On "The Daily Show" Monday night, Jon Stewart didn’t quite issue an apology to his many critics. Those critics were upset at Stewart for dangerously and inappropriately perpetuating "both-sidesism" when it came to dragging President Joe Biden and Donald Trump in equal measure. But the absence of any gags about Biden in the most recent episode suggests that Stewart has certainly heard the complaints. It’s never a bad thing when influential comedians acknowledge a mistake, even if they do so indirectly.
To review, Stewart’s highly anticipated return to "The Daily Show" anchor desk in February was met by a broad spectrum of reactions. Noticeable among them was what Entertainment Weekly dubbed "left wing Daily Show backlash." This was a reference to the aforementioned digital fury of liberal commentators who felt Stewart’s rather even-handed smackdowns of Biden and Donald Trump were misguided and irresponsible.
The absence of any gags about Biden in the most recent episode suggests that Stewart has certainly heard the complaints.
To this I would add my own critique of the first few episodes, which somewhat overlaps the both-sides complaint: Comedy doesn’t have to be "fair and balanced." Comedy, I submit, must be aware of its own brute power to shape and influence perceptions. Comedy isn’t a suicide pact; to mock Biden and Trump as if they merited exactly the same amount of abuse is dangerous. Such impartiality redounds to the benefit of a candidate whose dictatorial ambitions are not merely performative. And where there will be dictators, there won’t be comedy — at least not the type of punch-up satire practiced by Stewart and his many epigones.
All of this carping clearly rankled Stewart. At first, he doubled down. In episode two, he taunted those who plastered him for his Biden jokes. "I’m sorry," he snarked, "it was never my intention to say out loud what I saw with my eyes and then brain."
By episode four, however, a pang of self-reflection was evident. Celebrating clips from the State of the Union address, Stewart intimated he was now on Team Biden. "I know," he screamed, "that all the haters have been out there talking their s---. He’s too old. He’s too weak. He can’t make it. ... I see you haters. I know who you are!" At this point, Stewart theatrically grabbed an ornate hand mirror. He gazed at his (former) hater self lovingly. Much to the delight of his tittering audience, he mugged it up — perhaps hinting that his own s---talking of Biden was a bit much.
After this winking concession (if that’s what it was), he turned his sights exclusively to Republicans. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt was derided for her pioneering efforts to fuse a State of the Union rebuttal with the Suburban Gothic genre of cinematic horror. He rounded out the episode by underscoring the hypocrisy of the MAGA movement. (Its followers can call themselves patriots. Its followers can affirm that they want to be ruled by a dictator. But they logically can’t do both.)
In his most recent episode, the sharp trend away from both-sidesism continued. Stewart performed 14 minutes straight of material about Trump. He started by chiding the former president for breathlessly celebrating on Truth Social his own victories at his own golf clubs. Trump’s competitors, Stewart theorized, lost to him because they were mesmerized by Trump’s imposing physique ("He has a thick a-- and a front butt"). The GOP talking point of Trump’s financial crimes being "victimless" was ripped asunder. Somewhere along the way, Stewart managed to fellate himself with a portable hand-held vacuum cleaner. Not one word was said about Biden.
It was quite the contrast to the even-handed approach of the first few episodes. We’ll see if this trend continues, but maybe this was Stewart’s way of walking back his previous impartiality. His critics, though, had a point. It ain’t the aughts anymore. Trump isn’t some George W. Bush, or John McCain, or Mitt Romney. This mediascape is much more vulnerable to weaponization by cunning bad actors with authoritarian hankerings. And, as I pointed out after Stewart’s Israel/Palestine episode, some things just aren’t that funny. Some problems can’t be solved through yucks.
All of which reminds me that comedy by its nature is so reliant on crossing lines, probing taboos and offending people that contrition must be understood as a basic staple of the comedian’s tool kit. There’s nothing wrong with sincerely saying "my bad" and moving on.
Amy Schumer apologized for making jokes about Mexican men being rapists. Trevor Noah apologized for likening an India-Pakistan war to a Bollywood dance routine. Tina Fey apologized for episodes of "Thirty Rock" that featured Black face. Eddie Murphy apologized (somewhat belatedly) for jokes about AIDS. Tracy Morgan apologized for a gag about a hypothetical gay son. John Oliver apologized at length for mocking Monica Lewinsky. Sasheer Zamata has reflected thoughtfully on jokes she just wouldn’t make anymore. On these very pages I’ve noted Sarah Silverman’s many mea culpas.
Stewart didn’t apologize, which is fine. Comedy isn’t a church, mosque or synagogue; it abhors piety, sanctimony and ritual, as well it should. But the art form does value critical self-reflection.
Stewart’s latest shift might indicate that his thinking about the genre of “politainment,” and the power of its influence, is evolving. If that’s true, then his gaze into the hand mirror was good for him and good for comedy.