Jon Stewart Tackles Gaza on 'Daily Show' Return

Jon Stewart has described Israel's military action in Gaza as "over the top" as he made his anticipated return to Comedy Central's The Daily Show on Monday.

Paramount Global network announced last month that Stewart had been drafted in to host the show on Mondays from this week through the 2024 election cycle. His return comes almost a decade after his 2015 departure.

Stewart jumped straight into his political analysis of the news dominating the cycle on Monday, including the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

He specifically took aim at President Joe Biden. There has been a significant increase in criticism of the Biden administration over the government's continued support of Israel in its invasion of the Gaza Strip, with some accusing it of being complicit in a genocide—a claim officials have denied.

"The response in Gaza has been over the top," Stewart told his audience. "You know, I like how Biden describes Israel's incessant bombing of civilians the same way my mother talks about the Super Bowl Halftime Show: 'It was a little much.'"

Israel began its assault on Gaza in response to the surprise October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, which killed at least 1,200 people and resulted in hundreds of others being taken hostage, according to the Associated Press.

So far, more than 27,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which notes that the death count is likely higher, as thousands more Palestinians are believed to be buried under rubble in Gaza, according to Reuters.

The number of civilians killed in Gaza, especially children, has sparked protests around the world, with calls for a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas.

Stewart also discussed the upcoming presidential election, which he dubbed "Indecision 2024: Electile Dysfunction."

Incumbent Biden's chances of winning the 2024 election have been damaged by the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur's report into the president's handling of Obama-era classified documents. While Hur said criminal charges were not warranted against Biden, the report raised questions about Biden's cognitive ability, including suggesting his memory was "significantly limited."

Stewart also showed clips of GOP front-runner Donald Trump and his family being deposed, during which they struggled to recall some basic facts.

"It turns out that the leading cause of early onset dementia is being deposed," Stewart quipped.

A video that showed Vice President Kamala Harris saying that Biden is "smart" and "on his game" during closed-door meetings prompted Stewart to ask: "Did anyone film that?… That would be good to show to people."

Stewart also highlighted Biden's TikTok debut, which showed the Democrat commenting on chocolate chip cookies.

"How do you go on TikTok and end up looking older?" Stewart said.

"These two candidates, they are both similarly challenged," he said. "And it is not crazy to think that the oldest people in the history of the country to ever run for president might have some of these challenges."

"We're not suggesting neither man is vibrant, productive or even capable," he went on. "But they're both stretching the limits of being able to handle the toughest job in the world. What's crazy is thinking that we're the ones, as voters, who must silence concerns and criticisms. It is the candidates' job to assuage concerns, not the voters' job not to mention [them].

"We have two candidates who are chronologically outside the norm of anyone who has run for the presidency in the history of this country—breaking the record that they set."

While Stewart stressed that the wider issues faced by Biden and Trump are not equal, he argued that the Democrats need a stronger candidate to secure a victory come November.

"Look, Joe Biden isn't Donald Trump," Stewart said. "He hasn't been indicted as many times, hasn't had as many fraudulent businesses or been convicted in a civil trial for sexual assault or been ordered to pay defamation charges or stiffed blue-collar tradesmen."

"The stakes of this election don't make Donald Trump's opponent less subject to scrutiny," he added. "It actually makes him more subject to scrutiny. If the barbarians are at the gate, you want Conan [the Barbarian] standing on the ramparts, not chocolate chip cookie guy."

Stewart originally hosted The Daily Show from 1999 in a 16-year stint that saw it enjoy its highest ratings and transform political commentary.

He was succeeded by Trevor Noah, whose subsequent departure in December 2022 has seen The Daily Show go through a plethora of guest hosts while trying to find a permanent replacement, not dissimilar to the post-Alex Trebek era of Jeopardy!.

While Stewart's return to the fold does represent a steadying of the ship, it also marks unchartered territory for the TV personality, who will all but be expected to work ratings miracles on well-trodden and familiar ground. However, while he riffs about the expected showdown between Biden and Trump, he will do so in a late-night TV landscape that has changed dramatically since 2015, with audience viewing habits shifting greatly to streaming.