On Jan. 11, 1999, Jon Stewart made his first appearance as the host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
The Daily Show coincided with the rise of Daily Kos and the online progressive blogosphere, and Stewart was the perfect messenger for lefties tired of the traditional media’s inability to call out the chicken hawk lies from the likes of George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, et al.
The Daily Kos community and staff have covered Stewart’s takes over the years. Notably, Sean Wang, known by the moniker BruinKid, frequently posted transcripts from “The Daily Show.” Wang passed away in 2018, but his stories live on in our memories and online.
Here are some highlights of Stewart bringing righteous relief through humor to millions of people over the years.
Tea Party rebranding
It started with pushing out former Republican leader John Boehner, and as Stewart pointed out, it later came for his successor Paul Ryan. Of course, the Tea Party faction that grabbed some power and attention did absolutely nothing for the Americans who voted for it, leaving the GOP open to the new MAGA rebranding we are all suffering under now.
Barack Obama’s presidency
President Barack Obama’s time in office was met by the most egregiously racist—and frequently superficial—attacks from right-wing media. The worst of it all was the abject hypocrisy shown by conservatives whining about how anti-American Obama and others were, which led Stewart to letting them have it.
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Right-wing attacks
Stewart would frequently receive backlash from right-wing pundits, but he would never shy away from responding. That’s exactly what happened when Fox News’ Sean Hannity attempted to defend the racist anti-patriot Cliven Bundy from Stewart’s well-earned ire.
Benghazi
‘Member that? The hand-wringing and money wasted by Republicans going after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was exhausting, and Stewart certainly didn’t hold back in his brilliant takedown of right-wing outrage.
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War in Iraq
As Republican leaders seem to get worse and worse, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that the GOP has always been filled with terrible, deceitful, and incompetent leaders. That’s why Stewart’s 2014 rundown of the erroneous Iraq war lies was a welcome reminder to the millions of us who remember what brought us to Daily Kos in the first place.
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Law enforcement
When Stewart went after U.S. law enforcement for the social injustices inflicted upon people of color, he addressed a previous mistake he made. In doing so, he called out the racist discourse amplified by media like Fox News.
2024 election
After leaving the Daily Show for a few years, Stewart returned for the 2024 election cycle, and he didn’t miss a beat. While Trump attended his criminal trials in March 2024, Stewart broke down all of the ways in which Trump is a fraud.
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Trump’s second victory
After Trump won the 2024 election, Stewart laid out a vision of a Democratic Party that has learned from its mistakes and is willing to resist the GOP’s fascism.
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Share your favorite memories of the Daily Show in the comments below.
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