Undecided voter Jon Stewart tries to make sense of the election’s double standards

Tracking "what the fuck are you talking about" over "time," Stewart has no idea what Trump is talking about

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  October 1, 2024 | 12:20am
TV News The Daily Show
Undecided voter Jon Stewart tries to make sense of the election’s double standards
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We’re about a month away from the election, and polls are still a statistical tie. Despite former president Trump’s best efforts to disqualify himself with flagrant lies, his admiration for union busting, and his enjoyment of screwing over his employees, there are still plenty of “undecided voters” in America, and we can count Jon Stewart among them. On tonight’s Daily Show, Stewart tried to settle his pick by reviewing all the ways the news media has learned to cover Trump over these last 10 years.

First, Stewart examined the coverage of Vice President Kamala Harris, who, according to pundits, has yet to offer any specifics of her platform. Never mind the in-depth proposals on her website or even the “random numbers” she shares in her campaign stops, she’s not as clear or concise as her frequently glitching opponent. However, being an undecided voter, Stewart is open to hearing the other side. We’re eight years removed from the sexist double standards of 2016. Surely, the news media doesn’t have to carry Trump’s water anymore.

So, busting out his trusty “huh” over “time” chart, which he used to assess Joe Biden’s debate performance, Stewart looked into what Trump publicly said on issues like the economy, child care, and IVF. Surprisingly, in between Trump ranting about Russia for some reason and turning a question about child care into slimy word salad, he fails to share any coherent policy platforms. We’re not even getting the concepts of a plan. Suggesting we create a utopia out of Megalon in the middle of New York City would be a better proposal.

Being an independent-minded free thinker, the undecided voter knows what’s going on here, and Stewart believes he understands, too. The pundits and politicians saying Trump is the “working man’s best friend” who docks his employees overtime, a protector of free speech who wants to “punish” comedians, and an anti-war candidate who threatens to blow Iranian cities to smithereens are being a tad dishonest. In Stewart’s estimation, the media has “created a fictional character, a bizarro Trump, whose accomplishments and character bear little resemblance to the self-aggrandizing, perpetual victim guy he continues to tell you explicitly that he is.”

“This fictional Trump, who is portrayed as much better than he actually is, is running to be president of a country he paints as much worse than it actually is,” Stewart says. “But I got to tell you, whatever country that is where families are routinely murdered several times while making breakfast could really use Donald Trump. The rest of us? Not so much.”

Stewart wasn’t done after making his pick president-wise. For sitting through all those Trump clips, we get a good interview as a treat. He hosted author Ta-Nahisi Coates for the next segment, and the pair shared a fascinating and insightful conversation about Coates’ new book, The Message. It’s the exact opposite of all the clips he played in the first segment, and for that, we are grateful.

 
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