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Jon Stewart decried the media’s panicked coverage of President-elect Donald Trump’s upcoming second term, saying that it’s not helpful to get the public “s***ting our pants this early.”
Before interviewing Vermont senator Bernie Sanders on his latest Weekly Show podcast episode, the Comedy Central comedian, 62, opened the hour acknowledging that America is currently in a “transitional period where we are not sure about whether the ground we are standing on is solid.”
“Although the news media seems convinced that we are the Roadrunner and the Coyote and the Coyote has run over the cliff, and we just looked down and realized there’s nothing under our feet and now we are plunging to our deaths,” Stewart quipped in reference to the famous Looney Tunes characters. “Because the news media is always very circumspect.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen when Donald Trump takes over,” he said, adding that while “we should be prepared” for all outcomes, “I don’t know how helpful it is to get us s***ting our pants this much, this early.”
Using a metaphor to describe his feelings about the Democrats losing the election, he said: “In the joint custody agreement that we now have in America, the kids are going to live with Dad for the summer and you just have to f***in’ eat it.”
Following Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election last month, Stewart shared a message of hope with The Daily Show viewers.
“This isn’t the end. I promise you, this is not the end. And we have to regroup, and we have to continue to fight, and continue to work day in and day out to create the better society for our children, for this world,” he said during the November show.
Once taping for his segment of The Daily Show was over, Variety reported that Stewart spoke directly to the in-studio audience, saying: “Can I tell you what a joy you were, how happy I am to have spent the evening with you and not sitting at home throwing s*** at my television screen.
“You have helped us all have a beautiful distraction, and you’re gonna leave here, and you’re gonna look at your phone, and you’re gonna go home, and you’re gonna have that weird feeling where your knees feel wobbly, and you’re like, ‘Do I have hypoglycemia?’ But you don’t! You just have a temporary anxiety and paralysis that comes with disappointment and just a soupçon of despair,” he continued.
“It will pass. And we will be back, digging ditches for democracy once again in the way that we have always had to do, and I thank you guys for your dedication, and I thank you for being here. Get home safe.”
