Jon Stewart damage control was in full effect Monday night as he went after ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, lambasting Carlson for his interview with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The sneering attack appeared to be the The Daily Show host’s belated effort to reassert his left-wing credentials after being mocked for daring to criticize President Joe Biden in a previous show.
Stewart used his monologue to grapple for a description of Carlson’s face as he sat through Putin’s addresses during the interview exchange.
“It’s not really a straight face so much as you try to convey a mixture of what appears to be shame, arousal and I’m gonna say irregularity,” Stewart offered. “For instance, like you’re constipated while jerking off to a Sears catalogue.”
Carlson used his time in Moscow to single out the cleanliness of train stations and praised the supermarkets. A tour of a grocery outlet then saw Carlson took a dig at homeless Americans.
“I know I’ve said this before: You’re such a dick,” Stewart fired back. “Really, truly, like a dick.”
He then continued on the attack after Carlson noted the differences in prices available to shoppers in the Russian capital and those back home.
Carlson claimed the price difference “radicalized” him against American leaders.
“Radicalized!” the comedian repeated. “And it will radicalize you ― unless you understand basic economics. See, $104 for groceries sounds like a great bargain unless you realize Russians earn less than $200 a week.”
The veteran comedian ended with another jab at Carlson.
“But here’s the reality,” he said. “You fucking know all this because you aren’t as dumb as your face would have us believe.”
Stewart’s attack came after he drew fire from viewers just last week for daring to criticize Biden by saying he can’t recall “very basic things.”
Stewart pointed out Special Counsel Robert Hur’s recent report on the president noted Biden’s “diminished faculties and faulty memory,” adding, “If charged, Mr. will likely present himself to the jury as he did during his interview with our office, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with poor a memory.”
“This guy couldn’t remember stuff during his deposition. Do you understand what that means? He had no ability to recall very basic things under questioning. The footage of the president unable to recall simple facts must have been brutal to watch,” Stewart said.
Viewers were less than impressed that Stewart was seen to somehow betray his expected left-wing viewpoints, as Breitbart News reported.
“Seriously disappointing. His ‘comeback’ was hyped up for this take?” one X/Twitter user reacted.
“And the laziest of humor at best,” another said.
“Jon Stewart complaining that 2024 is ‘two old guys’ again is like me complaining that it’s ‘two white guys’ again. It misses the point and minimizes the stakes,” a third commented.
“Looks like a large number of the people who were over the moon to see the return of Jon Stewart are now totally pissed off at him,” another social media user observed.
“He like SNL and CNN, forget that the switch to [both sides] is not what the core audience is here for,” another declared. “He will continue to struggle.”
Another simply commented, “Nothing is funny about any of this,” while another wrote, “Womp womp. Swing and a miss.”