Trevor Noah Roasts Nancy Pelosi’s Kente Cloth Stunt: Are They “Extras From ‘Coming to America 2?'”

Trevor Noah has a message for House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi: you’re “trying too hard.” On Tuesday night, The Daily Show host absolutely eviscerated Pelosi and prominent Democrats for wearing African kente cloths during their tribute to George Floyd on the floor of the Capitol. The Democrats’ out of touch move was widely criticized on Twitter, but of course, Noah couldn’t resist adding his voice to the fray, and he didn’t hold back. “What I don’t understand is why they had to dress like extras from Coming to America 2,” joked the late night host. Savage.

Last night, Noah paused his Trump roasts to take aim at Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and other top Democrats who donned kente cloths ahead of their Monday tribute to George Floyd. For eight minutes and 46 seconds — the length of time a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck — Democratic leadership kneeled in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall as a show of solidarity with protestors who have taken to the streets in the wake of Floyd’s death.

“While the movement in the streets has been building up steam, Democrats in Washington have been scrambling for a way to respond,” said The Daily Show host. “And yesterday, I think they figured it out.”

Noah played a brief clip of the tribute before mentioning the all-out roasting it received on Twitter, with stars from Questlove to Jordan Peele chiming in to voice their disdain. The host said he understands “the symbolic gesture of kneeling to remember George Floyd,” he’s baffled why the kente cloths were added, and he’s not alone: “In fact, a lot of people were confused about why the Democrats wore an African cloth to talk about George Floyd and police brutality,” he explained.

“But I’m going to be honest, I’m just glad they were able to talk Nancy Pelosi down from the original outfit she had planned,” he continued, as a graphic of Pelosi in traditional African neck rings appeared on-screen. “That was a step too far.”

Of course, much of the blame lies with Democratic leadership, but Noah did find one other culpable party in the debacle. “Look, however much you want to blame Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats for doing this, we also have to assign some of the blame to the African storeowner who knew full well that no good can come from one person buying 50 kente cloths,” he said. “‘No, Nancy, you have to trust me, eh? The more kente cloth you wear, the less offensive it becomes.'”

Watch Trevor Noah take down Nancy Pelosi in the clip above.

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