For better or for worse, former neurosurgeon-cum-presidential candidate Ben Carson — motivated mainly by his low Super Tuesday numbers — dropped out of the Republican presidential race last Friday.
For Monday night’s episode of The Daily Show, the cast concocted a segment to “honor” the retired neurosurgeon’s exit from what is perhaps the most bizarre Republican presidential race in the past decade. Referred to as “A Farewell Ode to Ben Carson,” the segment features the same brand of irreverent humor that The Daily Show has become known for.
As host Trevor Noah struggled to keep a straight face while joking about Carson’s failure to “muster any energy [even] when he’s saying he’s dropping out of the race,” comedian Roy Wood, Jr. chimed in to jump to Carson’s defense. For Wood, the fact that “Black people used to look up to him” was enough to excuse his transgressions during his campaign. After all, “at least he was calm during his campaign! That chipped away at the angry Black man stereotype!” Never one to miss a beat, Noah quickly replied, “Yeah, because he was asleep the whole time!”
As Noah and Wood went back and forth, The Daily Show senior correspondent (and all-around funny woman) Jessica Williams appeared on a music video screen and offered up a fresh rendition of the iconic Puff Daddy/Faith Evans/112 memorial anthem to The Notorious B.I.G., 1997’s “I’ll Be Missing You.” This new version featured a few cleverly flipped lyrics, like changing “Every step I take / Every move I make” to “Every nap you take / Every belt you break,” and replacing “Every single day / Every time I pray” with “You sucked at debates / A bad candidate.”
Bad candidate or not, Roy Wood, Jr. had a point: “Black people can’t afford to lose heroes; we don’t have many!”
Watch the full four minute clip below.