Comedian Jon Stewart said something recently that is about as evil as can be to a liberal. He has opined that Donald Trump is not responsible for every bad thing that ever happened on the Planet Earth. The Left, taking the opposite view, has rounded on their once comic prince and with a vengeance. Perhaps this will be a wakeup call to Stewart. Probably not.
FNC: “Some liberals lashed out at former ‘Daily Show’ host Jon Stewart over his remarks criticizing the media for obsessing over former President Trump.
In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Stewart suggested that media members should learn turning Trump into a ‘supervillain’ would backfire and they would better serve Americans by focusing on more pressing issues.”
“I think we make a mistake focusing this all on Donald Trump, as if he’s … Magneto and some incredible supervillain that has changed the very nature and temperature of the U.S.,” Stewart said. “I think it’s a mistake to focus it all on this one individual and not to focus it more on the idea that power is its own reward whether it be in the financial industry or government. Power doesn’t cede itself, and unless we can figure out a better way to balance out that power … we’ll be vulnerable.” Then the leftist reaction came fast and furious.
NYU Professor Jay Rosen: “I watched this entire interview with Jon Stewart (can’t find a clip of the whole thing. Many of you will probably disagree, but to me he sounds lost. Surprisingly inarticulate, no clear POV, dismissive of the asymmetry in our politics— and a minimizer.”
Tom Watson, reacting to Rosen: “Absolutely. Stewart lost the plot before 2016 and has seemed like a rudderless scold. (I think it was a fairly big loss at the time, actually).”
Anil Dash: “Stewart became a both-sides zealot long ago, and the resurgence of fascism in the country has done nothing to dissuade this. It’s also why his Church of the First Responders ignores obvious, egregious, systematic harms by cops & their enablers.”
MSNBC: “He’s a comedian who played a political journalist on TV (quite well), but now that he’s attempting to be a real, serious journalist, it isn’t working. It’s not his thing. Jon Stewart has taken aim at the media saying they do a ‘terrible job at de-escalation.’ But is it fair to lump all media together? Or is this a right-wing problem?”
But independent journalist Glenn Greenwald called it right. “His two basic points were 1) the liberal sector of corporate media (CNN) focuses excessively on Trump as the cause of America’s evils and 2) the US is plagued by multiple broken and corrupt institutions, not just the GOP — two heretical claims in liberal discourse.”
His two basic points were 1) the liberal sector of corporate media (CNN) focuses excessively on Trump as the cause of America's evils and 2) the US is plagued by multiple broken and corrupt institutions, not just the GOP — two heretical claims in liberal discourse. https://t.co/eOGnlq5PVA
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 17, 2021
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.
Hey Jon, how do you like your “friends,” now? Yup. They’re consistent—gotta give ’em that!