Liberals Are Not Laughing About Jon Stewart's Jabs at Joe Biden

Which "liberals?" I thought it was funny. I guess I'm not "liberal" enough? I'm voting for Biden because I'll do anything to stop Trump, but I'm not going to pretend he shouldn't be mocked.
- yeah I enjoyed it too, a couple of different friends mentioned it being funny I don't know anyone that was upset about it.
  probably just another article about some random vocal minority complaining
- I thought it was funny too, but man is it uncomfortable knowing that it could sway people away from voting for Biden and swing the scales in favor of Trump.
  
  He was just as hard if not harder on Trump in the same segment, so I don't think it would.
  
  It won't, it was honest and painted Trump in a worse (and deservedly awful) light. The apologists that call the sky yellow when you can see it's fucking blue cause much more damage by eroding public trust in the democrats.
  I prefer flawed candidates that overcome their flaws so that, hopefully, we can find a less flawed candidate next time.
  
  If Jon’s audience somehow got swayed into voting FOR Trump over some criticisms on Biden, they were never listening in the first place.
  
  Denial and scolding/belittling/abusing people for having legitimate concerns will lose a lot more people than being honest and having a sense of humor.
  
  That's an interesting point. Jon Stewart's job isn't to get Biden elected. Just like Fox and MSNBC shouldn't be their job to get their respective candidates elected. He should present things as he sees it and the people should inform themselves to select the best candidate
  
  Yeah that's my only concern really. I don't want people to become apathetic and not vote. I think Stewart's message though is probably the fairest way to prevent that though. Acknowledge that yeah, Biden is old, and he's not as sharp as he used to be. He is by no means the ideal nor dream candidate. People are right to feel iffy about him.
  But Trump means there's really no question of who to vote for and who you should vote for. We can be honest and affirm worries about Biden while still encouraging votes for him.
- Probably saw 2 people on twitter and then they just expanded and said all liberals?
  
  So they saw both of the remaining Twitter users, makes sense
- The ones on Twitter that are sourced in the article. This is a non story.
  
  People complaining on Twitter, say it ain’t so.
- My guess is bot farms mostly. Russia, the DNC, the RNC, et al benefit in their own ways from posting their reactions all over social media. Sure some on the far left probably didn't make it past the first commercial break, but with an election, everyone is coming out to play
  Regardless, they are both way too old to be running again. I find it hard to believe these guys with one foot in the grave and an inability to speak coherently are our best bet.
- Well said and agreed 100%.
- It's not hard to grasp really is it.

Too fucking bad. They're accurate and we need to accept them to avoid making the same mistake in the future.
Biden is an absolutely awful candidate, especially if his running mate is Kamala Harris - but if it's him vs. Trump I'll vote for him any day.
Democrats need to stop picking the most deeply flawed candidates they can find - Hillary Clinton being such an awful candidate is how we got Trump in the first place.
- I think people forget that the Democrats literally chose Hillary instead of Sanders - like, the Democratic Party purposefully chose Hillary despite the fact Bernie was actually more popular amongst people.
  Not gonna start saying why because there’s probably a myriad of reasons, but the fact that the Democratic party had a chance to put in somebody who was at least saying really progressive stuff for the people of America that the people really liked and just chose a fucking Clinton instead should say something about the party.
  
  I think people forget that the Democrats literally chose Hillary instead of Sanders - like, the Democratic Party purposefully chose Hillary despite the fact Bernie was actually more popular amongst people.
  Tell me you don't remember 2016 without telling me you don't remember 2016.
  Signed, a 2016 and 2020 Bernie voter.
  
  There is no more reason in morally characterizing a political party than in morally characterizing a corporation. A party is a tool, a lever of political power. Look at how Trump has taken over the Republican party. They were terrible before, but he made them worse. The Democratic party used to be the party of slavery; then it was the party of FDR and a coalition driven by socialists; now it is the party of capital and neoliberalism, but still the one most capable of being taken back by the left. Organize, communicate, educate, and never give up. Control of the Democratic party can change hands again.
  
  I think people forget that the Democrats literally chose Hillary instead of Sanders - like, the Democratic Party purposefully chose Hillary despite the fact Bernie was actually more popular amongst people.
  Got a minute (literally a minute)?
  Lawrence O'Donnell and William Greider describe the calculations of the Democratic party in "An Unreasonable Man"
  Edit: Voting blue no matter who is what keeps us stuck in an endless loop of presidential election cycles with candidates most people don't want. Some people don't get that, and probably never will.
- Hillary Clinton being such an awful candidate is how we got Trump in the first place.
  speaking of which...
  How the Hillary Clinton campaign deliberately "elevated" Donald Trump with its "pied piper" strategy
  
  I just read that article and that's literally why I never wanted that stupid goddamn monster in the race. It wasn't her fucking turn and she created so much of this mess....it was her goddamn ambition that created and fostered that orange goddamn abomination so she could get her place and turn. Fuck her.... Sanders should have been nominated but her bullshit super delegates ruined the country by assuming we're morons.
  Turns out the country is significantly dumber than anyone considered unfortunately...
- I'd never vote for Biden. But I'll vote against Trump any chance I get.
  
  voting for Jill Stein or Cornel West is voting against Trump AND Biden
- He isn't a HORRIBLE choice. He has a good chance of beating Trump and hasnt done a lot of bad things during his time. I would like someone younger and more progressive, but both sides edge towards the center.
  
  He had a surprisingly productive term but he's clearly showing his age and should be stepping back as he promised during the last election. I love the shit out of Bernie Sanders but at this point he's too old to hold an office like president... this is a hard job and both the candidates in this cycle are clearly not as sharp as they once were.
- “I sat it out when asked, It’s my turn now”
  Unfortunately it’s not exclusive to one party, (un?)fortunately the election cycles hasn’t made us pick the winner of the “Nth Generation Political Hack” bracket yet
- Biden's been a great president. I talk to young Democrats who dislike him. They don't know anything about his accomplishments. Judging him in that fashion isn't even on their radar. They are expressing a vibe they get from those around them.
  Biden's a hero. He beat Donnie and he made the win stick after the election. That was harder than he made it look. If the president of the US is staging a coup he's got a lot of strings he can pull, and even a dumb guy like Donnie understands that much.
  And Harris, the young men dislike her and they don't know anything about her. Anything. They've never even heard her talk. It feels suspiciously like attitudes towards Hilary Clinton, except at least people had seen Clinton in action.
- Biden has been a great President and really seems true to what he said he would do. My biggest complaint is also Harris - as in Biden said he would be the centrist attempting to bring things together (and he tried harder than I would have) but the goal has to be to help establish a new generation of leadership, including actual liberals and progressives. Yeah, it not all on him but I don’t see how any have stood out. Harris had the home court advantage but why aren’t we seeing her as the presumptive heir?

Neolibs might be crying but literally everyone else is laughing
…. Most of whom will still be voting for him. Extremely accurate criticisms aside.
- Right. I laughed my ass off, because it's fucking true.
  We've got two old as shit dudes, both with shit memories, running for president.
  Sure one is the better option, but neither are great options... And imagine them in four more years
  Yikes.
  
  Right. As I keep saying, I'll be voting for the forgetful doddering old grandpa that isn't a treasonous rapist who says he'll be a dictator.
- Yeah, addressing it directly and with humor is exactly the way to tackle the issue. All the liberals frantically trying to gaslight about an 81 year old's memory just look like they're in a cult, which will actually drive voters away.
  He's old, probably too old, but Trump is not only worse in general, but demonstrably worse on that very issue. It sucks that our choice is which declining man should be the leader of the free world, but that's the question we're faced with.
- I hope so. Another drumpf term will be a disaster

We've seen what happens when a party refuses to scrutinize their own candidate. Learn that lesson part.
- I'm pretty fuckin liberal and i thought it was more than due. Biden is far more competent than Trump when he's feeling well but you can see the slips and very sudden demeanor changes coupled with what looks like instant onset exhaustion. He just crashes sometimes.
  I was however a little annoyed that after almost no Israel discussion that whoever from the Economist looked directly at the camera and said Joe Biden was like the best person to have in office when it comes to Israel. The best? We could think of no one else?
  
  Yup. When Biden is ‘on’ he’s great - passionate but not a blowhard, and sharp enough to apply his decades of political experience. But the Presidency is a really, really stressful and 24/7/365 ‘on-call’ job with landmines like “Global Thermonuclear War” and “Bipolar Great Power Competition” lurking on the field of play. Just as we recognize the value of experience and have set a minimum age limit, there needs to be a top limit as well
  
  Yes, he’s the best person to have in office. Maybe I’m talking out of my ass from not remembering that part of the discussion but the context is the presidential race and there are really two possibilities. Of the candidate for President that have any chance of winning, Biden is clearly the best choice we could have in office

Good? Jon Stewart always took no prisoners. If you're offended now then you weren't paying attention before.
- I don’t understand what people were thinking when Stewart came back? I mean he was always merciless to anyone’s failings regardless of party, it’s just that the republicans provided so much more fodder for him vs the Dems who at least on the surface went in with good intentions most of the time. It was usually him attacking the Dems for their failures in meeting their own standards vs attacking the republicans for having no standards at all.
- Democrats are a lot further right than they were for his first go round.

He was right on all points.
But people obviously missed the point he made about the choice is still between a old Biden or old lunatic. So it's not some 50/50 both sides bullshit
- in a way, I wonder if JS was egging the mainstream media on to highlight the difference themselves, to distinguish a key difference - one's an imperfect solution, the other is a deranged tyrant criminal. Yeah, do the math.

Who wasn't laughing? It was hilarious. Jon Stewart's points were spot on all around.
- Who wasn't laughing?
  People who require uncritical support of their candidate.

Yes, betrayal - because the US devolved so much into tribalism, that any critique of "their own", no matter if justified or not, is a betrayal and taboo.
You see, our side can do no wrong and is perfect. It's their side that's wrong, always. We're the good guys, and they're the bad guys - how could Jon betray the only side that's good, noble and completely faultless? That clearly means he's with them and not with us, because nuance is a foreign loan word that we don't need, and everything is black and white!
Fucking sad and depressing - glad I get to look at it from the outside, but still...
- I'm not American but I can see why the left going after Biden now is not a good idea. It's just gonna lead to a Trump win. I hate Biden, the guy has blood on his hands from his constant support of the drug war. But you should have thought of that before. Either back him now, and get a better candidate going. Or go after Biden now and lose to Trump. And then you'll get nothing done.
  Biden should never have been the Democrats pick, Clinton either, but it's too late for all that now.
  
  what happened to "it's ok if bernie doesn't win you just gotta vote for biden and push him left when he's in office" because this is not that.
- It's fucked. Life's fucked. I'm fucked. You're fucked. Everything's fucked. It's fucked to the point it can't be unfucked. It's completely, and thoroughly fucked.
  
  It's better than 1942
- He basically helped create the current atmosphere during his tenure on the daily show. It's poetic justice I suppose.
- Yes, betrayal - because the US devolved so much into tribalism, that any critique of “their own”, no matter if justified or not, is a betrayal and taboo.
  Just look on here whenever I post an article critiquing Biden. I get called every name in the book. Russian bot, China bot, Trumper etc
  
  To be faaaaaiiiirrr, you do kinda only post that stuff. Mix it up a bit like me and they'll stop calling you a Russian bot and start calling you just plain crazy
  
  I am only disappointed because his big comeback was sold to us as a man against MAGATARDS.
  
  Depends on the article and what it's advocating for. Anything advocating for not voting or voting third party (unfortunately equal to not voting in the American electoral system) will get shit from me... Biden is the worst option available to us except Trump. Trump is a fucking existential crisis.

We're in a weird spot. On the one hand, legitimate criticisms should always be welcome especially when directed at our elected officials. In a healthy democracy we would vote out people who disappoint or underperform. On the other hand, we don't have a healthy democracy and one side is determined to vote for a man with the most extensive list of abhorrent behavior ever documented in the nation's history. Criticizing Biden just makes it more likely that a super close race will go to Trump, who is unquestionably worse than Biden.
Part of me wants to say "let's get the Trump threat behind us and THEN we can work on building a healthier democracy," but that isn't how a healthy democracy works! If we compromise on our values to get rid of someone we disagree with, are we the baddies? It's a frustrating and scary place to be.
- “The ends justify the means. But what if there never is an end? All we have are means.”
  U.K. LeGuin

ONE-TIME FANS WHO perhaps remember comedian Jon Stewart only taking satirical swipes at conservatives while host of The Daily Show
Not a good look for an article to start with such a hot take. Anyone who thought Stewart never took aim at Democrats couldn't have been a fan because they must have never watched his fucking show.
- I would guess they know that? Stewart will likely do what he did when Hillary was running. Spend 9 months bad mouthing Biden and then wonder why the hell he didn't win in the end, but feel sanctimonious that it couldn't possibly be anything he did while Texas murders a few thousands migrants at the border.
  
  So Hillary lost because of Stewart's criticisms and not because her own team prompted trump up under the illusion that he could never win?

If you're unable to secure a better candidate, you'd better laugh.

If you didn't laugh at Stewart's criticism, you're no better than a Bill Maher or new york times liberal.

Who cares? Like me, personally, I think too much is being made of the age thing for Biden (and not enough for Trump) but Jon Stewart is not some party spokesman. If he wants to go Enlightened Centrist "BOTH SIDES are too old!" for comedy he can. His job is the comedy, not the election.
- He's also just correct. Just because Trump is such a scum human doesn't make Biden's three star rating into a five star. It just means three stars is better than this opponent's zero.
  
  And it’s not like the entire show was about Biden age. Jon Stewart does have a clear preference and does find reason so skewer one side of the political spectrum more than the other but we shouldn’t expect nor even want blind allegiance
- Biden leaves me the fuck alone and passes good policy. He is my dream president.

Of course they're upset, this is post-Trump America after all! You're not allowed to criticize both sides equally! You HAVE TO pick a side and support them fully no matter what bullshit spews out of their mouths! It's a law now! The whole thing falls apart if we're not all running around screaming for blood like a bunch of lunatics!
- Like how you’re getting downvotes because you’re speaking the truth.
  US politics is literally “democrat bad” or “republican bad”, and both are apparently immune from criticism from anybody unless you’re criticizing the opposite team. Trump and the Republican party is unquestionably fucked up for being fascists, but that shouldn’t mean we can’t scrutinize whatever the hell the Dems are doing - and what they are not doing as well. We should hold our government accountable for what they do because we’re the goddamn people.
  I say this as somebody who will vote Democrat - not because I actually want Biden, but because I don’t want Trump or a modern-day Republican as President.

The show was really funny. This post was a good excuse to watch the monologue again. Looking forward to next Monday's show.

That episode was scathing and I love it.

Guess I'm not a liberal. The man is genius.

I actually think it would have been damaging to pretend that Biden is perfect. People who can be convinced to vote one way or another aren't blind to the flaws of the current administration, pretending that everything is rosy will switch them off and they'll stay home.
Providing honest criticism, where warranted, of both sides and acknowledging the very real concerns around Biden is more likely to keep people engaged and informed. Despite how flawed Biden is, any sane, informed voter chooses him over Trump every time.

As a Canadian, I was laughing my ass off

And they all started chanting "four more years" from their couches to drown out any discontentment with Biden.
- Not all of us, bud.
  I voted for Biden and shall again, because the alternative is despicable, corrupt, treasonous, rapey, evil, and just fuckin' wrong, and so is their candidate.
  The Dems don't have another candidate that has any chance of beating Pumpkin Tits, because the Dems still believe in time-outs instead of spankings, politically, and they don't want their rich donors to clutch their pearls.
  (If the Dems' balls were ever to descend, that might be a different story, but here we are. )
  Jab away, Jon.

Stop trying to make a story of this.
The old adage says "progressives need to fall in love; conservatives need to fall in line."
It means conservatives and their focus on loyalty means they neither express or accept any criticism of their party's leadership. Progressives, though, always exist in that sea of doubt and always need to be convinced of the validity of their candidate because they're always reassessing.
TL;DR -- this outrage over negative comments is a little too fanboy, a little too accepting for actual progressives. It's not their way. This outrage that is being reported means there's more conservatives learning how to be progressive and need some help. Let them in the idea that doubt is okay and not to be angry about the disloyalty.

Unless we get people into office that will actually address inequality and wealth distribution nothing will get better. This interview with Gary Stevenson hits it on the head. https://youtu.be/DVvoyRpxG-A?feature=shared

Yes I am!

This is the best summary I could come up with:
At one point, Stewart showed Biden — at a press conference to address a Justice Department probe that characterized him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” — mixing up the countries of Mexico and Egypt.
Literary icon Joyce Carol Oates, famous for her unfiltered Twitter takes, was likewise unimpressed with Stewart’s performance at the Daily Show desk, calling it “surprisingly unoriginal” in its focus on the presidential candidates’ age: “‘Both sides identical: too old,’ she tweeted, asking, “this is funny or helpful — exactly how?”
“Balance and humor return!” declared Elon Musk, who, since acquiring Twitter in 2022, has been stewing in the far-right misinformation and racist conspiracy theories that now run rampant on the barely moderated platform.
Throughout the episode, the host referenced the former president’s many criminal indictments, multiple civil rulings affirming that he committed sexual assault, and attempts to undermine the democratic process — while noting Biden had none of these issues as a candidate.
In his long absence from the flagship Comedy Central talk show, it’s possible that part of his audience chose to remember him more as a prime hater of President George W. Bush — especially during the Iraq War — or a true-blue counterweight to the rabid Fox News-style neoconservatism lampooned in The Colbert Report.
It’s already clear that his skewering Trump as incoherent, clownish and dangerously unsuited to the highest office in the land is not enough to placate this voting bloc, which would do well to realize that Stewart’s job has never been to favor, endorse, or champion a particular candidate: he’s there now to vent a collective frustration with a pair of unpopular politicians and rattle the system that has once again put them forward as our two best options.
The original article contains 1,004 words, the summary contains 293 words. Saved 71%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

He wasn't wrong to say those things, but it was really scary watching it.
Thinking "it's ethical that he do this, but what will it cost us?"
How many votes? How many fractions of a % of the total vote did this push away from Biden?
- If the candidate is so weak that a TV show comedy segment can take votes away...
  
  The "not a nazi" platform is strong.
  But is it strong enough?

Good, fuck 'em

has anyone listened to jon stewart's political takes when he wasn't reading them off a teleprompter? remember, when colbert had his capitol rally to make a point about what (the republicans in) congress was doing, stewart joined in with his rally watering down the impact of the initial rally because he thought colbert was doing a giant bit.
jon stewart has generally had terrible political takes. it's just that during his heyday it was the no drama obama years and there generally wasn't anything to both sides on the democratic side so liberals didn't hear him badly try to equivocate the two parties.
then again I've never watched the daily show, even the kilborne years so what do I know.
- I think your memory of how that rally evolved is deeply flawed. Colbert was always in character... He announced his rally as the march to keep fear alive.

Time and place, Jon...
We're on the cusp of an actual fascist uprising in America, let's not disparage the guy standing in the way of that, yeah?
- I'd rather vote for the liberal comedian, tbh.
- 3 steps toward fascism instead of 5 isn't standing in the way.
  Ooh save us from the guy who wants to sidestep congress to back genocide, guy who sidesteps congress to back genocide!
- No we're not. We are just on the cusp of four shitty years. People are overreacting to a demented old man. There's a long list of things the crazy fucker wants to do, and an extremely short list of things he will actually be able to do.
  The media silos are feeding everyone panic pablum with a chaser of hysteria pills. We've had bad presidents before and everyone lived through them.
  
  It's really easy to call alarmism - it means nobody has to do anything about the problem and no one is to blame. We've got politicians quoting Mien Kampf almost verbatim, but sure, it's just an overreaction 🙄

The dude spent the pandemic insisting the lab leak theory was absolutely true because “they named the lab after Covid, it has to have come from there!” which is both wrong (the lab is named the Wuhan Institute of Virology) and stupid because even if it was named after the class of disease they study, that doesn’t prove anything.
Covid broke a lot of people’s brains, and he seems to be one of them.
- Source on him talking about this throughout the pandemic? Only thing I’m aware of is him going on Colbert’s show post-lockdown.
  On that occasion, to some extent, I’m pretty sure he was just joking, given that he gives his entire speech in a comedic tone and doesn’t fight Colbert back on mostly anything he replies with.
  
  I love the man and he helped shape my political perspective but that Colbert interview didn't seem like he was joking.
- I don't begrudge anyone for believing that Covid-19 came from a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. History shows that governments will make every effort to avoid standing up and telling their citizens a difficult truth. The lab leak theory is a fruit of rampant dishonesty in government. It's directly the fault of the government that conspiracy theories like this exist, and it's hypocritical for governments to bemoan those theories and the people who believe them.