Jon Stewart didn’t hold back when he said he decided to come back to Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” as host after a nearly nine-year hiatus.
During Stewart’s “CBS Mornings” appearance on Monday, he said returning to the show would give him a “place to unload thoughts as we get into this election season.” He will host on Monday nights through the 2024 presidential election, beginning February 12.
The move comes after Apple TV+ and Stewart decided to part ways after two seasons of “The Problem With Jon Stewart” over creative differences, The Hollywood Reporter noted.
“I thought I was going to do it over at — they call it Apple TV+,” Stewart said. “It’s a television enclave, very small. It’s like living in Malibu. They decided, they felt that they didn’t want me to say things that might get me in trouble.”
Stewart admitted he’s unsure if his return could influence the election and joked, “Who better to comment on this election than someone who truly understands two aging men past their prime?”
Starting tonight, @jonstewart is back at @TheDailyShow anchor desk on Mondays through the 2024 election cycle.
He shares why he’s taking on a second term: “Who better to comment on this election than someone who truly understands two aging men past their prime?” pic.twitter.com/WSOBtSmrdj
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 12, 2024
“…but I’m hoping to have a catharsis and a way to comment on things and a way to express them that hopefully people will enjoy,” Stewart said. “But as far as influence, and you guys know this from doing this, just about everything I had wanted to happen over the 16 years that I was at ‘The Daily Show’ did not happen, if you were hoping for influence.”
“And I think I’ve learned that post-‘Daily Show’ … I don’t really view it as I really want to have an influence on this issue, this election,’ things like that,” he added.
Speaking ahead of his official return, Stewart spoke with “The Daily Show’s Ears Edition podcast” about his comeback, THR noted.
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“If you want to be present in this world, you have to be present in this conversation and you have to be as relentless and as tenacious as the counter-narrative that’s being formed,” Stewart said.
“So much of the information that we see now is weaponized … and it keeps taking exponential leaps,” he added. “It’s not just the election. It’s AI. It’s the way that we’ve militarized all our conflicts.”
“It all ties together to one larger idea, which is the form of government we love so much is an analog — I don’t want to say dinosaur — but it is analog and the world now moves at an increasingly infinite digital pace and reconciling those two things, I think, is the challenge of the moment for people,” Stewart continued.