Trevor Noah roasted Ron DeSantis for “trying to outmaneuver Trump” in the 2024 presidential race as he took to the stage at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.
The Daily Show host mocked Florida’s Republican governor for being “coy” about a potential run and touted a string of controversies, from the governor’s stance on Covid-19 mitigation to the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill curtailing discussion of gender and sexual orientation in schools as being part of his play for the White House.
To loud laughter from the crowd, Mr Noah also poked fun at Florida’s ban on dozens of math textbooks amid a Republican crackdown on public education curiculum, claiming the governor’s aim is that “nobody knows how to count votes”.
“First you ban the math textbooks, then nobody knows how to count the votes,” he said.
Mr DeSantis is widely expected to join the 2024 presidential race, which could see him pitted against his one-time ally Donald Trump.
The quips about their potential rivalry came as Mr Noah took aim at lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle as he hosted the first White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner held since before the pandemic.
“There’s many big names here tonight. One of my favorites – Ron DeSantis is here,” he began.
“Oh man, I’m actually surprised that he found the time.
“You know he has been so busy trying to outmaneuver Trump for 2024. I see you Ron. I see you, player.
“Yeah, I’ve seen what you’ve been doing, blaming Trump for the lockdowns, distancing yourself from the vaccines that Trump created with his own two hands.”
He then launched into a caricature of the former president taking credit for the Covid-19 vaccine, as the crowd laughed.
“Nobody knew how to make vaccines until I made them. Beautiful, beautiful vaccines. Nobody knew how, not even Fauci,” he said.
Returning to the Florida governor, Mr Noah told the audience how he was being “coy” by not confirming whether or not he has received a booster shot, in an attempt not to lose some right-wing voters.
Mr DeSantis’ office has previously said that he received the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine in spring 2021 but is refusing to confirm if he has had a booster shot.
The CDC recommends that people should get the booster from two months after getting the J&J vaccine.
“But Ron, Ron is playing it coy,” mocked Mr Noah.
“He won’t even tell people if he got the booster.
“Or as they say in Florida, don’t ask, don’t tell, am I right?” he quipped in an apparent reference to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that Mr DeSantis signed into law in March, banning discussions of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools across the state.
Mr Biden was seen cracking up at this point as the camera panned around to where he was sitting.
“I see you Ron,” Mr Noah continued.
“What I like about Ron DeSantis is like if Trump was the original Terminator, DeSantis is like the T-1000.
“You’re smarter than him, you’re slicker than him, you can walk down ramps,” he joked, pointing to Mr Trump’s infamous descent down a ramp at West Point in 2020.
Mr Noah then went on to poke fun at Mr Trump’s “Big Lie” where he continues to falsely claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
He said that Mr DeSantis is “one step ahead”, taking a jibe at Florida’s rejection of dozens of math textbooks from school curriculum claiming they include what it describes as “prohibited topics” such as critical race theory (CRT) or social emotional learning (SEL).
“Because you see, Trump said he won the election, but everyone was just able to look at the numbers and see that he was wrong,” he said.
“That’s why Ron DeSantis is one step ahead. First you ban the math textbooks, then nobody knows how to count the votes. Boom, my man!”
