The page, launched Monday by the so-called Friends of Special Agent Peter Strzok, has upped its goals three times this week after the first two were reached. The goal was initially set at $150,000; it was later increased to $350,000 and then $500,000. Currently, the page has collected more than $430,000.
After taking note of the ever-increasing goal, Noah clapped back on Thursday night's installment of "The Daily Show."
"Okay, first up, this is some bullsh*t we need to address about GoFundMes in general," Noah said after airing news clips about the fundraiser. "How do people say, ‘This is the amount I need,' and then change the amount when they get it? That's not a thing."
"Because, seriously, half a million dollars on a GoFundMe just for hating [US President] Donald Trump? There's cancer patients on that site that are like, ‘Hey! We hate him too; can you pay for my treatments?' And [donors are] like, ‘No, you don't really hate him. We can tell,'" he added.
"Daily Show" correspondent Michael Kosta later came on the show to explain that there are "big bucks" available for "hating Donald Trump," pointing to another GoFundMe effort established in March 2018 for former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. Similar to the fund for Strzok, the fundraising page was launched by "friends" after McCabe was sacked and it, too, saw its target increased after it blew past its initial goal of $250,000.
"And I get it. People are desperate for anything that can hurt Trump even a little bit, but that's how scams work: by preying on the most desperate," Kosta said. "People aren't really thinking who they're giving their anti-Trump dollars to."
"Take James Comey. For a year, everyone is furious at that 7-foot freak for basically getting Trump elected; then he writes a book saying he actually hates Trump, and the Resistance starts making it rain," he stressed.
For Noah, the situation was similar to that of former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman, who he said is now "swimming in cash for calling [Trump] unhinged."
A day after the GoFundMe page went live, Strzok fired off his first tweet, thanking contributors for their "extraordinary outpouring of support."
— Peter Strzok (@petestrzok) August 14, 2018
On Monday, FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich fired Strzok even though the FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility had opted to hand him the lesser punishment of a demotion and a 60-day suspension.
Strzok gained fame after the discovery of repeated anti-Trump correspondence between him and fellow agent Lisa Page, which included statements such as "we'll stop it" when considering the possibility of Trump being elected.
These and Strzok's virulently anti-Russian texts, sent as he played a key role in the special counsel investigation into allegations of collusion between Moscow and the Trump team, were highlighted in a June 2018 report by the US Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General. Prior to his dismissal, Strzok had already lost his role on the special counsel investigation over professional judgment issues.
