Watch Trevor Noah Combat Trump's Chicago-Bashing, Live From Chicago
By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 17, 2017 2:47PM
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah is in town for four days this week. And it looks like Noah has decided to tailor the show's content to have a specific Chicago bent while he holds court at The Athenaeum Theatre in Lakeview. In his opening monologue, the host took aim at the city's Trump-assisted reputation as a "murder capital," took a look at the work of violence interrupters on the South Side in a correspondent segment, and welcomed Chicago native Common as guest.
After a requisite "Windy City" joke, Noah got down to business. As someone from South Africa, "I know what it’s like to come from a place where everyone labels you just through crime," Noah said. After running a reel of familiar anti-Chicago digs from President Donald Trump, Noah offered, "It honestly sucks that people call Chicago the most dangerous city in America, especially when it's not true." Noah, employing a handy Pennywise metaphor, illustrates what Chicagoans know all too well: that several American cities are actually more violent than Chicago when when you consider the numbers on a per capita basis.
Noah goes on to say that the constant invocation of Chicago crime stems from political calculus rather than anything resembling genuine concern. And he draws a link for how this obsession grew to such a fever pitch. "When there's shootings, Obama's from Chicago. All the other times, he's from Kenya. Now it makes sense," he said. The point certainly hasn't been lost on us here in Chicago over the last few years.
Noah kept the lens trained on Chicago throughout the show, sending correspondent Roy Wood Jr. to meet violence interrupters at CeaseFire and capping the show off with a chat with Calumet Heights native and Marshall soundtrack contributor Common. Check 'em out below.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; Master of None actor and writer—and master of awards speeches—Lena Waithe on Wednesday; and rapper Vic Mensa are slated to appear later in the four-day Chicago run.