‘Daily Show’s’ Trevor Noah on Police Shootings: ‘You Can Be Pro-Cop and Pro-Black’

After ceding the spotlight to Larry Wilmore on Wednesday, Trevor Noah made the latest series of unarmed black men killed by police the centerpiece of The Daily Show Thursday night. He began with a plea for the two opposing sides in this conflict to find common ground. And this was before two snipers left at least four officers dead during a Black Lives Matter protest in Dallas.

“Did you guys see the shooting that happened two days ago?” Noah asked his audience at the top of the show, referring to the death of Alton Sterling. “Because don't worry, if you missed it, there was another one yesterday,” he added of Philando Castile.

“You know, the hardest part of having a conversation surrounding police shootings in America, it always feels like in America, it’s like if you take a stand for something, you automatically are against something else,” the host said. While he said he understands how someone can be a “cat person or a dog person” or like the Red Sox versus the Yankees.

“But with police shootings, it shouldn't have to work that way,” he continued. “For instance, if you’re pro Black Lives Matter you're assumed to be anti-police, and if you're pro-police, then you surely hate black people.”

“When in reality, you can be pro-cop and pro-black, which is what we should all be!” Noah said to cheers from the crowd. “That is what we should be aiming for.” Or, he added, you could be anti-cop and anti-black, which would make you Mel Gibson.