Dubai: Comedian Trevor Noah is popular for his satirical take on world news, but he has landed in hot water amongst Pakistani social media users for his comments on Imran Khan, the country’s Prime Minister-in-waiting.
In the latest episode of the Daily Show, the comedian compared Khan to US President Donald Trump. Referring to him as “Pakistan’s Donald Trump”, Noah stressed that Khan’s background story is quite similar to that of Trump’s and emphasis was placed on things like their privileged lifestyle and personal relationships.
Showing video clips from past interviews and news coverage on both leaders, he went on to state that Khan is a “tanned version of President Trump”. And after showing a shot of Khan’s bedroom, he refers to his home as “Pakistani Trump Tower”.
Trumps are popping up across the globe #TheDailyShow @Trevornoah pic.twitter.com/SCE1e1MtlU
— Comedy Central UK (@ComedyCentralUK) August 15, 2018
His comments have not been received well by many social media users in Pakistan. In fact, ‘Trevor Noah’ is a top trend on twitter in the country, with a lot of conversation over the four-minute clip that was posted by the channel.
Tweep @fouzi_s posted: “@Trevornoah I really want you to get your facts straight about Imran Khan. He is the most popular politician in Pakistan. Comparing him with Donald Trump is an insult to the Pakistani people.”
@Trevornoah I really want you to get your facts straight about Imran Khan. He is the most popular politician in Pakistan. Comparing him with Donald Trump it's an insult to Pakistani people. pic.twitter.com/YlI2qbTv1a
— fouzia shafiq (@fouzi_s) August 16, 2018
@UllahFatima tweeted: “@Trevornoah Being a Pakistani American I took a great deal of offense by you comparing Imran Khan to Trump. Khan is the only hope left for that country! He is not impulsive, immature or a liar. Your team worked really hard on the clips but they painted a picture far from reality.”
@Trevornoah Being a Pakistani American I took a great deal of offense by you comparing Imran Khan to Trump. Khan is the only hope left for that country! He is not impulsive immature or a liar. Your team worked really hard on the clips but they painted a picture far from reality.
— fatima ullah (@UllahFatima) August 16, 2018
Tweep @kamilshahid1 posted: “Big fan of his show, but this is an ill-informed comparison. A better comparison would be with @Schwarzenegger, who went through years of struggle, perfected every art he focused on and was looked up by aspiring youth. Years of persistence is inspiring. @ImranKhanPTI”
@OmerN80 added: “@Trevornoah amazed at your program about @ImranKhanPTI. I wish you could have done a bit more research. I never knew that Trump won the [cricket] World Cup or built free cancer hospitals or free universities for the middle class. Very poor research work done by your team @Trevornoah.”
@Trevornoah amazed at ur program about @ImranKhanPTI. I wish you could have done a bit more research. I never knew that Trump won worldcup or built free cancer hospitals or free universities for middle class. Very poor research work done by your team @Trevornoah
— funky punky (@OmerN80) August 16, 2018
In the show, Noah is heard saying: “Imran Khan is one of many leaders around the world who is following the successful format of the hit show called ‘The Trump Presidency’.”
After the clip was shared on multiple social media platforms, there were many users who spoke up in Noah’s support, took his comments in good spirit and thought his comparison was humourous.
Tweep @Ajaysharmafsl posted: “He didn’t try to “ridicule” anyone. He tried to create a funny sketch and he succeeded!”
@israrabas tweeted: “Do you think he cares about Imran Khan? I think he tried to make fun of Trump using Khan’s reference.”
