Jon Stewart Advises Democrats to Chill on the Fascist Talk
Jon Stewart addressed the past week in politics on Monday night’s (January 27) episode of The Daily Show, where he advised Democrats that if they want to regain office, they need to chill a little on the fascist talk and actually offer an alternative.
The late-night host showed clips of news anchors and Democratic voices talking about the “late Friday night purge,” where President Donald Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general. Reacting to the news, Stewart pulled out a prop axe and screamed, “Trump has ushered in the purge!”
“I, for one, will take full advantage by doing some unpermitted lawn work,” he joked. “Although, just in case I’m misinterpreting, what is this purge about, exactly?”
When realizing what Trump’s “purge” was really about, Stewart reacted in mock horror, yelling, “No! He got rid of 17 inspectors general? That only leaves—no one knows how many left. I have no idea.”
“The point is: We have 17 less inspectors general. Who knows how many generals will now go uninspected?” he continued.
“Democrats, inspire my anger in the least charismatic way possible!” he added before throwing to a clip of Democrat Chuck Schumer calling Trump’s firing of the inspectors general a “glaring sign” that a “golden age for abuse in government and even corruption.”
Stewart became confused when it turned out the president does have the power to remove inspectors general, they just have to be given 30 days’ notice.
“That is what we are upset about?” Stewart responded. “You can do it, but not in that font! That’s Hitler’s font! But this is the cycle we find ourselves in. First law of Trump-o-dynamics: Every action is met with a very not-equal overreaction. Thus throwing off our ability to know when s*** is actually getting real. Like last week’s pardons.”
After showing more clips of Democrats getting mad, Stewart stated, “For some reason, we have given presidents the power of a king, and then we say, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re not going to get all kingly and s** on us, right?’ To put that in constitutional terms, if I could: Don’t hate the player, hate the founding fathers. Why do we even have it? Because I don’t know if you’ve met Donald Trump, he pushes s***.”
“Look, we are facing a deluge of these executive actions, and certainly, we must be prepared for those most vulnerable to the consequences of these actions,” he added. “But the ‘This is all fascist!’ argument has become almost a reflex for the left.”
He continued, “Look, I have a real fear that as this term goes on, things are gonna get a little fascist-y, and we must be vigilant. But part of vigilance is discernment.”
“The question is probably not, ‘How dare he?’” the host concluded. “The question should be, ‘What are you learning from this? How would you use this power? What is your contract with America?’ Democrats, exist outside of him. Tell people what you would do with the power that Trump is wielding, and then convince us to give that power to you as soon as possible! That is the goal!”
You can watch Stewart’s entire opening monologue in the video above.
The Daily Show, Weeknights, 11/10c, Comedy Central, Next-Day Streaming on Paramount+
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