“Nobody asked Donald Trump what makes America great.” — Jon Stewart on the election. pic.twitter.com/OBAZaZ9iNp
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) November 17, 2016
Jon Stewart appeared on CBS This Morning as part of his return to the spotlight after (blissfully) sitting out much of election season. He retired from The Daily Show shortly after Donald Trump announced his candidacy, and his orgasmic reaction to the news was a glorious one, as he looked forward to ending his Comedy Central run on a comedic note: “Trump is the part of your brain that says let’s go take a sh*t in the mailbox at 3 a.m.” Man, Stewart was spot-on with that observation.
Post-election, Stewart poked a little good-natured fun at the despondence with which people are reacting to a Trump win. But when he visited with Charlie Rose, Stewart struck a more sober note. He reflects upon the one question that journalists, along with Trump supporters and opponents, never asked him to answer: “What makes America great … what are the metrics?”
Indeed, while everyone was distracted by scandals and missing taxes, folks ignored what Trump wished to accomplish with his slogan, and Stewart feels that Trump viewed the election solely as a competition. And Stewart explains his own view of what does make America great — that this country is an “anomaly” and a “multi-cultural Democracy,” but he believes that’s exactly what the dog whistlers of the alt-right (who support Trump) aim to shut down.
However and to those who are upset about the outcome of this election, Stewart presents his frank take on the matter:
“I don’t believe we are a fundamentally different country today than we were two weeks ago. The same country with all its grace and flaws, and volatility, and insecurity, and strength, and resilience exists today as existed two weeks ago. The same country that elected Donald Trump elected Barack Obama. I feel badly for the people for whom this election will mean more uncertainty and insecurity. But I also feel like this fight has never been easy.”
Stewart also characterized Trump not as a Republican but “a repudiation of Republicans” who will never really belong to the party, “But they will reap the benefit of his victory.” Here’s a clip of Stewart’s entire appearance, chock full of analysis.