By james art
Jon Stewart is back and rejuvenated following the announcement earlier today that he has renewed his deal with Comedy Central to remain host of The Daily Show in the following year.
“This is my last show before the election, but not my last show. I’ll be back, baby. We’re doing another year,” the host said, to cheers and applause as he danced (even busting out some moves from Charli XCX’s viral “Apple” dance).
The political comic kicked things off with a look at the presidential candidates’ respective last-ditch efforts to get off the ballot before Election Day on November 5. He joked about Beyonce’s appearance at Kamala Harris’ event (“No singing? Shit, I’m voting for Trump”) and promptly jumped into Donald Trump’s headline-grabbing rally in his own backyard at New York’s Madison Square Garden .
After playing a medley of increasingly snarky clips over the speakers, ending with Tucker Carlson’s giggling face, Stewart joked, “I’ll never be charmed by his girly laugh.”
He continued: “Now, generally speaking, this is the line-up you see outside Madison Square Garden, yelling at strangers as they try to get there inside Madison Square Garden. And let me just say, how dare they desecrate the stage that the Piano has lit? how dare you How dare you?’
Stewart then turned to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, whose racist jokes aimed at Puerto Ricans have sparked a firestorm of backlash from both the public and the media, spurring rare damage control from the Trump camp.
“In hindsight, having a comedian roast a political rally a week before Election Day and roast a key voting demographic probably wasn’t the best decision from a campaign political standpoint, but to be fair, the guy just does it, which he does,” Stewart said. The host then played a clip of Hinchcliffe’s material from the Tom Brady roast a few months ago, which included material about Jews and enslaved people.
“Yes, yes, terrible,” Stewart replied, unable to contain his laughter. “Something is wrong with me. I find this guy very funny, so sorry. I don’t know what to tell you. I mean, bringing him to a rally and him not making jokes, that would be like bringing Beyoncé to a rally and not having… oh.”
Stewart then turned to Trump’s mass deportation policy, a topic touched on by fellow Late Night host John Oliver just yesterday. “Day 1? Have a bite, meet the staff,” Steward said of Trump’s plan to implement the extremely clumsy plan on his first day. “Day 1 is usually just reading the syllabus, generally no homework.”
Commenting on videos played during the show, Stewart pointed out Trump’s unreliable statistics, framing his estimates of the number of deportees as somewhere “between 2 and eleven billion people.”
“We only deport people who came here illegally, or people who came here legally but illegally, or people who have children who are actually citizens, or some people who look like they might have come here illegally, or people who protested the war in Gaza, or a special prosecutor Trump doesn’t like, Jack Smith – which, by the way, goes by a more American name than Jack Smith. Where are you going to deport him, Faneuil Hall in Boston?” Stewart said.
He continued, referring to an earlier incident in which Trump failed to accurately identify his wife in a photo: “You think you’re safe right now because the group that Trump is talking about is not you. It’s like, ‘Are you sure that’s not my wife?’ Donald Trump can make a fucking difference, or does he even care.”
As Stewart continued to lament this moment in American politics, he was shocked to find himself interrupted by show-stealing fan favorite Jessica Williams, a former correspondent for the show. In keeping with the theme of the program, she released some of her own baked goods.
“Don’t be sad. Everything will be fine. For you, a white boy, a rich old white boy,’ she said. Asked if that privilege would save him, Williams replied: “Maybe. But honestly, how much more do you really have, live wisely? You have terminal D[isease]right?”
Williams then admitted that Stewart must be tired of the daily “caressing” on the show, prompting a “double wow” comment when Stewart – no longer able to stay in character – replied that he only hosts on Mondays.
Ending with some witty but serious advice and warning against political apathy, Williams said: “Go ahead John, I’ll tell them your story,” to which he replied that he had signed on with the show for another year.
“Oh my God, you’re crazy,” Williams said. “Do you think you’ll live another year? That’s optimistic.”