Trevor Noah's segment on 'chaos' of Kari Lake on 'The Daily Show' was no laughing matter

Trevor Noah absolutely blasted Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for Arizona governor, on “The Daily Show” Tuesday night.

Which, you know, get in line.

National media are falling all over themselves to write or broadcast something about Lake, the election-denying former news anchor who has modeled her burgeoning political career on Donald Trump's.

But Noah did it right. Whether you support Lake or you don't, it was a masterful use of TV.

He was funny, because, well, he’s Trevor Noah. But he also cut through to the real dangers that democracy faces with candidates like Lake — because, well, he’s Trevor Noah.

“This November, there’s one governor’s race that could change things not just for their state but for everyone,” Noah said, introducing the segment called “Fringe Watching.” “And I’m talking about Arizona. It’s the state for people who like Texas, but wish it had more scorpions and old people.”

Yeah, yeah, haha. But then he added: “If Lake wins, it could change the course of American democracy itself.”

Aidy's asking: Aidy Bryant tells people to vote for Katie Hobbs for governor

Noah was funny, but serious about threats to democracy

From there Noah lays out the history of Lake’s campaign and her brief political history — how former co-workers said she seemed somewhat liberal and contributed to Barack Obama's campaign, but gradually grew infatuated with Trump.

“Of all the newcomers to MAGA politics, Kari Lake is making the biggest wave,” Noah pointed out. He also showed clips from a few ads and interviews, including the one where Lake — a former news anchor — attacks the media by smashing TVs with a sledgehammer. It was stupid on its face, but Noah made it funnier still by pointing out the absurdity of the image.

Did you see how she smashed the TVs, he said? "Which for some reason are from 30 years ago? But really, why are those TVs so old? Is her entire campaign just an excuse to clean out her garage? ‘Big government is just like this lawnmower that I no longer need.’”

He also noted that if you don’t like what’s on one channel, you don’t have to smash the TV. You can also change the channel.

Noah also laid out how she has changed her political views over time.

“I’ve heard of people being open to change,” Noah said, “but this is almost not the same person. Like I wouldn’t be shocked if we found out that the real Kari Lake is locked up in a basement somewhere, while this MAGA alien pretends to be her.”

Then Noah really gets down to it. He talks about the dangers of election denialism, showing clips of Lake saying anyone involved in the “corrupt, shady, shoddy election of 2020, lock them up.” Also: “We have this illegitimate President Biden.”

And on and on.

No debate: CNN interviewing Katie Hobbs and Kari Lake was essential TV

If Lake makes good on her promises, it 'would be chaos'

Noah made fun of Lake for not saying whether she will accept the results of the election unless she wins, getting to something that is so obvious and insidious that it sometimes seems to be forgotten in the media. And It shouldn’t be.

“You realize, thanks to Trump, every Republican running for office now is just like a whiny little kid who refuses to lose a board game,” he said.

What’s worse, Noah explains the dangers of the possibility of not certifying election results in the 2024 election.

“If Kari Lake becomes governor, she could have the final say over who wins it in 2024,” he says. “And it doesn’t sound like she’s going to be shy about getting the result that she wants.”

Cut to NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard asking Lake if she would have certified Arizona’s results in the 2020 election.

Her answer: “Hell no.”

Think about it, Noah says. “She’s saying that if the election in 2024 is ‘stolen’ for Biden the same way the last election was ‘stolen’ for Biden, then she’s not going to approve the results. And that would be chaos. That could throw America into a constitutional crisis like it’s never seen before.”

The only reason the Jan. 6 insurrection didn’t work was because some Republicans wouldn’t go along with it, Noah said. “You don’t need to storm the Capitol when your friends have the keys.”

The dangers in Arizona, and everywhere candidates are denying results of the 2020 election and preemptively threatening to do the same for the 2022 and 2024 ones, are real. Good for Noah for pointing them out.

Here’s hoping this is a reminder to any journalists covering any race throughout the country of what’s really at stake — and their duty to never let their audience forget.

Seriously funny: Why a former 'South Park' writer bought KariLake2022.com

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Daily Show with Trevor Noah took on AZ governor candidate Kari Lake