Host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah has mocked Democrats for the way they paid homage to George Floyd, an African American man, whose death sparked massive protests against police brutality and racial discrimination in the United States and across the world. Lawmakers wore kente cloths, an indigenous Ghanaian scarf made of silk and cotton.
"OK, I understand the symbolic gesture of kneeling to remember George Floyd. What I don’t understand is why they had to dress like extras from Coming to America 2. In fact, a lot of people were confused about why the Democrats wore an African cloth to talk about George Floyd and police brutality. It felt like they were trying too hard", said Trevor Noah.
The host of The Daily Show then joked that he was glad someone talked Nancy Pelosi out of wearing the outfit she chose first. Noah then showed an image of Pelosi in traditional African neck rings.
Noah was not the only celebrity, who commented on the Democrats’ blunder. Questlove, famous drummer for the hip-hop band The Roots posted a statement on Twitter saying he thought people were pranking him by sending photos of lawmakers in a kente cloth. The word kente went viral on Twitter, with users criticising Democrats for an embarrassing photo-op.
Democrats paid homage to George Floyd on the day of his funeral. He was stopped by police on suspicion of using a forged banknote. Police officers forcefully arrested him with officer Derek Chauvin pinning him to the ground with his knee. Videos captured by bystanders shows Floyd telling officers he can’t breathe and begging them not to kill him. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost 9 minutes even when the man became unresponsive. Floyd was pronounced dead an hour later after the arrest.
His death sparked massive protests against police brutality and racism and reignited long-standing anger over the mistreatment and racial discrimination towards African Americans. Protests swept up more than 70 cities in the United States and were even held in other countries, including Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and Spain.