Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart called Donald Trump “a repudiation of Republicans” in his first public comments since the US election.
“He’s not a Republican. He’s a repudiation of Republicans. But they will reap the benefit of his victory, in all of their cynicism,” Stewart told CBS’s This Morning co-host Charlie Rose on Thursday.
Stewart criticized Republicans leaders such as Senator Mitch McConnell and the House speaker, Paul Ryan, for the hypocrisy of ensuring the government is stuck at a standstill and then claiming that government doesn’t get anything done.
“They’re not draining the swamp,” he said. “McConnell and Ryan – those guys are the swamp.” He also added: “I will guarantee you Republicans are going to come to Jesus now about the power of government.
But the progressive funnyman remains hopeful about the “exceptional” concept of the United States.
“I don’t believe we are a fundamentally different country today than we were two weeks ago,” Stewart told Rose.
“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,” said Stewart.
The comedian also criticized liberals for lumping all Trump supporters into the category of “racist”.
“I thought Donald Trump disqualified himself at numerous points. But there is now this idea that anyone who voted for him has to be defined by the worst of his rhetoric,” Stewart said.
“Like, there are guys in my neighborhood that I love, that I respect, that I think have incredible qualities who are not afraid of Mexicans, and not afraid of Muslims, and not afraid of blacks. They’re afraid of their insurance premiums,” he said. “In the liberal community, you hate this idea of creating people as a monolith. Don’t look at Muslims as a monolith. They are the individuals and it would be ignorance. But everybody who voted for Trump is a monolith, is a racist. That hypocrisy is also real in our country.”
Stewart stepped down from the Daily Show desk in August 2015, with comedian Trevor Noah taking over the host role. Since Stewart’s departure, ratings have dropped dramatically, but Comedy Central points out that Noah is up with millennials and last month was his highest-watched month ever.
After the election, TV Line posted a column titled “If Jon Stewart Had Not Stepped Down From The Daily Show, Hillary Clinton Would Most Likely Be President”. In response, Stewart made an appearance on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee on Monday night, with Bee pointing out the article before cutting to Stewart happily coloring in a picture of a Thanksgiving turkey and ignoring politics.
