Jon Stewart returned to 'The Daily Show' with tough questions about Biden's age, and Resistance Democrats are furious about it.
He also said that the danger posed by another Trump term doesn’t excuse Biden from scrutiny but “actually makes him more subject to scrutiny.”
To leftists and progressives fed up with Biden, particularly his commitment to Israel as it continues to bomb civilians in Gaza, the assessment was not just fair — it was obvious. But more centrist Democrats, including those most likely to have appended “Blue Wave” and “Resistance” labels to their social media accounts in the Trump years, were appalled at what they saw as a betrayal by one of their own.
Which "liberals?" I thought it was funny. I guess I'm not "liberal" enough? I'm voting for Biden because I'll do anything to stop Trump, but I'm not going to pretend he shouldn't be mocked.
Too fucking bad. They're accurate and we need to accept them to avoid making the same mistake in the future.
Biden is an absolutely awful candidate, especially if his running mate is Kamala Harris - but if it's him vs. Trump I'll vote for him any day.
Democrats need to stop picking the most deeply flawed candidates they can find - Hillary Clinton being such an awful candidate is how we got Trump in the first place.
Yes, betrayal - because the US devolved so much into tribalism, that any critique of "their own", no matter if justified or not, is a betrayal and taboo.
You see, our side can do no wrong and is perfect. It's their side that's wrong, always. We're the good guys, and they're the bad guys - how could Jon betray the only side that's good, noble and completely faultless? That clearly means he's with them and not with us, because nuance is a foreign loan word that we don't need, and everything is black and white!
Fucking sad and depressing - glad I get to look at it from the outside, but still...
We're in a weird spot. On the one hand, legitimate criticisms should always be welcome especially when directed at our elected officials. In a healthy democracy we would vote out people who disappoint or underperform. On the other hand, we don't have a healthy democracy and one side is determined to vote for a man with the most extensive list of abhorrent behavior ever documented in the nation's history. Criticizing Biden just makes it more likely that a super close race will go to Trump, who is unquestionably worse than Biden.
Part of me wants to say "let's get the Trump threat behind us and THEN we can work on building a healthier democracy," but that isn't how a healthy democracy works! If we compromise on our values to get rid of someone we disagree with, are we the baddies? It's a frustrating and scary place to be.
ONE-TIME FANS WHO perhaps remember comedian Jon Stewart only taking satirical swipes at conservatives while host of The Daily Show
Not a good look for an article to start with such a hot take. Anyone who thought Stewart never took aim at Democrats couldn't have been a fan because they must have never watched his fucking show.
Who cares? Like me, personally, I think too much is being made of the age thing for Biden (and not enough for Trump) but Jon Stewart is not some party spokesman. If he wants to go Enlightened Centrist "BOTH SIDES are too old!" for comedy he can. His job is the comedy, not the election.
Of course they're upset, this is post-Trump America after all! You're not allowed to criticize both sides equally! You HAVE TO pick a side and support them fully no matter what bullshit spews out of their mouths! It's a law now! The whole thing falls apart if we're not all running around screaming for blood like a bunch of lunatics!
I actually think it would have been damaging to pretend that Biden is perfect. People who can be convinced to vote one way or another aren't blind to the flaws of the current administration, pretending that everything is rosy will switch them off and they'll stay home.
Providing honest criticism, where warranted, of both sides and acknowledging the very real concerns around Biden is more likely to keep people engaged and informed. Despite how flawed Biden is, any sane, informed voter chooses him over Trump every time.
The old adage says "progressives need to fall in love; conservatives need to fall in line."
It means conservatives and their focus on loyalty means they neither express or accept any criticism of their party's leadership. Progressives, though, always exist in that sea of doubt and always need to be convinced of the validity of their candidate because they're always reassessing.
TL;DR -- this outrage over negative comments is a little too fanboy, a little too accepting for actual progressives. It's not their way. This outrage that is being reported means there's more conservatives learning how to be progressive and need some help. Let them in the idea that doubt is okay and not to be angry about the disloyalty.
Unless we get people into office that will actually address inequality and wealth distribution nothing will get better. This interview with Gary Stevenson hits it on the head. https://youtu.be/DVvoyRpxG-A?feature=shared
At one point, Stewart showed Biden — at a press conference to address a Justice Department probe that characterized him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — mixing up the countries of Mexico and Egypt.
Literary icon Joyce Carol Oates, famous for her unfiltered Twitter takes, was likewise unimpressed with Stewart’s performance at the Daily Show desk, calling it “surprisingly unoriginal” in its focus on the presidential candidates’ age: “‘Both sides identical: too old,’ she tweeted, asking, “this is funny or helpful — exactly how?”
“Balance and humor return!” declared Elon Musk, who, since acquiring Twitter in 2022, has been stewing in the far-right misinformation and racist conspiracy theories that now run rampant on the barely moderated platform.
Throughout the episode, the host referenced the former president’s many criminal indictments, multiple civil rulings affirming that he committed sexual assault, and attempts to undermine the democratic process — while noting Biden had none of these issues as a candidate.
In his long absence from the flagship Comedy Central talk show, it’s possible that part of his audience chose to remember him more as a prime hater of President George W. Bush — especially during the Iraq War — or a true-blue counterweight to the rabid Fox News-style neoconservatism lampooned in The Colbert Report.
It’s already clear that his skewering Trump as incoherent, clownish and dangerously unsuited to the highest office in the land is not enough to placate this voting bloc, which would do well to realize that Stewart’s job has never been to favor, endorse, or champion a particular candidate: he’s there now to vent a collective frustration with a pair of unpopular politicians and rattle the system that has once again put them forward as our two best options.
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has anyone listened to jon stewart's political takes when he wasn't reading them off a teleprompter? remember, when colbert had his capitol rally to make a point about what (the republicans in) congress was doing, stewart joined in with his rally watering down the impact of the initial rally because he thought colbert was doing a giant bit.
jon stewart has generally had terrible political takes. it's just that during his heyday it was the no drama obama years and there generally wasn't anything to both sides on the democratic side so liberals didn't hear him badly try to equivocate the two parties.
then again I've never watched the daily show, even the kilborne years so what do I know.
The dude spent the pandemic insisting the lab leak theory was absolutely true because “they named the lab after Covid, it has to have come from there!” which is both wrong (the lab is named the Wuhan Institute of Virology) and stupid because even if it was named after the class of disease they study, that doesn’t prove anything.
Covid broke a lot of people’s brains, and he seems to be one of them.