The Daily Show was searching for comedy gold as it reacted to another late-night political firestorm.

Jon Stewart returned to host, on a Thursday no less, after Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air following comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer that caused the FCC chair Brendan Carr to threaten Disney’s ABC.

But he didn’t do what many expected, which was to mount a full-throated attack on the enemies of free speech and pay tribute to his friend Kimmel, with whom he shares a manager in James ‘Babydoll’ Dixon and who’s show he has appeared on many times.

Instead, Stewart was a “patriotically obedient” host for the entirety of the first act of The Daily Show.

“We have another fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show,” he began. “Coming to you tonight from the real shit hole, the crime-ridden cesspool that is New York City. It is a tremendous disaster like no one’s ever seen before. Someone’s National Guard should invade this place, am I right?”

Stewart referenced President Trump’s visit to the UK. “Father has been gracing England with his legendary warmth and radiance, gazed upon him with a gait even more majestic than that of the Royal horses that pranced before him, he wowed the English with charm and intelligence and an undeniable sexual charisma that filled their air like a pheromone-packed London fog,” he said.

He said the visit couldn’t have gone better for “Dear Leader” before showing a clip of British journalist Robert Peston asking him whether the suspension of Kimmel meant free speech was more under attack in Britain or the U.S.

“What outfit are you with, sir? The Antifa Herald Tribune? Why I wouldn’t even line my parents cage with your rag,” he said.

Trump’s response was that Kimmel was “fired” [note: he wasn’t fired] for not being talented.

Stewart joked that the former host of The Apprentice was using the “Talent O’Meter”.

“It’s a completely scientific instrument that is kept on the President’s desk, and it tells the President when a performer’s TQ, talent quota, measured mostly by niceness to the President, goes below a certain level, at which point the FCC must be notified to threaten the acquisition prospects for billion dollar mergers of network affiliates. These affiliates are then asked to give ultimatums to the even larger mega corporation that controls the flow of state approved content or the FCC can just choose to threaten those licenses directly. It’s basic science,” he said.

It’s all about free speech. “Some naysayers may argue that this administration’s speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel of a ruse, a smoke screen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and unitary intimidation, principledness and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic, governance. Some people would say that. Not me though I think it’s great,” he added.

The act closed with the rest of The Daily Show team including Ronny Chieng, Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, Desi Lydic, Josh Johnson, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, and Troy Iwata launching into song about how great President Trump is. 

The Daily Show’s jokes come 24 hours after ABC indefinitely preempted Jimmy Kimmel Live! following a furor around Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s killer.

On Monday, Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr subsequently called Kimmel’s comments “some of the sickest conduct possible”.

This was soon followed by local station Nexstar saying it would “preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! for the foreseeable future” as it “strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk”.

Moments later, Disney made its own decision to pause the show.