When President Obama announced new gun policies this week, it allowed for one of the more emotionally candid moments of his presidency. Overcome by the weight of the numerous lives lost to gun violence, Obama paused his speech to wipe away tears, reflecting especially on the 20 children fatally shot in Sandy Hook. For some, it was a brief glimpse of relatabilty — a president feeling just as powerless as they do to protect his fellow citizens. But a select few saw the moment as little more than an act, suggesting, as Fox News did, that Obama was faking his tears with a hidden onion or something absurd. Or that he used those tears for political gain.
It’s those people with whom Trevor Noah has lost all patience, using the end of his opening monologue in last night’s Daily Show to rip them a new one. “Are you fucking kidding me?†he started, responding to Fox News’s Andrea Tantaros’s remark that Obama’s emotions weren’t believable. “Shedding tears when you think of murdered children is not really believable? You know what? There is something here that is not really believable: the fact that the rest of us have to share the title of human being with you.â€