(CNN) The unyielding barrage of news coming out of Washington D.C. has kept late-night programs like "The Daily Show" on their toes and, in many cases, riding a wave of ratings success. But do hosts like Trevor Noah ever crave a breath of creative fresh air?

No, he insists.

"I think the first mistake people make is that they think of it as a Trump story; I don't," Noah told CNN in a recent interview. "I think of it as the American story, and Donald Trump is one of the characters in the American story."

As Noah sees it, President Trump is the "antagonist" ("we don't know if he's the villain or the hero") and a "force in the story." But he works hard to keep the show's focus on everything affected by the president, as opposed to the man himself.

"It's James Comey's story. It's the Department of Justice story, with Jeff Sessions. It's the story of America's courts -- the Supreme Court. It's the story of an administration," he said. "It's the story of the Republicans, who they are and who they will become. It's the story of the Democrats, the next journey they embark on."

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