In his return to hosting The Daily Show, Jon Stewart drew criticism from some Democrats for his monologue equally mocking Joe Biden and Donald Trump’s advanced age and leadership capabilities.
Stewart questioned if either candidate was fully “vibrant” and “capable” to handle the presidency.
This revived Stewart’s past criticism of bothsidesism.
Jordan Klepper asked, “Did you save democracy yet with your ’90s brand of snark and both-siderism?”
Some progressives like Mary Trump argued Stewart’s rhetoric discouraged taking politics seriously and empowered Trump in 2016.
Mary Trump posted, “Not only is Stewart’s ‘both sides are the same’ rhetoric not funny, it’s a potential disaster for democracy.”
“The damage done by his [2010 event] ‘The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,’ a DC rally/joke which inspired an entire generation to shrug off politics and ignore the dangers of the right wing, cannot be overstated. It was, in no small part, responsible, for helping Donald come to power. It made a mockery of nuance, encouraged people to believe that all politicians are the same, that there was no daylight between Democrats and Republicans, or Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Now Stewart is bringing back the same b——- that got him rich in the 2000s, and helped get Donald elected in 2016,” continued the former president’s niece.
Podcast host Michael J. Elston posted, “If you’re a Democrat with high hopes about the return of Jon Stewart, save your excitement. The first half of his return was both-sides-ing the age issue. I bailed when we got to the guest who believes Biden should not have run for a 2nd term. Jon Stewart is not your friend.”
Chris D. Jackson, a Tennessee election commissioner, wrote, “Wow. So you basically say because Biden is old, he is basically as bad as Trump. Why th[e] F do we never learn in this country? Sorry, but I won’t be watching you either.”
“Well after nine years away, there’s nothing else to say to the bothsidesist fraud Jon Stewart bashing Biden, except: Please make it another nine years,” remarked former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann.
While Republicans praised Stewart’s new balance, the White House defended Biden’s press conference when questioned.
Rep. Wesley Hunt wrote, “You know you’re in trouble when you’re a Democrat President and Jon Stewart turns on you.”
Elon Musk added, “balance and humor return!”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We believe that it was important for the American people to hear directly from this president in a very forceful way about what we thought about the special counsel report.”
“And not only that, but he took your questions, he stood there and took questions from all of you. We believe that’s important to do … and let’s not forget, the report said the case is closed. There’s nothing to prosecute. But also, the president is going to stand and defend himself. The way that report was characterized — it was not not just me saying this, but legal experts on both sides saying it — it was flatly wrong. It was gratuitous and it was inappropriate. And so the president’s going to defend himself. We believe he believe he did the right thing,” she continued.
Stewart had argued scrutiny of Biden is warranted given current challenges, not that he’s like Trump.
Overall, Stewart’s monologue reignited debates about his approach while boosting The Daily Show’s ratings, with Democrats split on whether his humor still has value or risks minimizing real political differences.
Stewart said, “These two candidates, they are both similarly challenged. And it is not crazy to think that the oldest people in the history of the country to ever run for president might have some of these challenges.”
“We’re not suggesting neither man is vibrant, productive or even capable. But they’re both stretching the limits of being able to handle the toughest job in the world. What’s crazy is thinking that we’re the ones, as voters, who must silence concerns and criticisms. It is the candidates’ job to assuage concerns, not the voters’ job not to mention [them],” he exclaimed.
“Look, Joe Biden isn’t Donald Trump. He hasn’t been indicted as many times, hasn’t had as many fraudulent businesses or been convicted in a civil trial for sexual assault or been ordered to pay defamation charges or stiffed blue-collar tradesmen…The stakes of this election don’t make Donald Trump’s opponent less subject to scrutiny. It actually makes him more subject to scrutiny. If the barbarians are at the gate, you want Conan standing on the ramparts, not chocolate chip cookie guy,” concluded Stewart.
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