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Jon Stewart is ready for this election season, are you?

Jon Stewart has returned to "The Daily Show" after nine years.
Jon Stewart has returned to "The Daily Show" after nine years.

I love “The Daily Show,” America’s only source for news, the satirical platform for people to openly criticize political leaders and world conflicts with humor and genuineness. 

I started watching the show when I was 15, during the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton election year in 2016. Trevor Noah was the new host at this time, and I never understood the controversy about him being the new host — he was amazing.

Now ,we’re in a new era —  well, the same era in American politics — but in a different form.  Jon Stewart says it better when he introduces the presidential candidates as “these fucking guys.” 

I loved Stewart’s perspective on the state of U.S. politics. Since we’ve experienced the Trump presidency and the Biden presidency in full, Stewart shares a newer critique of both candidates than Trevor Noah could back in 2016. 

Stewart’s return to sitting behind a desk, telling his audience exactly what to think and do, hasn’t been as well received as he hoped, based on a post from Mary Trump and other influential figures.. He hosted the show from 1999–2015, and decided to leave the show to spend more time with his family right before the 2016 election year. 

He mentioned during his second Monday hosting the show that people don’t like his two-sided approach to our presidential election season, quoting some inflammatory X (formerly known as Twitter)  posts. My favorite response from him: “We know what they say, democracy dies in discussion.”

Jon Stewart is exactly who we need for this upcoming election season. 

With several  global issues happening at once, and the volatile political climate, many people don’t have a way to discuss topics like the war in Ukraine or the Palestine-Israel conflict or why we have two of the oldest men running for the leader of the United States. Stewart’s version of “The Daily Show” is the best outlet for these discussions. 

He frames each issue in a light, comedic way that helps me see the greater picture of global politics. You can’t change the world alone, so why not talk about it with people? You can start discussing their perspective and move forward from there. 

I loved talking about “The Daily Show” with relatives who disagreed with my ideas about politics because it gave me an avenue for starting the discussion. Having people like Stewart addressing relevant issues helps push conversations forward to understanding people’s opinions without judgment.

Maybe some people can’t handle Stewart’s crude humor about serious global issues. But I know that I wouldn’t want anyone else to run “The Daily Show” during the 2024 election season. We need someone with some rational sense, but someone who also likes to have some fun in the midst of madness. 

Thank you, Jon, for returning to your former state of glory sitting behind a desk, giving us the news as you see it.

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@earlgreyincense 

elizonar@miamioh.edu