Since Donald Trump’sstunning election win last month, people have been scrambling to lay the blame on someone, anyone. Some have even floated the idea that maybe The Daily Show—or a Jon Stewart-hosted The Daily Show to be exact—could have prevented a Trump victory with their white hot takes. Well, Stewart thinks you should point your fingers elsewhere.
During an interview with The New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik, Stewart scoffed at the idea that his brand of political satire could have done anything to sway Trump supporters from voting for their candidate.
When Poniewozik asked the former host if he felt his show shaped elections, a sarcastic Stewart responded with: “We were the destroyers of men and creators of empires.”
From there, he continued, ratcheting up his sarcasm meter to a hard 10:
“I think that generally is satire’s role and has always been: the rise and fall of civilization at our whim. I would have probably allowed Hillary to come a little closer in the Rust Belt, but I still think I would have given Michigan to Trump. I had a little something going on where I was going to give Gore Florida. There was a bit we had planned that was going to hand Florida to Gore.”
Stewart was on hand to discuss The Daily Show (The Book): An Oral History as Told by Jon Stewart, the Correspondents, Staff and Guests, a new book chronicling the rise of Stewart's beloved show. He said that the purpose of the book is “to put satire and culture in its proper place,” adding that while what he accomplished was important, it’s important to keep things in perspective.
“As much as I love what we did and I liked it, there is a self-satisfaction there that is unwarranted, unearned and not useful," Stewart added. “Trump didn’t happen because CNN sucks. CNN just sucks. He happened because that’s the push and pull of this nation at all times. It’s a push and pull between nativism and a more inclusive multi-cultural approach. It’s a country that writes in its founding document all men are created equal but only white men who own property can vote. That’s the earliest contradiction, and we’ve been fighting that battle ever since.”
