The Daily Show's Trevor Noah compares Donald Trump's America to apartheid in his home country of South Africa

'Divided people are easier to rule. That was, after all, the whole point of apartheid,' says the Daily Show host

Noah called for unity and argued Mr Trump’s candidacy shrouded the fact most American citizens had similar aspirations (Getty Images)

Trevor Noah has issued many scathing rebukes of Donald Trump but his comparison of Trump’s America to the apartheid system holds a personal resonance and significance that many of his other dressing-downs do not.

Born in the townships of Johannesburg in South Africa, The Daily Show show host experienced the Apartheid first-hand. After all, his parents’ relationship was illegal at the time of his birth and he could not walk openly with either of his parents. Ultimately born a crime, as a child he often fell between the cracks of ethnic boundaries.

The 32-year-old comedian has now suggested that there are some parallels between the billionaire tycoon’s ferocious and divisive presidential campaign and the system of Apartheid. Noah argued Mr Trump has capitalised on and fuelled already existing divisions in society as a divided populace is far easier to rule.

“This has never been more apparent than during Donald J Trump’s campaign for the presidency,” Noah wrote in a column for The New York Times. “With his flagrant misogyny and racist appeals to fearful voters, Mr Trump succeeded in dividing an electorate already primed to turn against itself.”

“The past year has been so polarising and noxious that even I find myself getting caught up in the extreme grandstanding and vitriol,” he added. “But with extremes come deadlock and the death of progress. Instead of speaking in measured tones about what unites us, we are screaming at each other about what divides us - which is exactly what authoritarian figures like Mr Trump want: Divided people are easier to rule. That was, after all, the whole point of apartheid.”

Noah called for unity and argued Mr Trump’s candidacy shrouded the fact most American citizens had similar aspirations. “His embittering candidacy obscured the fact that the vast majority of Americans, both Republican and Democrat, wanted many of the same things: good jobs, decent homes, access to opportunity and, above all, respect,” he said.

Noah also explored the differences between comedy in South Africa and the US. He said while in his home country it brings people together, in America it pulls the country apart.

Noah had a big act to follow after he took Jon Stewart’s place on The Daily Show but has speedily found his feet. While overall ratings have dropped, he has boosted the show’s popularity among the 18-34 millennial bracket - a highly regarded demographic among advertisers.