Jon Stewart Subs in for Stephen Colbert to Call Out Trump’s ‘Cruelty and Fear and Divisiveness’
Like a groundhog arriving to announce a few extra months of political comedy, Jon Stewart made a return appearance to “The Late Show” on June 28, taking over the desk from host Stephen Colbert. Seemingly wore down by a news cycle that’s been particularly disheartening for much of June, Stewart had a more reserved tone as he swapped out for a brief segment directly addressing Donald Trump.
With Colbert waiting patiently out of sight under the desk, Stewart had 6 minutes of uninterrupted airtime to release some pent-up Trump thoughts. Taking on the President’s recent handling of an immigration crisis of his own making and the overarching “dickishness” of his first year and a half in office, his desk piece included a few negotiating tactics jokingly offering Trump things to placate the intensifying pettiness coming from the Oval Office.
Though Stewart has made frequent “Late Show” appearances during his former correspondent’s hosting tenure (and also dropped by an episode of the HBO version of “2 Dope Queens” earlier this year), this is a rare post-“Daily Show” example of Stewart actually getting to do some material in line with his old gig.
Fox News, Trump Tower, Abe Lincoln, and even a beloved fast food chain mascot get some special mentions here. Bleeped for network TV, that didn’t stop Stewart from really relishing his allotted uses of the word “asshole.”
(Even if this isn’t the strongest, sharpest rebuke of the current administration or the Oval Office occupant, it’s at the very least a nice reminder that Colbert and Stewart clearly enjoy working together still. Those fake whispers in Stewart’s ear are a momentary example of two comedians trying their best to wring some moments of levity from a particularly dour stretch in American politics.)
Watch the full segment (including an Arnold Schwarzenegger clip) below:
