South African comedian and writer Trevor Noah is leaving the US satirical news, talk and entertainment program "The Daily Show" after seven years.

As is his wont, Noah made a comical farewell, saying that people should be happy because, as an African leader, he is stepping down peacefully "which is never a guarantee".

The South African comedian succeeded renowned television presenter Jon Stewart in 2015, representing a highly risky bet for Comedy Central.

"I remember when I started the show. There were so many people who hated me. They genuinely hated me. They hated the idea, they hated the way I looked, they hated my hair, they hated my accent, they hated everything about me, my point of view, everything. Now I look back seven years later. All those people still hate me, but for the right reasons, not because they know me now, they understand me," said Trevor Noah.

Instead of molding himself in the style of his predecessor, Noah chose to satirize America, Americans, especially their political leaders and parties, through the eyes of a foreigner.

Among the lessons he learned as host of the Daily Show, Noah said were "context matters", and "the issues are real, but politics is just an invented way of solving those issues".

"I, too, was sucked in at first by the whole Republican, Democrat, that's the way it should be - however, that's not really the way it should be. It's not even the way it should be. It's not a binary. There's not just two ways to solve any problem; there's not just two ways to be," he said. New York Times, Volture