Jon Stewart Returns to “The Daily Show” to Skewer Trump, Deportation Plans, and America’s Political Circus
With just one week until the 2024 presidential election, Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show with his signature blend of sharp satire, political insight, and comedic catharsis. The stakes were high, the headlines chaotic, and Stewart didn’t disappoint. His monologue, a rollercoaster of absurdity and outrage, focused largely on the Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, whose latest rally and sweeping immigration proposals offered Stewart a golden opportunity to dissect the state of American politics in only the way he can.
“Not My Last Show—Just My Last Before the End of Democracy”
Stewart opened with a reminder: while this may be his final show before the election, he’s not riding off into the sunset just yet. “I’m coming back, baby,” he proclaimed to thunderous applause. The celebration, however, quickly gave way to anxiety. “I only have one week left to decide who I’m going to vote for,” he deadpanned, mocking the illusion of choice in today’s hyper-polarized landscape.
The monologue quickly pivoted into coverage of the final campaign pushes from both major parties. Stewart poked fun at Vice President Kamala Harris’s rally with Beyoncé. While Harris opted for a heartfelt, earnest speech, Stewart jokingly lamented the lack of vocal performance: “No singing? Just a heartfelt statement of the importance of the election? F**k it, I’m voting for Trump.”
That was his segue to the main event.
Trump’s MSG Rally: From Roast to Rage
Trump’s recent rally at Madison Square Garden was the comedic centerpiece of Stewart’s segment. He contrasted the solemnity of New York’s sacred concert venue—the “temple of Billy Joel”—with what he called an “apocalyptic open mic night.” The lineup included not just politicians and supporters, but comedians like Jeff Ross, whose roast-style set was riddled with vulgar, racially charged jokes.
“Who brings a roast comic to a political rally a week before the election and tells him to not roast people?” Stewart asked incredulously. “That’s like bringing Beyoncé to a rally and telling her not to sing.” It was a blistering jab not just at Ross, but at the Trump campaign’s tone-deaf approach to outreach.
While Ross’s jokes drew widespread condemnation in the media for being “extremely vile,” Stewart admitted he found some of them—though repugnant—funny. It was a rare, vulnerable moment where the comedian acknowledged the uncomfortable truth of comedy’s gray areas. But he made clear that the venue and context made Ross’s performance not only inappropriate but politically disastrous.
The Real Headliner: Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan
Stewart shifted from comedic roasts to policy firestorms, focusing on Trump’s newly announced plan to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history—starting on “day one.”
“Day one?!” Stewart shouted. “Have a snack! Meet the staff!” He compared the promise to the first day of school, when all that’s usually expected is reading the syllabus—not invoking a law from 1798.
That law, the Alien Enemies Act, is obscure even by arcane legal standards. Stewart jokingly wondered who told Trump about it. “He’s not a history buff,” he said, reminding viewers of Trump’s historically inaccurate musings on Robert E. Lee and Gettysburg.
The scale of Trump’s proposal was another punchline: “We’re going to deport between 2 and 21 million people,” Stewart said, quoting Trump’s ever-inflating estimates. “That’s a swing of 19 million! That’s not a policy. That’s a drunk estimate at a blackjack table.”
Demonizing Immigrants and Fact-Free Fearmongering
The monologue also explored the darker emotional underpinnings of Trump’s rhetoric. Stewart spotlighted Trump’s unsupported claims that undocumented immigrants are “eating the pets” of Springfield residents—an urban legend that played more like satire than fact. “While they weren’t actually doing that,” Stewart mocked, “still, chase them with guns.”
He dug into the chilling implications of rounding up millions of people with no due process. “It’s not like anyone else—i.e. legal immigrants or American citizens—are going to get caught up in that dragnet,” he said, before citing actual reports that Trump’s deportation plans would likely impact legal immigrants and even citizens.
Stewart brought up a past incident where Trump mistook two prominent Black politicians, Nate Holden and Willie Brown. “To be fair, he also can’t tell white people apart,” he added, referencing Trump’s deposition confusion in the E. Jean Carroll case. “Donald Trump doesn’t have affairs—he just thinks everyone is his wife.”
America for Americans… But Who’s American?
In his sharpest moment of critique, Stewart turned to Stephen Miller, the ideological architect of Trump’s immigration strategy. Miller’s assertion that “America is for Americans only” sounded straightforward—until Stewart unraveled its sinister implications. “Only deporting those who came here illegally—or legally but too sneakily—or who have American citizen kids—or who look like they came here illegally—or who protested Gaza—or who have the name ‘Jack Smith’…”
He continued: “Name a more American name than Jack f**king Smith! Where are you deporting him to? Faneuil Hall?”
It was a blistering takedown of not just the rhetoric, but the moral failure underlying Trump’s policy. Stewart even invoked how similar language was used to describe the Irish in 1832, showing how history repeats when fear governs politics.
What’s in Trump’s Heart?
Perhaps the most biting satire came when Stewart addressed a common defense of Trump: “Don’t listen to what he says. Listen to what’s in his heart.” Stewart sarcastically agreed and performed a grotesque visual gag, imagining Trump’s heart filled with French fries and bear spray—“What part of that is good cholesterol?”
The metaphor was clear: if Trump’s words and plans are horrifying, don’t expect his heart to be any better.
A Return Worth the Wait
In just over 13 minutes, Jon Stewart managed to cover racism, authoritarianism, media hypocrisy, and America’s fragile civic norms—all while keeping the audience laughing. His return to The Daily Show wasn’t just nostalgic; it was necessary.
Amid the absurdity of campaign season, Stewart reminded viewers that comedy remains a powerful tool for exposing the truth. And while the future remains uncertain, one thing is clear: as long as America teeters on the edge of the absurd, Jon Stewart will be there—making us laugh and think, whether we want to or not.
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