On Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show,” an increasingly exasperated Jon Stewart took a long look at what Donald Trump is actually like versus the lies about his character his supporters choose to believe. And at one point, after a particularly risible contradiction, Stewart declared that hearing Trump speak about working people is “like watching ‘A Christmas Carol’ in reverse.”
The bit began with Stewart ribbing undecided voters by pretending to be one. “It’s basically me and six people who were kicked in the head by very powerful horses.”
From there, he spent some time making fun of the unrelenting media pressure on Harris to provide “details” about her policies. Then he showed multiple instances of her doing just that, and then still other instances of media figures insisting she hasn’t.
After that, he played footage from multiple recent Trump appearances in which he was repeatedly given chances to speak specifically about his policies, and instead rambled incoherently while firing off half-baked insults and several proven lies.
(During this bit, Stewart performed a fun visual joke in which he tried to draw on a chart tracking Trump’s statements over time.)
“Clearly, what people like about Donald Trump is not his clear, specific policies as they demand from Kamala Harris,” Stewart continued. “Hey, I’m still open. I’m an undecided voter. You know, because the horse kick in the head. Let’s hear some of Trump’s passionate supporters explain what they see as his strengths.”
At that, he played footage of various Trump surrogates and supporters talking about what they claim is their reasons for supporting Trump. Among them, that Trump is the “candidate of the working man.”
Joking, “he’s our best friend. Donald Trump is the champion of hardworking men and women. He’s behind every kind of worker, from auto to sex,” Stewart then played several instances of Trump bragging about and joking about treating actual working people horribly.
“I say, every time Trump talks about workers, it’s like watching ‘A Christmas Carol’ in reverse. ‘I just fired these three ghosts who are trying to get overtime!’ So the supporting the working man thing is nonsense,” Stewart said.
“What other things do his supporters like about him?” Stewart mused. Cue several clips of people saying Trump is anti-war, followed by clips of Trump stating publicly the exact opposite, then clips of people saying Trump is a “free speech” guy, followed by multiple examples of him proving the opposite.
“And so we find ourselves not in a dilemma, but in a bit of a conundrum. The qualities and policies that people profess to be what they admire and love about former President Trump don’t seem to be an accurate reflection of said former president. It’s as though they’ve created a fictional character, a Bizarro-Trump whose accomplishments and character bear little resemblance to the self aggrandizing perpetual victim guy he continues to tell you explicitly that he is. It makes you wonder, what country does Donald Trump think he’s running to lead?” Stewart continued.
At that, he ran clips of Trump bashing the United States and lying about the crime rate and the economy.
“I see this fictional Trump, who is portrayed as much better than he actually is, is running to be president of a country he paints as much worse than it actually is. But I gotta tell you, whatever country that is, where families are routinely murdered several times while making breakfast, could really use actual Trump. The rest of us, not so much,” Stewart concluded.
Watch the whole clip below: