February 13, 2024

Jon Stewart returned to the Daily Show last night, and I watched it because I wanted to see if the past decade had made a dent in his compulsive "both sides" default position on everything political. Nope, not that I could see. Via Rolling Stone:

“These two candidates, they are both similarly challenged,” Stewart said. “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.” He continued, “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.”

Stewart noted that while Biden is not Trump — who among an array of legal woes, faces four indictments and was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation — the “stakes of this election don’t make Donald Trump’s opponent less subject to scrutiny.” The host added, “It actually makes him more subject to scrutiny.”

Before wrapping the end of his first night back, Stewart concluded: “If your guy loses, bad things might happen, but the country is not over. And if your guy wins, the country is in no way saved.”

“So the good news is: I’m not saying you don’t have to worry about who wins the election,” he added. “I’m saying you have to worry about every day before it, and every day after, forever.”

Editor's note (Frances Langum): The best part of the show was Jordan Klepper, who is hosting the rest of this week and might be worth watching, called out Jon on air:

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