Before he gets serious about things, late night TV show host Trevor Noah usually has a funny observation to make. In this case, it was about the heroic rescue of a four-year-old boy from a fourth-floor balcony by Mamoudou Gassama from Mali, who was hailed for his bravery by being offered a fast track to French citizenship.

Noah, however, wanted to know why the neighbour who was holding the child didn’t haul him up himself. Was he too weak? Or could it be, Noah asked with tongue firmly in cheek, that this was the boy who woke the neighbours up at four every morning with his crying?

Of course it was a joke, and the Daily Show host concluded with important observations about migrants and the risks of using one individual’s story to represent a multitude.