The Daily Show on TV: Revisiting Biden’s “Gaffes” with Donald Trump During the 2016 Presidential Campaign
I met a former official from the Biden administration and a donor at a dinner party last fall, and they talked about the president’s age and his prospects for re-election. The ex- official said that people in the White House believed that Biden was an effective leader who should run again. The donor was scared of the campaign after watching the president’s speeches at the fund-raisers. The gulf in their perceptions, I think, speaks to the fact that Biden’s age has impaired his ability to campaign much more than his ability to govern, which has created an impossible dilemma for the Democratic Party.
Regardless, last night’s program shows Stewart’s still got the comedy chops and incisive ideas to power the show at least through the presidential election in November. He has said in interviews that part of the appeal in returning was to have a place to “unload thoughts” as the election season progresses.
He didn’t mince words about the erratic behavior of Biden’s likely opponent for the presidency, Donald Trump, either — showing how the former president couldn’t remember basic things during court depositions like how long he was married to Marla Maples or whether he had bragged about how great his memory was (“It turns out, the leading cause of early onset dementia is being deposed,” Stewart cracked, after showing a montage of Trump’s grown children having similar recall issues).
But even though some liberals may be sensitive to the idea that comparing Biden’s gaffes with Trump’s behavior is an unfair “both sides” balancing act, Stewart insisted supporters should do a better job showing the current president is vital and effective as they say he is.
“It’s the candidate’s job to assuage concerns,” Stewart said in a 20-minute segment that kicked off last night’s program. The voter’s job is not to mention them.
Stewart returns in a unique arrangement, hosting The Daily Show on Monday nights and serving as an executive producer for all evenings – similar to an arrangement crafted by another cable TV star, Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. The new setup allows him to avoid the grind of daily hosting, ceding the rest of the week to the show’s correspondents, starting with Jordan Klepper, who hosts Tuesday through Thursday.
The first 16 years of The Daily Show was hosted by Stewart and the show focused on hypocrisies in media, politics and society. Along the way, he helped establish a style of fact-based satire that has exploded all over television, from the work by John Oliver and Stephen Colbert on Last Week Tonight to the sharper political tone of Late Night with Stephen Colbert.
Stewart’s debut proved he will bring many more things, buying time for an influential show to figure out a new future for itself at least one more time.