Jon Stewart did it live on “The Daily Show,” hosting a special edition of the Comedy Central talk show Thursday after the final night of the Democratic National Convention. The program aired just minutes after Kamala Harris concluded her speech accepting the party’s presidential nomination.
Stewart’s monologue covered events from the four days of DNC speeches and media coverage, but a particular target was the way conservative-leaning Fox News covered the event. The “Daily Show” host poked fun at the network’s anchors for portraying the DNC as a hokey gathering with no one talking to each other. It showed a series of contributors with quotes like “the atmosphere is off” and “this is probably the most boring scene I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, so boring,” Stewart replied. “I forgot that your life is an endless joy ride of talking to Brit Hume between catheter ads.”
Stewart also voiced some criticism of the DNC itself, particularly its decision not to include a Palestinian-American speaker amid Israel’s continued military attacks on Gaza.
“It’s actually best not to think about the consequences of our actions there,” Stewart said, drawing attention to other contradictions and errors in the convention’s unifying theme of “joy.” “They had union leaders and CEOs, Democratic party icons and lifelong Republicans. They had a guy who said, ‘Screw the billionaires,’ followed by a very happy billionaire.”
The special live edition of “The Daily Show” was a major production for Comedy Central, which covered the week-long Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The show also planned to cover the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee earlier this summer, but plans were reworked after security at the event was increased following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in July.
“I love our live shows because they really imbue the energy of what just happened,” executive producer and showrunner Jen Flanz said. Variety as he prepared for Thursday’s broadcast. “We are not a news show, and to comment on the news you need some time to process it and write a more focused account of what the night before was. That’s what ‘The Daily Show’ does.”