Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show,” Sept. 18.
Jon Stewart usually hosts “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, on Mondays only. But after it was announced, Sept. 17, that ABC was pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air indefinitely, in response to government pressure, the Lawrenceville native and Colts Neck resident — who is a co-executive producer of “The Daily Show” as well — decided to break his routine and host the Thurs., Sept. 18 edition, too.
In his opening segment, he pretended to be eager to heap praise upon Trump, and afraid of retribution. (Kimmel has frequently joked about President Trump on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”) In front of a backdrop resembling Trump’s gold-plated White House, Stewart said, in part:
“We’re coming to you tonight from a real shithole: the crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster, like no one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right? …
“If you felt a little off these past couple of days, it’s probably because our Great Father has not been home. For Father has been gracing England with his legendary warmth and radiance. (as footage of Trump in England was shown) Gaze upon him with a gait even more majestic than that of the royal horses that pranced before him. He wowed the English with charm, intelligence and an undeniable sexual charisma that filled their air like a pheromone-packed London fog.”
Here is the opening segment:
Stewart’s guest on the show was Maria Ressa, a Filipino-American journalist who grew up in Toms River. Ressa won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2021; her most recent book is 2022’s “How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future.”
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Stephen Colbert, of Montclair, also addressed the Kimmel issue on his “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” on CBS. He started the show with the video below, and began his monologue (also below) by saying, “I’m your host, Stephen Colbert. But tonight, we are all Jimmy Kimmel.”
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