After a deeply satisfying exchange with Sen. Lindsey Graham, it was starting to seem like Trevor Noah might have gotten a hang of this interview thing, after all. Then again, maybe not!
Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was a guest on The Daily Show on Monday night, and it seems like they had a hardball interview in mind—Wasserman-Schultz is a controversial figure within the party these days, having faced criticism for a light debate schedule that appeared to favor Clinton; when my colleague Joanna Rothkopf and I attended a Democratic primary event in New Hampshire, Wasserman-Schultz was loudly booed.
Unfortunately for The Daily Show, the DNC chair easily dodged questions about the very questionable superdelegate process, steering the conversation back to the GOP “clown car.” And unfortunately for womankind, Trevor Noah framed one of his questions like this:
“A lot of people feel that Bernie Sanders—I’m going to paraphrase—that Bernie’s being cock-blocked by the DNC,” Noah asked. “Is there any merit to this?”
The audience whooped. “You know, as powerful as that makes me feel, I’m not doing a very good job of rigging the outcome, or...‘blocking’ anyone from being able to get their message out,” Wasserman-Schultz replied. “The reality is, I have a job as national party chair that requires a thick skin, it requires me to be able to absorb the body blows so our candidates can stay above the fray. And if I have to take a few punches for them to be able to get their message out, then so be it.”
Watch the full clip here:
DISCUSSION
I want, so badly, for Trevor Noah to be good at this.
He is...not.