EDITORIAL

Trevor Noah’s really bad joke about Toledo

12/5/2017
Trevor Noah.
Trevor Noah.

Ah, Trevor Noah, what did Toledo ever do to you anyway? Talk about a comedian who will not do better in Toledo.

The Daily Show’s host used a segment last week to put Toledo on the map … and suggest that the North Korean regime of Kim Jong Un wipe the city off of it.

Riffing on news that North Korea now possesses nuclear weapons capable of reaching most of the mainland United States, Mr. Noah did a bit jokingly suggesting the North Korean dictator target our fair city rather than more obvious cities like, say, New York, where he lives.

“America’s favorite and most important city!” he crowed about Toledo in the style of the over-the-top dramatic newsreaders from North Korean state TV. “Where America keeps all of the weapons and money and jewels.”

It’s always dicey to make a punchline out of the threat of nuclear war, but, hey, Toledo can take a joke.

The Toledo Police Department took to social media during the most recent countywide tornado-siren test to remind residents that it was just the regular monthly drill — not the impending arrival of North Korean nukes.

On the bright side, many neighborhoods in Toledo might not be able to distinguish nuclear devastation on their roads from the potholes and craters created by the city’s neglected street program.

At least The Daily Show got it right about Toledo being one of America’s best cities.

And we do have some secret weapons, like the Walleye’s Christian Hilbrich or A.J. Jenks, though maybe they’re not such a secret.

You want jewels? How about Metroparks Toledo or the Toledo Lucas County Public Library?

Be nice, now, Trevor. Don’t make us ship you some of our Lake Erie algae.