Comedian Josh Johnson has drawn renewed attention for describing President Donald Trump as a "White Obama" in a resurfaced clip from Trevor Noah's "What Now?" podcast, which Noah reposted to Facebook on 4 July. Johnson's argument is that Trump appeals to White Americans who feel their own experiences of hardship are overlooked because of their race, and that this connection is why critics repeatedly underestimate his political appeal.

In the clip, Johnson said Trump is "Obama for White people who hated the idea of Obama," framing this as the reason people misjudge his support. He argued that a narrative of overcoming adversity is "baked into America's understanding of the experience of a Black person" — a story of triumph over slavery, crime, drugs and poverty — but that there are now "so many cracks" in it, as many White people who lived similar hardships, such as descendants of mistreated Irish immigrants or families on food stamps, do not have their stories told that way.