Like many people on here, I was deeply disappointed and appalled by Jon Stewart’s first night hosting The Daily Show after a nine-year hiatus. As we all know, Stewart spent the vast majority of the show blasting Joe Biden. He made a lot of lazy and stupid jokes that played into the rightwing noise machine’s constant drumbeat to raise concerns about joe Biden’s age, trying to position Biden and Trump as equally bad, and a lot of other BS that only served to try to turn off everyone about the 2024 presidential election - completely ignoring the existential threat and grave consequences of the election for the future of our country.
Tt turns out the Mary Trump, TFG’s niece, was equally enraged by the show. In a new post she blasts Stewart and the show left, right and center. The headline reads “Jon Stewart's Danger To Democracy.” She starts:
A lot has changed in the nine years since Jon Stewart was host of the Daily Show. One thing that hasn’t – Jon Stewart.
Stewart brought back his 2015 “Indecision” tradition – the both-sides-are-problematic “joke.” Considering this is 2024, the decision is clear, and the stakes are existential: the result is an injustice to his audience, and to the truth.
I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. One of many thoughts that I had after watching the show was that Stewart seemed to be pulling out of his old playbook from a decade ago, despite the fact that so much has changed in our country since then, as if he’s been asleep for the last nine years. What used to work for Stewart doesn’t work anymore.
Mary Trump writes that what got her really angry was Stewart’s constant bothsideism “bulls$%t.”
After some flat jokes about AARP cards and movie discounts, Stewart entered the Twilight Zone of bothsidesism:
“We’re not suggesting neither man is vibrant, productive, or even capable… But they are both stretching the limits of being able to handle the toughest job in the world.”
In what universe is Donald vibrant, productive or capable?? And this statement wasn’t even tongue-in-cheek. Stewart was making a straight-up comparison.
There are no excuses here. Stewart knows who Donald is.
Donald isn’t vibrant. He is compulsive and unhinged.
Donald isn’t productive. He is inept.
Donald isn’t capable. He is a disaster.
Mary Trump goes on to point out that “there is no comparison. Whereas President Biden is “an elder statesman with experience to get things done that can give American democracy a fighting chance,” Donald Trump is “a cruel, unfit, rapist who, in addition to being a criminal defendant under four indictments, sides with our enemies at every opportunity.” Mary Trump goes on:
Clearly, the problem lies with Stewart, Comedy Central, and the corporate media for refusing to adapt their out-of-date “both sides” inanity and instead responsibly and objectively cover our current political reality. Journalism means being neutral as to the facts and biased towards democracy.
Pretending that both sides are the same, as if that is somehow fair, completely ignores the central truth of our times—the Democratic Party is the pro-democracy party; the Republican Party is the party of fascism. The Democrat’s standard-bearer, Joe Biden, has accomplished more than almost any president in modern history; the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, is a racist, misogynistic insurrectionist who has openly stated his authoritarian intentions.
Mary Trump points out that “every single time someone in the corporate media, or a comedian with the reach and influence of somebody like Jon Stewart, wants to highlight ‘both sides’ at the cost of the truth, it’s up to you and me to get out the word.” Amen to that. Let’s fight like hell against anyone in the corporate media, including Jon Stewart, who tries to normalize Donald Trump in any way or tries to “bothsides” our country into oblivion.
UPDATE
You can give a Thumbs Down to the episode and add your comments on YouTube here.
UPDATE 2
Here’s an excellent analysis of Stewart’s show from someone on YouTube named Tennessee Brando. I wasn’t familiar with him before today, but I think he’s spot on (HT NonpassiveVoice):