Trevor Noah explains how Mitch McConnell is like 'the perfect movie villain,' only worse
Back in 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "blocked President Obama from appointing Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, because 'a president shouldn't get to fill a Supreme Court seat in an election year,'" Trevor Noah reminded viewers on Wednesday's Daily Show. "But now that Donald Trump is president, McConnell says 'Playas gotta play,'" he paraphrased, showing the video of McConnell changing his tune at a luncheon in Kentucky on Tuesday.
"Say what you want about Mitch McConnell, but he is truly the perfect movie villain," Noah said. "And not just because he looks like Jabba the Hut got a gastric bypass. No, it's because look at how he did it: He took a sip of his drink and then he just revealed his evil plan, then he gave a creepy-ass smile. Classic movie villain. I'm surprised he didn't end the press conference by turning into a cloud of bats." McConnell, it should be noted, is embracing his dark side and reveling in his growing reputation for villainy.
Still, the analogy isn't perfect, Noah conceded. "When a villain does this in a movie, we're always like: 'You idiot — why would you reveal your plan? Now the good guys can stop you!' But in real life we're like: 'Aha! Now we can stop him — we just need 50 votes in the Senate to ... wait, who's got the votes?' ... And the worst part is, Mitch McConnell lives so deep in Senate procedure that it's not easy to explain to people why his plan is so evil." Watch him briefly try to explain before moving on to abortion, Netflix, The Bachelorette, and the Midwest's stormy weather. Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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