Jon Stewart returns for a brief appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show to serve up his usual spiel. His target, this time around? GOP senators slamming President Biden’s decision to freeze arms shipment to Israel.
For starters, Stewart’s approach has always been to ridicule those conservatives who he sees as reacting too strongly, referring to their actions as causing unnecessary anxiety. He then draws attention to a clip of Fox News’s Sean Hannity lamenting over a moral failing on America’s part, an outrage that Stewart quickly plays down. Classic move, isn’t it?
Loudly declaring his disbelief, Stewart then draws attention to Biden’s controversial move of pausing bomb deliveries to Israel. With a sprinkle of sarcasm, he comments on the significance of this single shipment of 3,500 munitions compared to the 300,000 already unloaded on Gaza. A sentiment clearly shared by GOP senators as evidenced by their public condemnation of the move.
Ted Cruz, making no qualms, labels Biden as Hamas and Hezbollah’s “greatest friend.” Stewart takes the opportunity here to rub salt into the wound by referring to the situation as immature.
The crux of the matter lies in Biden’s statement of withdrawing support should the Israeli forces proceed to attack population centers. To Stewart, this part is the most hypocritical. He points out that Israel is in essence, a population center and has been for times immemorial. This move by Biden, supported by Stewart’s commentary, indirectly implies that a city held by enemies is considered a lost battle, quite a skewed conclusion if you ask me.
All in all, Stewart’s appearance on The Daily Show seems to follow the ambit of his comedic and politicized jibes, proving that nothing much has changed. The actual implications of Biden’s actions, however, have been downplayed in the face of ridicule and sarcasm. It’s high time we moved past the punchlines and glanced at the clear picture, which paints a different scenario altogether. Now that’s something to mull over.
