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Greg Evans
May 01, 2022
Trevor Noah praised for powerful closing words at White House Correspondents' Dinner
CSPAN
The Daily Show host Trevor Noah has been widely praised for his closing thoughts during his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night.
It was the first time the event had been held since 2019 due to Covid and it proved to be a memorable event with president Biden marking the occasion with a few amusing quips at the expense of Donald Trump and Fox News.
However, Noah's thoughts about hosting the event and freedom of the press in relation to what is going on in Ukraine truly resonated with people.
In the closing moments of his speech, the South African comedian addressed the journalists in the room by saying: "If you ever begin to doubt your responsibilities if you ever begin to doubt how meaningful it is, look no further than what's happening in Ukraine. Look at what's happening there.
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"Journalists are risking and even losing their lives to show the world what is happening. You realize how amazing it is. In America, you have the right to seek the truth and speak the truth, even if it makes people in power uncomfortable. Even if it makes viewers or readers uncomfortable. You understand how amazing that is?"
Turning to Biden, Noah joked: I stood here tonight and I made fun of the president of the United States and I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be fine, right?"
After that little aside, Noah returned to the serious point he was making: "Ask yourself this question. If Russian journalists who are losing their livelihoods…and their freedom for daring to report on what their own government is doing.
"If they had the freedom to write any words, to show any stories or to ask any questions, if they had, basically, what you have, would they be using it in the same way that you do?"
Noah's thoughts on this issue have since gone viral and have been universally praised for his poignant words.
I\u2019ve always respected @Trevornoah so much but this closing speech from the White House correspondents\u2019 dinner is particularly spectacular.pic.twitter.com/k8GmBOAoYB— Mike Birbiglia (@Mike Birbiglia) 1651380675
Trevor Noah with an amazingly powerful close reminding journalists in the United States, some of whom seem to take for granted what they have, of how lucky they are to have the freedom to speak truth to power.pic.twitter.com/oIcdPyO2bD— Sarah Reese Jones (@Sarah Reese Jones) 1651376844
Ok this was profound and credit where it\u2019s due. \n\nTrevor Noah closed by challenging the press to ask themselves one very important question every single day. \n\nPLEASE WATCH:pic.twitter.com/tEpKWDj0Fe— Renee (@Renee) 1651373762
Holy smokes, Trevor Noah. What an incredible close.— G O L D I E. (@G O L D I E.) 1651373264
Powerful closing statement by Trevor Noah #CorrespondentsDinnerpic.twitter.com/O9BJZIzhCM— Freedom from Prejudice \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Freedom from Prejudice \ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1651396691
Great close by @Trevornoah Every local reporter and newscaster are now fans. And with that, we close our evening's entertainment and go watch this week's episode of Picard.\n#WHCD— Charles P. Pierce (@Charles P. Pierce) 1651373384
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
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