As a populist candidate, one of Donald Trump’s campaign promises was that he, a multimillionaire real-estate heir who lives in a Saddam-esque gold palace, would “drain the swamp”—that is, rid Washington, D.C. of its parasitical special-interest groups—whereas “the guys at Goldman Sachs… have total control over Hillary Clinton.” Trump even spent months demanding the release of Hillary’s paid speeches she delivered to Goldman, going as far as using them as an excuse for why he’d broken with decades of tradition in not releasing his tax returns (which he still hasn’t released, by the way).
Well, on Wednesday evening, President Trump returned to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a victory lap. Over the course of an hour, he hit all the usual notes to his crowd of die-hard supporters—hitting the “dishonest media,” defending his health-care hiccups, and boasting about his Electoral College win—who hung on his every word.
“You know what was really impressive to see last night?” asked Trevor Noah during Thursday night’s edition of The Daily Show. “Was how Trump supporters are so on board with their dude he can say anything and they’ll come along for the ride.”
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During his speech, President Trump proposed a solar wall on the border with Mexico so it “creates energy” and “pays for itself, and this way Mexico will have to pay much less money.”
“Wait, what?! No, no, no, hold on,” said a confused Noah. “OK, so first of all, you realize that those are Trump supporters cheering massive government spending into solar panels that will save a ton of money for Mexico.”
“What are they cheering for?” he continued. “This is the guy who spent the entire campaign revving up crowds by dissing Mexico and praising the nutritional benefits of coal, and now he’s flipping? It feels like Trump crowds’ only consistent belief is: If Trump said it, it’s good.”
Then there was the little matter of Wall Street. Noah proceeded to throw to a clip of a Trump rally on Sept. 13, 2016, in Aston, Pennsylvania, wherein then-candidate Trump proclaimed, “Remember, when you cast that ballot, just picture a Wall Street boardroom filled with the special interests who have been bleeding your country and your city and every place else, and imagine the look on their faces when you tell them, ‘You’re fired!’”
Cut to the Cedar Rapids rally Wednesday night, where Trump remarked, “We have the legendary Wall Street genius Wilbur Ross here, he’s our secretary of Commerce. We have Gary Cohn here, who’s the president of Goldman Sachs… When you get the president—this is the president of Goldman Sachs—[it’s] smart, having him represent us.”
Trump added: “And I love all people—rich or poor—but in those particular positions, I just don’t want a poor person. Does that make sense? Does that make sense?!” The crowd cheered.
Cohn, who is Trump’s chief economic adviser, is one of six former Goldman Sachs employees who’ve been appointed to senior-level positions within the Trump administration, including White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Deputy Treasury Secretary James Donovan.
“Who is this guy? Like, what world is this?” asked Noah. “Donald Trump just said we need bankers to run this country, and everyone applauded. Right now I’m just thinking: Poor Hillary Clinton. Bankers… Goldman Sachs bankers? That’s what everyone went after her for and now [with] Trump they’re like yayyyy! I just imagine at this point every object in Hillary’s house is bent in rage. Everything.”
