00:00 "But I guess as the famous saying goes, democracy dies in discussion."
00:04 Jon Stewart isn't walking back his criticism of President Joe Biden.
00:10 Stewart generated plenty of headlines for his big return to The Daily Show last week,
00:14 where he mocked Biden for his apparent age-related cognitive issues.
00:17 Some progressives have slammed the segment, accusing Stewart of inadvertently helping
00:21 Biden's presumed election rival, Donald Trump.
00:24 Stewart opened his second show back, hosting the Comedy Central late-night series by diving
00:28 right into the backlash, specifically citing a story from The Hollywood Reporter.
00:31 "Quite frankly, the response to the first show last Monday was universally glowing."
00:38 Jon Stewart is facing massive backlash from Democrats over his comments about Joe Biden.
00:44 He went on to say this.
00:45 "I have sinned against you. I'm sorry. It was never my intention to say out loud
00:55 what I saw with my eyes and then brain."
00:58 Stewart then joked that he can do better and asked,
01:01 "Where do I go to study the particulars of unquestioning propaganda? I would need mentorship."
01:06 He then pivoted to Tucker Carlson's widely panned interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
01:11 as well as his Moscow travelogue clips praising Putin's regime
01:14 due to the prices at a grocery store and the quality of a subway station.
01:17 "Because the difference between our urinal-caked, chaotic subways and your
01:22 candelabra-ed beautiful subways is the literal price of freedom."
01:28 Stewart went on to say, "But the goal that Carlson and his ilk are pushing is that there's
01:32 really no difference between our systems. In fact, theirs might be a little bit better."
01:36 The question is why? Why is Tucker doing this?
01:39 "It's because the old civilizational battle was communism versus capitalism. That's what
01:45 drove the world since World War II. Russia was the enemy then. But now,
01:49 they think the battle is woke versus un-woke."
01:52 He continued, "And in that fight, Putin is an ally to the right. He's their friend."
01:57 "Unfortunately, he is also a brutal and ruthless dictator.
02:00 So now they have to make Americans a little more comfortable with that."
02:05 For more on this story, head to THR.com. This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
Comments