On Wednesday’s “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah’s approach to Democratic Pennsylvania US Senate nominee John Fetterman’s recovery from a stroke is depicted by both major media outlets and Republicans. And in addition to showing why that response is ridiculous, he also accurately described the inherent bigotry it contained, which he called “garbage.”
So, for some background, Fetterman was interviewed by NBC News reporter Dasha Burns this week, her first TV interview since having a stroke in May. For those who didn’t watch, Fetterman was completely consistent throughout the interview. But like many stroke victims, he has problems with speech recognition. However, his senses aren’t perfect, he can speak and read just fine, so he uses captions to make sure he understands what he’s hearing.
Still, Burns was confrontational, implying that Fetterman’s campaign is dishonest about his health. She also depicted a moment when Fetterman murmured a word (emphatic rather than sympathetic) and then caught the mistake and corrected himself, as if he had made a dangerous slip. She later implied without offering any evidence that she had exhibited cognitive impairment prior to the interview.
Burns was widely criticized for this, including by other journalists who have recently spent hours talking to Fetterman and saw no evidence of his insistence. On Wednesday, Burns withdrew his convictions and acknowledged that stroke experts are clear that Fetterman’s condition is not evidence of cognitive impairment — something he did not do during the original broadcast. Read more about it here.
After redefining Fetterman’s position and showing a clip of the “loud/sympathetic” moment, Noah said, “If stumbling upon a word disqualifies you from politics, America hasn’t had a president for the past 6 years. “
“Actually,” Noah continued, “at least Fetterman admitted that he messed up the wording, and he corrected himself. Biden might not have noticed, and he just [mumble mumble] Negro, man.”
“And can you imagine Trump,” Noah said. “Trump would have tried to convince us to make us believe he really got the word right. He would be like, ‘I always knew I was loud, and I was, and sympathetic too. I emphatically was sympathetic and so empowering.”
Also, to read the caption because she now has a disturbing understanding of speech, I don’t know, is this really a deal breaker? Huh? If you ask me, America needs more people in politics who really know how to read,” Noah joked as a photo of Marjorie Taylor Green and Herschelle Walker appeared on the screen.
“If anything, the need for captions these days is super relatable. Have you tried watching ‘House of the Dragon’ without a caption? It’s impossible. I mean, half the characters have the same name,” he continued.
Noah got serious for a second. “I’m not vouching for Fetterman on Dr. Oz or anything like that,” he said. “But I think this whole debate is swirling around saying that people with disabilities can’t be lawmakers. Which is garbage, right? Especially since America already has disabled lawmakers serving right now. .
Noah then mentions two of them: Dan Crenshaw and Tammy Duckworth. He also made fun of Mitch McConnell’s incompetence because he’s constantly ‘melting down.’ Watch the full clip above.