Daily Show Host Defends Syrian Refugees By Bringing Up Spanish Inquisition

November 18th, 2015 12:37 PM

Liberal Daily Show host Trevor Noah on Tuesday reached back to 1478 and the Spanish Inquisition as a way of attacking Republican opposition to Syrian refugees in the United States. Noah recoiled at Marco Rubio referencing the Nazis as he critiqued Hillary Clinton’s failure to use the words radical Islam. 

Noah mocked, “Islam is a religion. It's open for violent interpretation and it’s open for peaceful interpretation. Just like how Christianity can encompass both the Spanish Inquisition and the little old lady in church who keeps talking to you about cat's diabetes medicine. So, basically, torture either way.” 

Noah snidely lectured, “Once you’ve worked through the first [stage], you can move to the next stage of political grief. Break out the Nazi comparisons.” Perhaps Noah isn’t the best person to judge such comparisons. On November 2, he compared Donald Trump to ISIS. 

A partial transcript is below: 

Daily Show
11/17/15
11:05

TREVOR NOAH: And once you’ve worked through the first [stage], then you can move to the next stage of political grief. Break out the Nazi comparisons. 

[Clip from This Week]

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Secretary Clinton did not want to use the word radical Islam. Your response?

MARCO RUBIO: I think — I don't understand it. That would be like saying we weren't at war with the Nazis because we were afraid to offend some Germans who may have been members to have the Nazi Party but weren’t violent themselves. 

NOAH: That’s not exactly the same thing. You see, because Islam is a religion It's open for violent interpretation and it’s open for peaceful interpretation. Just like how Christianity can encompass both the Spanish Inquisition and the little old lady in church who keeps talking to you about cat's diabetes medicine. So, basically, torture either way. But, but still, Marco Rubio, to say non-violent radical Muslims is the same as non-violent Nazis is not quite correct. Because, you see, the Nazis knew what they were getting in for. It's not like the vast majority were in it for non-fascist reasons.