The New York Times story about the time Brett Kavanaugh was questioned by the police about a bar fight following a UB40 concert in September of 1985 has received its fair share of criticism for illuminating too little about his fitness for the Supreme Court. But on Wednesday night, The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah raised some important questions that helped explain why it matters.
“Here’s the thing,” he said. “It’s one thing to get into a fight. It’s another thing to get into a fight where the cops are called. And on top of that, a fight where the cops are called on a white guy.”
“Do you know how bad a fight has to be for the police to get called on a white guy?” Noah asked. “At an Ivy League school in the ‘80s? That was like rich white male heyday. I mean every decade is, but that one was extra good for them.”
The host went on to say that “the reason Kavanaugh was fighting is probably one of the greatest stories of all time.” As Kavanaugh’s Yale classmate Chad Ludington revealed this week, the fight started after they mistook a stranger at the bar for the lead singer of UB40. After Kavanaugh allegedly threw his beer at the man, the guy “swung at Brett,” prompting Kavanaugh pal Chris Dudley to allegedly smash his beer into the guy’s head.
“Right now this story is so weird you could make up any detail and it would be believable,” Noah joked. “Here’s the thing,” he added. “If you’re throwing a drink in someone’s face because they’re not the lead singer of UB40, you’re either someone who drank a shit-ton or you’re just a crazy person. It’s one or the other.”
Noah stressed that Kavanaugh “raging as a young man doesn’t disqualify him from serving on the Supreme Court.” But “lying about it to the Senate” is a real problem.