Trevor Noah Asked DNC Chair If Bernie Sanders Was Being "Cockblocked" by Party

Impact

On Monday's Daily Show, Trevor Noah welcomed Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Echoing predecessor Jon Stewart, Noah mostly eschewed the jokes in lieu of a serious interview with the Florida congresswoman about the state of the Democratic primary race.

Pulling no punches, the host asked Schultz directly about claims that the DNC was actively "cockblocking" the candidacy of Bernie Sanders.

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"A lot of people feel that Bernie Sanders ... is being cockblocked by the DNC. Is there any merit to this?" A clearly taken-aback Schultz maintained her composure and offered a measured and good-humored response. 

"I'm not doing a very good job of rigging the outcome or — blocking — anyone from being able to get their message out," she said. 

Mic/Comedy Central
Mic/Comedy Central

Noah then pivoted the conversation into the thorny territory of superdelegates — or unelected Democratic delegates, who currently support Clinton by an overwhelming margin. 

"Doesn't the idea of a superdelegate go against the very fact that people should be voting for the people who represent them at the convention?" he asked.

As she has in the past, Wasserman Schultz defended their inclusion as a Democratic tradition and suggested that her Republican counterpart Reince Priebus wished he could have superdelegates to "to make his problems go away" — seemingly implying that RNC superdelegates would be able to tip the scales against Donald Trump. Without saying as much, she resorted to euphemisms like "magic pill" or "some Harry Potter invisible cloak."

But the Republicans don't have superdelegates or magic pills or an invisible cloak — there is only math. And barring a major campaign crisis, Donald Trump remains the odds-on favorite to clinch his party's nomination at the Republican convention in July.

Watch the clip here.