In the first new episode of The Daily Show since the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Trevor Noah admitted that he’s an “idiot” when it comes to guns.
“Even though these shootings are happening more and more frequently, I refuse to get used to it and refuse to accept the idea that nothing can be done,” Noah said. “My first instinct is to talk about limiting guns, but I’m an idiot. I get it. You know, in my dumb mind, I keep thinking gun violence is somehow related to guns.”
“Now if you told someone that they had to solve gun violence but they couldn’t talk about guns, most people would be like, well, then, there’s nothing I can do,” he said of those who claim it’s “too soon” to talk about limiting access to guns. “But most people are not Fox News. Because over the last few days, Fox showed us that once you remove the obvious solution, you have no choice but to get creative.”
Noah went on to mock Fox News personalities like Jeanine Pirro, Newt Gingrich and Andrew Napolitano for advocating for more guns in schools to solve the problem.
“So now you want teachers to have guns?” Noah asked. “Like, my teacher didn’t even know who was talking in class. Now you want to trust them to shoot the right kid?” He added, “These ideas are so absurd. It’s like a game show host walked into Fox News and said, ‘Next category, worst way to solve gun violence, go!’”
And while it may feel like “nothing is going to change” after America’s latest mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, Noah declared, “This time, there’s one big difference: Those meddling kids.”
Unlike in previous massacres, the students who survived last week’s shooting are organizing and using their voices to demand action on guns.
“Goddamn, these kids are not messing around. Wow!” the host said. “This also just goes to show how upside-down everything becomes when guns are involved. Now, kids are acting like adults and adults are acting like children.”
Noah imagined senators whining, “You’re taking my favorite toys, this is so unfair!” Meanwhile, the students are saying, “You can’t have them if you’re not responsible enough to handle them.”
“These kids are inspirational,” Noah said. “They’re holding town halls, they’re marching on Congress, all the while mourning the loss of their fellow schoolmates. So what they lack in experience they seem to be making up for with sharp moral clarity.”
“And I know some people think they’re just kids, can they really make a difference?” he asked. “Well, think of it this way: their generation found a way to make it cool to eat Tide pods, so there’s nothing they can’t do.”
