Jon Stewart addressed head-on the specter of censorship looming over U.S. late night talk shows on Thursday with an over-the-top portrayal of a politically obsequious television host under authoritarian rule.
Stewart hosted the Comedy Central program one day after ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show indefinitely following comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and two months after CBS said it would cancel the show hosted by one of President Donald Trump’s fiercest critics on TV, Stephen Colbert.
The show opened with a voiceover promising adherence to the party line.
“We have another fun, hilarious administration-compliant show,” it said.
Stewart lavished praise on the president and satirized his criticism of large cities and his deployment of the National Guard to fight their crime.
“Coming to you tonight from the real (expletive), the crime ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?” Stewart said.
“The Daily Show” set was refashioned with decorative gold engravings, in a parody of gold accents Trump has added to the fireplace, doorway arches, walls and other areas of the Oval Office.
Stewart fidgeted nervously as though he was worried about speaking the correct talking points. When the audience members reacted with an “awww” he whispered: “What are you doing? Shut up. You’re going to (expletive) blow this for us.”
He took on a more stilted tone when he started describing Trump’s visit to the United Kingdom, calling the president “our great father.”
“Gaze upon him. With a gait even more majestic than that of the royal horses that prance before him,” he said.
Stewart’s featured guest was due to be Maria Ressa, the journalist and author of “How to Stand Up to a Dictator.” Ressa also shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for freedom of expression in her home country of the Philippines.
