Late-night television got a jolt this week as Jon Stewart returned to ‘The Daily Show’ earlier than expected. He took the desk a few days ahead of his usual Monday appearance. The timing was notable because fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel had just been suspended. And, Stewart didn’t shy away from turning the situation into a sharp, satirical moment on air.
Stewart, never one to hold back, greeted his audience with a twist: a parody of what ‘The Daily Show’ might look like in a world where President Trump controlled the media.
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The set was a gaudy gold, and Stewart leaned into the character of an overly cautious host, nervously tiptoeing around what he could or could not say. He drew laughs with a portrayal that reminded viewers of how Stephen Colbert used to play right-wing characters on the show.
“We have another fun, hilarious, Administration-compliant show,” Stewart announced, dripping with irony. “We’re coming to you tonight from a real shithole, the crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no one’s ever seen before. Some of the National Guard should invade this place. Am I right?”
The host’s commentary didn’t stop at parody. Stewart subtly addressed the elephant in the room: Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension. True to form, he avoided saying Kimmel’s name outright, joking that he wasn’t allowed.
“Now, some naysayers may argue that Administration’s speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel of a ruse, a smoke screen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation; principle-less and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic governance,” Stewart said.
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Then, with a classic wink, he added, “Some people would say that. Not me, though, I think it’s great.”
Stewart focused on highlighting what he called the hypocrisy among conservatives when it comes to free speech and political civility.
“Even before this ‘Jason Kringle’ situation at ABC, there were plenty of other people in America exercising their free speech incorrectly,” he said.
Stewart played a series of clips showing right-wing commentators insisting that you shouldn’t call political opponents Nazis, fascists, or “enemies of the state,” or dehumanize them.
He then contrasted those warnings with clips of Donald Trump using exactly those terms against others, labeling people as “fascists,” “enemies of the state,” and “animals.”
“You know what?” Stewart commented dryly. “It’s not really about the specific words. It’s about having a basic sense of humanity.”