Watch: Trevor Noah explains how to deal with the lies of politicians in the post-truth world
The talk-show host offers the lowdown on Trump's 'Fantastic Boasts and where to find them.'
US President-elect Donald Trump is yet to move into office, but the media is still reeling from his victory. Particularly from the vast number of conspiracy theories and fake news successfully peddled by both Trump and his followers.
Tech giants Facebook and Google are even attempting to weed out fake news after claims were made it that the plethora of unchecked information on the internet might have swayed votes in the US elections.
The tweet below is just one example of Trump’s wild imagination (and that’s the most charitable way of putting it):
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012
On The Daily Show, host Trevor Noah tackles the business of how to adapt to the fantasies of politicians in the post-truth world where claims and emotions beat facts, running through a few of Trump’s tweets and the fallout from each.
Until now, Noah says, politicians based their lies on facts or on misrepresentation. But Trump does not subscribe to that philosophy. “He is the upgrade,” Noah explains. Trump’s claims cannot be argued against, because he “invented them”.
There is a better way.
“You don’t argue with a toddler if you want to win,” Noah says. “Don’t amplify the toddler’s voice, because you’ll just get trapped in the toddler’s world. Rather, just keep asking the toddler to elaborate. Because logic is the downfall of every toddler.”
The President-elect of the US is not alone in using this type of tactic to further his political career.
As West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee was flying back from a rally against demonetisation in Patna on Wednesday, her flight had to circle over the airport without landing for 30 minutes despite being reportedly low on fuel (an allegation that Indigo Airlines has denied). While the cause was probably congestion, Banerjee’s party has alleged that it may well have been an “assassination attempt”.
Speaking about demonetisation in Goa on November 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also stated he had reason to fear for his life. “I know the forces up against me, they may not let me live, they may ruin me because their loot of 70 years is in trouble, but I am prepared.”
To round out the trio of India’s paranoid leaders, in July 2016 Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal put out a video saying that he feared for his life and said about BJP and Modi’s plans, “They can go to any extent. They may kill us. They may even kill me.”
