The Left Slams Jon Stewart for Mocking ‘Elderly’ Joe Biden

Jon Stewart is back, but the political landscape is very different than the one he left behind.

“The Daily Show” star retired from his faux anchor seat in 2015, a time before his party embraced too many extremes to tally. We can start with open borders and name check Defund the Police for a sampler of uncorked thinking.

That version of Stewart leaned to the Left, and hard, but he saved some energy for mocking his fellow Democrats.

Occasionally.

That’s no longer acceptable to the modern Left, and he learned that lesson the hard way.

Twice.

The first time came following his 2020 political satire “Irresistible.” The film served up a (mostly) fair and balanced critique of our political system, dinging both the Left and the Right. Critics decried that approach, slamming a comedian they once adored.

Later, Stewart suggested the COVID-19 virus likely came from a lab, defying the progressive narrative tied to wet markets. His fellow liberals roasted him for suggesting the obvious.

And he noticed.

“The backlash was swift, immediate, and quite loud. And again, I didn’t take that personally either. Like, we live in a world where, like, I have my opinions, I’m not mad at the backlash either because they’re doing what I’m doing, which is expressing myself … The part that I don’t like about it is the absolutes and the dismissive like ‘f— you, I’m done with you. I will never forgive you, you have crossed an unforgivable line. You’ve expressed an opinion that is antithetical to mine, or not mine,'” he said.

He felt similar rage following his Feb. 12 “Daily Show” return.

Stewart leaned to the Left once more during Monday’s performance – his return is limited to once-a-week anchor duties. He alluded to a special counsel report finding President Joe Biden likely broke the law regarding classified documents but was too old and mentally feeble to be prosecuted.

Jon Stewart to Team Biden: Put Up or Shut Up

The comic noted that while everyone on Team Biden praises the leader’s razor-sharp mind no one can offer up proof to back it up. 

Yes, Stewart slammed Donald Trump in various ways, too, but he wouldn’t pull punches when it came to Biden’s age.

The response was swift and furious.

if this is Jon Stewart's triumphant return it sounds surprisingly unoriginal, in the vein of what mainstream media has been clamoring for months: "too old"–"too old"–"too old"–"both sides identical: too old." this is funny or helpful–exactly how? https://t.co/U531IPBj1k

— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) February 13, 2024

The free speech averse Rolling Stone similarly howled over Stewart taking on both sides.

Commentary: Is Jon Stewart Still the Right Person to Host ‘The Daily Show?’

The comedy vet makes his return to the desk he left in 2015 this evening, but his “both sides are equally bad” approach may not translate to 2024.

More: https://t.co/aKQGU1PZyv pic.twitter.com/Isf8LXsjjt

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) February 12, 2024

The far-Left Hollywood Reporter also whined about Stewart daring to suggest age matters when it comes to President Biden’s re-election campaign.

You can easily read between the lines.

While he was able to use Friday’s special counsel report on Biden’s mishandling of documents as a hook, it was the sort of “How did we get here?” rant of incredulity that comics have been doing for months (or years). And, in its specifics, it was the same rant of incredulity made by countless amateur and professional pundits all weekend long on Formerly Twitter and Bluesky and I’m assuming on Threads and Hive and Post and Mastodon and Flurffle.

Jon Stewart still has it in terms of being funny and entertaining but the political content of this monologue is basically the New York Times op-ed page in TV form. Both sides are not in fact equally bad! https://t.co/Bo9cPmS9az

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 13, 2024

The far-Left folks at “The View” melted down over Stewart’s willingness to speak truth to power.

Even the White House savaged Stewart for mocking Biden.

Jean-Pierre Hits Back At Daily Show's Jon Stewart Slam on Biden — Torches 'Flatly Wrong' Hur Report It Was Based On https://t.co/LMrj8fv3hB

— Mediaite (@Mediaite) February 13, 2024

Did that reaction embolden Stewart, telling him to keep pushing satirical takes even when they “hurt” his fellow progressives? Or did he open with a more fair-and-balanced approach to lure skeptics back to the show, only to veer to the consistent Left moving forward?

The following weeks will tell the tale. Why?

President Biden isn’t getting any younger, and his age-related gaffes are happening at a dizzying pace.