As the 2024 election cycle heats up, Jon Stewart takes no prisoners calling out Republicans and Democrats for their harmful stances on immigration and the migrant crisis at the southern border.
On Monday's episode of "The Daily Show," Stewart opened snarkily, "We now return to you with your regularly scheduled election year programming." The host was ready to dig into how politicians use immigration as a tool to sway voters one way or another.
A Fox News montage with clips and voiceovers overstating the crisis at the southern border prompted Stewart to yell in fear. He responded, "Yes, every two to four years we are reminded that we have a southern border, and it is porous." Another clip from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on the conservative news channel calling migrants "criminals, rapists, murderers, child predators," was met with boos from the audience.
"There does seem to be bipartisan agreement that the border is a problem now. There were 300,000 crossings in December alone. That's an all-time high and that is not sustainable," Stewart said. "But Republicans turned down the chance to pass a strong border bill supported by the Border Patrol Union because of how confident they are that fearmongering will be an effective election year strategy. It's all about branding."
In typical fashion, the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump, has put the responsibility and blame onto President Joe Biden, saying, "We will call it from on 'Biden migrant crime.' It's 'bigrant crime' . . . That's smart, bigrant crime."
Stewart then joked, "I'm not completely sold on bigrant. It really just sounds like a migrant who's open to crossing either border." He continued, "Look there are some undocumented migrants who are committing crimes, some of them horrific. But isn't that true for every demographic? I feel pretty confident there's still a lot of opportunity out there for our American homegrown criminals."
However, this hot topic voter issue in American politics in a crucial election year has motivated both Biden and Trump to head to the border. "It was B***h-ass Cassidy versus the Sundown Kid. And Biden was fired up." Stewart said.
Over the weekend, Biden flew to Brownsville, Texas to campaign and addressed immigration and illegal border crossings. The President said, "We are the United States of America."
Stewart said, "Nailed it! He knew exactly where we are. Yes! He knew what country we were in. Bang, boom. This is the United States of America. I take back everything I said a month ago."
But in a bipartisan move, Biden publicly pled with Trump to come to a middle ground with him, "instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me or I'll join you in telling Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the olive branch has been extended across the aisle in a show of genuine desire to solve this complex and vexing issue. Trump, your response?" Stewart said.
Also in Texas, Trump, who repurposed his nickname for Hillary Clinton for Biden said, "Crooked Joe is the blood of countless innocent victims."
“Do you have to say everything that happens in your head out loud?” Stewart said with exasperation. “It’s been eight years. You f**king won! The woman’s been through enough, now you’re going to take away her nickname?”
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Additionally, Stewart, a New Yorker himself, criticized NYC mayor, Eric Adams, who also shared similar sentiments with Democrats about welcoming migrants to the U.S. But then changed his tune and said that the city had “no more room” after two busloads of migrants arrived in the city from Texas.
“So this is the terrible cycle America is caught in: Democrats whose high-minded values and principles did not survive a contact high with reality, and Republicans whose desire to solve the problem isn’t nearly as strong as their desire to exploit it,” Stewart concluded. “And no one wins.”
"The Daily Show" airs at 11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays on Comedy Central and streams on Paramount+.
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