I was hard on Stewart for his “both sides” opening show. I don’t think we need any more of that. But this? Oh yeah:
Update: Here’s Mary Trump responding to Stewart’s thin skinned response to the criticism he received for last week. I think she’s got a point:
I’ve been to some wonderful places in my life, but this weekend I found myself somewhere I never expected to be — living rent-free in comedian Jon Stewart’s head.
Stewart was back for his second show on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, and apparently felt the need to respond to my very real concerns over his dangerous both-sides-ism last week, when he equated President Biden and Donald.
I criticized him for erroneously elevating my uncle by claiming, “We’re not suggesting neither man is vibrant, productive, or even capable.” Any honest, objective person knows this is completely false — Donald is neither productive nor capable, while, President Biden is both of those to an impressive degree. According to Merriam-Webster, vibrant means “pulsating with life, vigor, or activity.” I’ll leave it to you to decide whom that more accurately describes.
This is the kind of false both-sides-isms I was calling out. I find it dangerous, coming from an incredibly influential public figure, because it leads to voter apathy, which is unacceptable in an election year when the candidate leading one side threatens to eliminate our democracy and the candidate leading the other seeks to strengthen it. My take was overwhelmingly supported by you, The Good in Us community, which is apparently how Stewart heard about it in the first place!
Instead of directly responding to the criticisms from me and others, Stewart did something else entirely:
What Jon Stewart said last night
In his response, Stewart joked about the backlash he received from Democrats:
“I just think it’s better to deal head on with what’s an apparent issue to people. I mean, we’re just talking here.”
That’s when Stewart referred to my statement that “not only is Stewart’s ‘both sides are the same’ rhetoric not funny, it’s a potential disaster for democracy.”
“It was one fucking show!” Stewart exclaimed. “It was 20 minutes. But I guess, as the famous saying goes, ‘democracy dies in discussion.’”
“But look,” Stewart added with a Southern accent, “I have sinned against you. I’m sorry,” before he insinuated the pushback was propaganda.
In other words, instead of engaging with my actual critique, he set up a straw man. He didn’t defend his false equivalency — he pretended my objection to his comment was that he had made a comment at all.
Besides, Jon Stewart is not just a comedian trying to nail his tight ten at the Comedy Cellar on open mic night. By his own design, he puts himself out to be a serious player and influencer in American politics.
What Jon Stewart got wrong… and right
I never said Stewart shouldn’t be free to express his opinions. But while I believe that all artists, including comedians, should be able to say whatever they want, that doesn’t mean that they’re exempt from criticism.
Here’s what he got wrong:
1. Mischaracterization
I, and many people, who reacted to his comments, were not saying we should avoid mentioning President Biden’s advanced age. I’m not even saying we need to withhold criticism of President Biden in general.
I had an issue with his false premise Biden and Donald can be equated in any way —beyond the fact that they’re both old. The truth is critical right now, when so much is at stake.
We saw what happened when Donald was normalized by the media and people like Jimmy Fallon in 2016. It creates a false narrative that normalizes Donald, the people who support him, and the decision to vote for him.
Yes, President Biden is 81, but he is kind, he is compassionate, he is intelligent, he has a remarkable team, he believes in basic human decency and human rights, and he has been a remarkably effective president. He’s also not a threat to our democracy.
And here’s something President Biden did:
He supported taking care of veterans who were exposed to burn pits by signing the legislation championed by Jon Stewart — the same legislation Republicans were determined to block.
Donald, on the other hand, is a rapist, a fraud, and currently indicted for many extremely serious crimes against our nation. The two sides are NOT the same – and implying they are is never funny.
I stand by what I said: it’s dangerous to democracy.
2. Timing
Stewart said his original segment was only “20 minutes,” as if that somehow mitigates the fact that his message, dressed up as a joke or not, reached millions of viewers.
But it’s not just 20 minutes. He’s been doing some version of this for at least 14 years. (Check out the “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,” a DC event that gathered hundreds of thousands of Americans to demand more both-sides-ism.)
3. Criticism-free Comedy
Another implication was that I couldn’t take a joke, which is just lazy, because my criticism engaged with the part of his monologue that was, according to Stewart, a statement of fact.
I believe as much as anybody that we need comedy; we need free speech; we need trenchant, funny criticism. I thought Stewart’s roasting of Tucker Carlson over his fawning interview with Putin was spot on.
The role of comedy, the line between comedy and political advocacy influence are incredibly important topics, and I’ll be holding a round-table with comedians in the next week or two to discuss all of it.
We don’t live in an era where pretending both sides are the same is good for America. We need more thoughtful criticism and comedy from people with the kind of platform Jon Stewart has, that takes into account what’s really at stake —democracy in the United States, democracy abroad, and the fate of the planet.
The “Rally To Restore Sanity” was an abomination and I was pretty shocked to see him go back to that well. It wasn’t necessary. There is no one in American except the No Labels grifters and Joe Manchin who see the world that way anymore.
I just hope that Stewart got a bit of a wake up call from that first segment and realizes that this view is no longer relevant. There are fascists in our midst.
Update II:
This is good too. (In case you didn’t know it, the brilliant Kate Shaw is the Chris Hayes’ law professor spouse.)