhile, Jones, who is a staunch critic of Trump, implied that his criticism of the politician is justified, "It was an emotional moment. I am proud of myself that I can still get teary-eyed even during a Trump speech," reiterating that he didn't regret his comments. However, he also clarified that although he cried, he was still not in favor of the former president. 

"I'm still afraid of Trump. When I said he was becoming presidential, that wasn't just a compliment, that was a warning. There's a danger that we all become fear-based and fear-driven and we give in 100% to this whole us-against-them hysteria. If that happens, a form of Trumpism has been normalized in our hearts, in our hearts. And as a father and a human being, that worries me, too." 

In 2021, when Trump's successor Joe Biden took oath as the president of the United States, The Daily Show host returned to the show after a month-long vacation and said farewell to his presidency. He told his viewers that Trump spent the last few days of his power "like many tinpot dictators convincing his most rabid fans to keep fighting for a lost cause while he hides in a bunker somewhere," per The Guardian.

The South African further unpacked the violent Jan. 6 Capitol Riots and called out Trump for mishandling the situation, "[He's] completely dropped the bar for presidential behavior. I mean, in 10 years, a president could just pee in the middle of a press conference, and everyone will just be like, 'huh, I guess he just had to go.'" 

The 40-year-old comedian announced his exit from The Daily Show in September 2022, citing, "There's another part of my life that I want to ... carry on exploring," as per NPR.