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In reply to the discussion: Jon Stewart Reacts to 'Daily Show' Backlash: "I Have Sinned Against You" [View all]fishwax
(29,150 posts)109. Stewart wasn't arguing that Biden is senile or incapable
Stewart opened the bit by acknowledging the special counsel report that had come out at the start of the weekend, and which had made Biden's age a big topic in that media cycle. He then immediately deflated its claims about Biden's memory by showing several clips of trump over the years unable to remember the most obvious things in depositions, like the name of James Webb or when he'd been married to Marla Maples or whether he'd ever said he had an excellent memory. Then, to further drive the point home, he showed clips of Don Jr and Ivanka and Eric trump all unable to recall things at their depositions. The clear and obvious point was that these claims in the special counsel report, and the political hay that republicans were going to try to make out of them, were not to be taken at face value. ("The primary cause of memory loss appears to be: being deposed." Don't take the claims of the special counsel on this point seriously.)
Even so, he acknowledged, the issue of Biden's age might be a concern for some voters. And how did the Biden team respond to the issue? And here, really, is what Stewart was arguing: the response wasn't great. The press conference *would have* been great, had Biden not paused and turned around to take the extra question and then wound up making the Egypt/Mexico gaffe. Then the tiktok video about the cookies. These, Stewart argued, were missteps in the handling of the issue of Biden's age.
And I don't think he was wrong about that. Obviously I don't think that means that Biden is unfit for office--which is not something that Stewart ever argued or implied.
It also doesn't mean that there is no difference between Biden and trump--something which Stewart not only did not imply, but explicitly rejected. He rejected the notion that just because they're both old means they're in any way the same. saying "Look: Joe Biden is not Donald Trump--" and then starting to list the various things that reveal trump unsuited for the presidency, like the indictments, the fraud, the sexual assault, etc. He also rejected the notion that Biden's Mexico gaffe was anywhere near the level of trump's derangement, saying something along the lines of every time trump shows up in public he "says something that would warrant a wellness check," and illustrating that point with video of trump's bizarre magnet rant (as well as echoing back to his "if I lose we'll no longer have Pennsylvania" diatribe, which Stewart had just showed a few moments before).
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Jon Stewart Reacts to 'Daily Show' Backlash: "I Have Sinned Against You" [View all]
TheProle
Feb 20
OP
The commercials for this week's show are still plugging the "both guys are old" routine.
TwilightZone
Feb 20
#1
Yeh, that's the most important thing. Not the trying to defeat the guy trying to kill democracy thing
NoRethugFriends
Feb 20
#30
Geez, no need to apologize to someone who was rude to you. And that was the takeaway and the show itself.
NoRethugFriends
Feb 20
#52
My point is that the ones that are complaining are loud in voice but few in number...
W_HAMILTON
Feb 21
#99
Yeah, WE KNOW but ROB REINER knows How to Talk about that & fucking Stewart Does NOT.
Cha
Feb 20
#65
Stewart is just another white male who thinks he is some type of savant truth teller
Doc Sportello
Feb 20
#12
That he might be wrong and actually listen to what people are saying never occurs to him.
betsuni
Feb 20
#44
What is that supposed to mean? Who the fuck enjoys that Orange bag of wet dog shit?
SoFlaBro
Feb 21
#106
He's in our court...and frankly he hasn't missed a lick over the time he was absent...
NowsTheTime
Feb 20
#17
Jon didn't sin against me. I'm an adult and I can handle truth and the opinions of other people
Autumn
Feb 20
#18
Agreed. Sadly, a lot of people seem to want their entire political media to be nothing more than a circle jerk
Midwestern Democrat
Feb 20
#75
I thought he did a good job last week and a great job this week -- love having him back
fishwax
Feb 20
#33
Stewert is much better as a spokesperson (say for 9-11 first responders) than as a comedian.
Earth-shine
Feb 20
#57
There's no conspiracy cover up denying Biden's age. Biden's not doing that, nobody's doing that.
betsuni
Feb 20
#62