Marking the start of the 2018 soccer World Cup, Thursday’s episode of “The Daily Show” took a look at the often awkward image makeover underway by host-country Russia. “Now I’m scared,” said Trevor Noah. “A little turned on, but mostly scared.”
Noah was talking about a troupe of elderly Russian dancers repping Russia before the throngs of foreign journalists. “It feels like these super-friendly Russian grannies are trying a little too hard. Like, the nicer they are to me, the more worried I am that it’s all a trap, and she’s gonna push me into an oven,” Noah said.
But that wasn’t the only awkward highlight of Russia’s efforts to put its best foot forward, an effort Noah compared to his home country’s efforts with the 2010 World Cup. Noah joked that South Africa’s reputation for racism and crime was erased after South Africans’ fondness for the vuvuzela became a worldwide meme. Added Noah, “we may blow vuvuzelas, but you guys elected one,” as a photo of President Trump appeared onscreen.
Noah also brought up Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying that “to most people” he is “already beyond redemption. He annexed Crimea, he meddled in U.S. elections, and worst of all, he bit Beyonce and framed Sanaa Lathan.” There’s plenty more, which you can see in the video above.