It’s not every day that Trevor Noah echoes conservative writers and President Trump supporters. But on Tuesday night, the host of the “Daily Show with Trevor Noah” did just that, defending Melania Trump for her choice of shoes while traveling to hurricane-ravaged Texas.
Earlier that day, Noah said, “chilling” news broke of North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan, a story the comedian said deserves coverage “because the fate of the world may literally hang in the balance.”
“But people weren’t talking about the nuclear missile that Kim Jong Un tested, because Melania Trump apparently did something much worse,” Noah said. “She went to Houston wearing high heels.”
“Here’s the thing, I don’t know why anyone should care what anyone wears when they’re on their way to help people,” Noah went on. “Who cares? Look at the pope, you see how he dresses? All white … he looks like he’s going to a P Diddy party. But we don’t say, hey he can’t go out helping people dressed like that.”
[There was no pretense about Melania Trump’s heels. But sometimes, a little pretense helps.]
Indeed, the first lady came under fire Tuesday after photographs showed her towering in stilettos while boarding Air Force Once en route to Texas with President Trump.
“How out of touch can you be?” one tweet read. “I wouldn’t normally comment on Melania’s shoes but I’m not sure if this is what you wear to go meet ppl who’ve lost all of their belongings,” read another.
First lady Melania Trump walks toward Air Force One on Aug. 29 for a visit to Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images).
An article in Vogue called the snakeskin heels “better suited to a shopping afternoon on Madison Avenue or a girls’ luncheon at La Grenouille” and “footwear that is a challenge to walk in on dry land.”
By the time she landed in Corpus Christi Trump had changed into a pair of white sneakers. Conservative media outlets and Trump supporters bashed the first lady’s critics.
“The media is more concerned with criticizing Lady Melania Trump’s appearance than the millions affected by this horrific disaster,” conservative provocateur Jack Posobiec tweeted.
“If You’re More Concerned About Melania’s Shoes Than Harvey Victims, You’re The Problem,” a headline in the Federalist read.
The first lady’s communications director also released a statement to reporters, saying, “It’s sad that we have an active and ongoing natural disaster in Texas, and people are worried about her shoes.”
Noah acknowledged criticism that Trump’s high heels came across as insensitive, and said “you don’t wear stuff like that to a disaster zone.”
“I understand that,” Noah said. “But in Melania’s defense, she lives in a permanent disaster zone, and that’s what she always wears.”
@Trevornoah says @FLOTUS lives in a permanent disaster area (with Trump) so we should cut her some slack for wearing those stilletos! pic.twitter.com/aOufrMcZX0
— Phidelma Makumbe (@Phidelma_) August 30, 2017
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