We’re still waiting to see who will be the next host of The Daily Show, with the latest news being that Jessica Williams has taken herself out of the running. Of course, whoever gets the job will not have it easy. As the five moments below will attest, Stewart has a major influential force in comedy and politics for the last 15 years.
His response to the 9/11 attacks.
This was the first moment where we began to view Jon Stewart as more than a comedian. With the city of New York and the nation still reeling, Stewart delivered one of the most heartfelt speeches that we heard in the wake of the attacks. He ends with the poignant note that the view from his apartment — once the World Trade Center — had become the Statue Of Liberty, and “you can’t beat that.” A great speech, which represents the exact point Stewart began to feel like someone the country could trust.
When he single-handedly destroyed Crossfire
With the 2004 election just a few weeks away, Jon Stewart appeared on CNN’s Crossfire, where it was apparently presumed that he would, well, be funny. Instead, he decided to take the show’s host to task for what he believed to be the downfall of political discourse that their show was responsible for. There are many great moments in this 14-minute clip, but the best part is easily when Tucker Carlson points out that Stewart wasn’t being as funny as he is on The Daily Show, to which Stewart pointedly responds “you’re as big a d*** on this show as you are on any show.” Point well made, sir.
His blistering critique of the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
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When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in late August 2005, The Daily Show was airing reruns. But when Stewart returned to the airwaves on September 6, 2005, he pulled no punches, taking FEMA to task for its massive failure to respond properly, and also criticizing anyone who would let the Bush Administration off the hook by bringing up “the blame game.” This was Stewart after he realized how influential he could be, and at his righteously indignant best.
When he gave Jim Cramer the confrontation of a lifetime
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My favorite interview in Daily Show history, and it’s not even close. In the aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis, Jim Cramer was more or less sitting pretty, despite giving several bits of faulty financial advice. Stewart wasn’t having it, bringing Cramer in for quite the skewering. The most affecting moment: Stewart pointing out that all the bells and whistles on Mad Money didn’t change the fact that Cramer’s advice had major real-world consequences. “It’s not a f***ing game,” Stewart said.
When he helped get the Zadroga Bill passed by going after the Republicans who blocked it.
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The only time a “fake news” show ever played a role in getting legislation passed. In late 2010, the James Zadroga Act was stalled in the Senate thanks to a Republican filibuster. In this segment, Stewart expresses his disgust for the partisan politics than held up the bill, and the world noticed. Eventually, the Senate was able to work things out and pass the bill, with Stewart’s commentary being credited as the reason why. Nothing ever demonstrated Stewart’s influence quite as directly as this. When you’re able to get Those Clowns In Congress to actually get something done, you know you’ve got some real power.
