Trevor Noah Explains Why He's Leaving 'The Daily Show'

I never, never dreamed I'd be here. I felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I went in to take a tour of what the previous

show

was like and the next thing I know they handed me the keys. All I can say is Thank you very much, you saw it was Trevor Noah. He was announcing the end of his seven years as host of The Daily Show. He is with us. He's going to talk about that and also about other projects he's been working on, including a new Netflix. comedy special is called I Wish You'd See That for a Second and I was ready, I was like, I want to surprise my dad, I plan on getting to his house, knocking on the door that he was going to open and being surprised like, oh Trevor. then I'll be like dad voicing Deutsch, who's going to say it didn't go according to plan.

I got there, he was surprised, he was happy, but as soon as I spoke, I was like dad voicing Deutsch and he said, don't do that. don't do that forever Noah good morning good morning good morning good to see you let's talk about goodbye first because you talked about being like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory you couldn't believe you had the keys and now I'm saying goodbye, how hard is it to say goodbye to a job that is among the most coveted in our industry? I think it's extremely difficult, but not because of the work part, it's difficult because of all the people I do the work with, you know?

I'm sure you know how it is that everyone becomes not a family but a team, yes you know there is a team that you enjoy doing things with, there are people that you enjoy making jokes with, creating ideas and finding out what is The puzzle is going to be and I think that's the hardest part because it becomes part of your heart's routine. So are you afraid? Oh yeah, oh yeah, definitely, I think anything worth doing should scare you, you know? So I was afraid to make the decision. work, you know, I was afraid to leave work, you know, I'll be afraid to do the next project.

Hopefully, I always think to myself that if you're not afraid to try something or do something, then you know why you're doing it. Like walking should be something that shouldn't scare you, yeah right, I just walk. Walking doesn't scare me, but everything else that's exciting in life scares me a little. I mean, you've had so many important interviews to remember that I can't. I think you just had Will Smith. This is someone we all wanted to hear from. Yeah, what kind of impression did he leave you with after that interview? I think he left the impression of a human being, you know?

And I think that's what I. What I'm trying to do in life is try to connect with my Humanity I'm a human being people are human beings who are experiencing something we're all going through something we're all trying to figure out who we are and how we relate to the world and it's pretty funny, that's what I'm consciously trying to think about when I'm involved in the news, when I'm involved in my comedy, when I'm traveling the world, it's, it's, it's always at the top of my mind, why? what did you want to do?

leaving

the program, what was it?

Well, it's not that I wanted to leave the

show

, it's that I needed to find a way to make time for everything else that's going on in life, ah, you know, I realized during the pandemic, everyone talks about a balance between work and personal life. but that almost you know creates the idea that your work and your life are two separate things when in fact, I realized during the pandemic that it's just a balance between life and life, it's your life, you're living your life. life right now, I'm living. my life right now your life doesn't stop because you are working or not working and so if you want to dedicate more time to family if you want to dedicate more time to friends and what you want to do and all you know is time is the only thing that doesn't we can increase.

I love it, you know, so it was a case of making more time, finding a way to create that time, let's talk about your Netflix special, um, it's so funny that you do such great presidential impressions, which one is the easiest? and which one is the hardest, it depends, it really depends, you know, because it's funny, my favorite is Obama, because let's listen to it, but every time I do it to him I tell him, you know he'll see me, yeah, and be like a Trevor, uh what's going on and then and then I'll tell you that.

I'm like Mr. President, uh, it's good to see you and he's like, I don't sound like that Trevor, I'm like, but you do. not exactly like that, then he says no, I don't love it, so I love playing with him in that, you know, he was on the show recently, it's just fun, I think because it's like he plays more with the caricature of who are. my head and your head then like the specific I'm not trying to personify them. I'm trying to embody the character of who they are to me. You make a good Clinton.

I don't really know, you don't know, because I just remember like all the stories he'll tell, I mean, you got it, you got it, it's like you know he relaxed a lot, you know, how did he tell you the ad about the How long were you in Louisiana? I was also in Louisiana for a while, you know, he always has a story about everything I know about him. Now one of the things you love is traveling. You're going on the journey in search of comedy again. Are you that excited? I am very excited and very grateful.

The only thing I love to do in my free time is stand-up comedy. I know it sounds crazy, but I relax. I can enjoy a city. Exploring the cultures of the places I go is how I learn different languages, it's how I explore the world, and once I was announced that I was

leaving

The Daily Show, I thought here are some dates that "We're launching , we will do that first in the US and then in Europe and then in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and once we launch in the US states, I mean, 31 shows sold out immediately and now Me have liked to add 30 more shows, it's actually been crazy and now I have to be careful not to work too much Yeah, when I thought it was going to be your personal life I think so. what's his name I don't know I'm not really sure I'm not really sure um really quick when people stop you on the street is there someone they mistake you for is it you Can I tell you one of the craziest things?

What happened to me? I was at a basketball game. Yeah, this guy comes up to me in the stands and he's with his wife and he's like, Hey, man, can I get a picture and I was like oh yeah, um, okay. and then he said yeah, you're the weekend, right? So I said, I said no, no, I'm not the weekend and he said, no, you're the weekend, I said, it's me. I'm not the weekend sir um so we don't need to take this picture then and he's like, "you're lying. I was like, I'm not lying. I'm not flying.

I'm not the weekend and my friends are sitting there." . he loves this and then he walks away and looks at me, pauses for about 10 seconds, walks away and then confidently tells his wife that it's like he's lying, honey. I know the weekend when I see him, I know it's, I know it's him and he just walks away wow, he sounds like he should have said I'm the weekend and screw you. I'm not going to take a photo. That would have been amazing. Trevor, thank you. We wish you good luck. I know you're doing a project. on MSNBC you also have some documentaries that you are working on, you have a lot of things going on, good luck, wow, what an adventure you are on a great journey, yeah, and it will be fun to watch you. in your pajamas for a change because I usually see you in a suit yeah you know I've been watching this show for so many years this time in my pajamas but I'll keep watching it we love you thank you Trevor thank you so much make sure Check out his comedy special on Netflix.

Tickets for their Off the Record tour are on sale and you better get them quick because they go fast. Hey, thanks for watching, don't miss the Today show every weekday at 11am. ET 8 PT on our Today broadcast channel all day to watch, visit today.com all day or click the link here