Barack Obama will appear on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” with Jon Stewart Thursday, October 18th — his second interview while President of the United States.
The incumbent Democrat has sat in Stewart’s interview chair four times before, going back to 2005, but both of his presidential appearances have come during election season. Thursday’s broadcast will air 19 days before voters go to the polls on November 6th, and in 2010 he flexed his star power six days before the country’s midterm election.
While critics have attacked Obama for giving more time to entertainment industry interviewers than political journalists, Stewart did come prepared with hard-hitting questions in 2010. His attacks came from the left, taking the President to task for his stance on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and his perceived “timidness” pushing healthcare regulations.
In the past month, Stewart has mocked and criticized Obama with greater frequency, from his excuses on the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens to the President’s debate performance to cutting campaign ads centered on the puppet character Big Bird.
Stewart will also have material to mine from Vice President Joe Biden’s controversial debate performance, which some critics have dubbed “cartoonish” and inspired a wealth of comedy memes on social media.
Stewart has long been open about his progressivism and his fondness for Obama but has also showed a willingness to express displeasure with the President’s performance. However, the veteran comedian could suppress that intellectual honesty to boost the lagging Obama campaign with a more positive interview than two years ago.
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