Jon Stewart Makes the Case for Dems Holding the Line in Trump’s Shutdown Warfare | The Daily Show

Jon Stewart Makes the Case for Dems Holding the Line in Trump’s Shutdown Warfare | The Daily Show

Welcome to The Daily Show. My name is Jon Stewart. Man, man, and I say this
a lot, and this time, though, seriously, I mean it. I haven’t meant it in the past. We’ve got a great
show for you tonight. We truly do. Tonight we do. Later on, we’ll be
joined by technology ethicist Tristan Harris. He co-founded the Center
for Humane Technology, which involves the free-range raising
and also, unfortunately, slaughtering of iPhones. But first, let’s get
into our ongoing coverage of shutdown, showdown 2025. [APPLAUSE, CHEERING] Locked up, locked down,
and closed for business. Yes. Today is day six
of the government shutdown. As you know, it
lasts for eight days. [LAUGHTER] I may be confusing
that with Hanukkah. But so far, the effects of the
shutdown keep getting worse. REPORTER: Millions
of Americans this morning feeling the pain, experiencing
delays at airports. Food benefits to moms and young
children could dry up in days. And national parks and
monuments are partially closed. I don’t want
to hardship shame anyone. But there is a significant
gap between partially closed monuments
and your children will starve. Old people will be
forced to eat their pets. And the Department
of Treasury thermostats will have to be kept at 66. Wear a sweater. I mean, really, who’s taking
a hit on the monument thing? REPORTER: This tourist,
David, all the way from Italy, saying Alcatraz was supposed to
be the highlight of his visit to the Bay. I feel not good that because
I come from Italy for, say, Alcatraz, all the attraction. And now we can’t. Then it’s not good
feeling, not good. [LAUGHTER] Growing up in my country. I was a little boy, bambino. And I say it to my friends,
tomorrow, someday, someday I’m going to travel,
not of the 3,000 miles, not of the 5,000
miles, over the 6,000 miles to see one
day a notorious prison turned into a museum. And when I get there,
and oh, I will get there, when I get to this
notorious prison turned a museum,
on my father’s life, I am going to buy a shard of
glass, a shard of glass with– mother, if this
could happen, a shard of glass with the name of the
prison frosted under the glass. And my friends, as a kid,
they said to me, hey, Enzo, this is a big plan. When this happens, maybe you
should check the website. And then maybe you– you should make sure
it’s still open. You happy, government? Look what you did! Look what you did
to the poor fella! Yes, all! If Liberals had their way,
he’d be hosting the halftime show at the Super Bowl. Yeah, liberals! The poor guy from
Italy, he just wants– oh, I just want
to visit a museum. But if the fat cats
in DC would just get out
of their Beltway bubble, they’d hear from real
common-sense Americans about how to end this
troubling shutdown. Lock them up in a room until
they come to an agreement. Don’t let them out. [LAUGHTER] I did– I did not
see that coming. Obviously, the shutdown
is personal to Mr. Fester on disability and his hand
companion, a data analyst with the Department
of Labor management. Obviously,
if the shutdown continues, he will be forced
to return to giving hand jobs in truck stop bathrooms. Do not shame sex work! Do not shame sex work! He’s going to have a tough
enough time at the truck stop. Oh, hey, Handy! I guess that degree
didn’t work out so well, did it, college boy? Now stop [FINGERSNAPS]
snapping and start tugging. [LAUGHTER] You know, the bathroom hand
job, I was really looking forward to since the shutdown. Now, as you’ll
recall, the shutdown began because in order to pass
a budget bill in the Senate, you need 60 votes, as the
founders never mentioned. And so, Democrats
have come forth with a laundry list of demands
to force the Republicans– I’m just kidding. They want, like, two things. REPORTER: Democrats demanding
that Republicans reverse cuts to Medicaid and extend expiring
Obamacare subsidies to prevent insurance premiums from rising
for some 20 million Americans. Those bastards. It’s, like, they don’t even
want people to die of generally preventable diseases. I wonder what the seemingly
reasonable and narrow request will
sound like when put through the Fox-ometer. American taxpayers’
hard-earned dollars would be paying for
benefits for illegal aliens. To extend policy that gives
millions of illegal aliens free health care? Health care for illegals,
transgender surgery. Well, what? Did you– wait. Did you just
transgender surgery, illegal immigrant health care
just through transgender? Transgender, it’s not
just the garnish you add to every talking point. Like, you’re some
transgender salt bae. Oh, are you talking about
health care for illegals? That needs a little
trans surgery. And while people
in the country legally are not eligible for Medicaid
or for Obamacare subsidies, point taken. But the Democrats aren’t
lily-livered about this one. They’ve got their own
rhetorical arguments about the popularity
of extending these subsidies that I think
you’ll find compelling. Democrats are adamant that
we must protect the health care of the American people. [LAUGHTER] Good points. Not crazy about this. Solid framing
delivered with clarity. [LAUGHTER] Really could have done without
the whole, Americans demand. It’s just not– but if you
had stopped there, that would be great. But you’re going to keep
talking, aren’t you? Aren’t you? New data came
out today from KFF, and that is not Kentucky
Fried French fries, KFF. Could be Kentucky
French Fries, hmm? I just can’t. I know. Hmm? Who is that joke even for? Six-year-olds
that watch C-span? What the [BLEEP] are you doing? Chuck Schumer is
a human flat tire. You just can’t– Kentucky Fried French fry. Look at– look at Klobuchar,
poor Klobuchar. That is the face
of someone who talked to their dad, who
said, just please, don’t do your Indian
accent in the restaurant. That’s all I’m asking. But then dad was, like,
chicken tikka masala. And he looks at her,
and he’s like, I’m killing. But miracle of miracles,
despite talking points being delivered
by Hackie Mason here, Republicans are feeling
pressured to defend their health care intentions. And House Speaker Mike
Johnson is more than up to the task of reassuring
America that to serve man is not a cookbook but,
in fact, a totally innocent double meaning. Let me look right
into the camera and tell you very clearly,
Republicans are the ones concerned about health care. Republicans are the party
working around the clock every day to fix health care. [AUDIENCE BOOS] No, no. It’s OK. That’s not technically
looking right into the camera. [LAUGHTER] Technically, I’m
doing that right now. I’m looking right
into the camera right now. You saying “I’m going
to look right at you” and then never
looking at us suggests a little struggling with
the conscience and the truth. Your Honor, let me be clear. It was a consensual
use of baby oil. [LAUGHTER] Was– no, I had to buy cases
of it because it spoils. But, you know,
Republicans have always been very sincere about being
the party of great health care. We are going to be
submitting in a couple of weeks a great health care
plan that’s going to take the place of the
disaster known as Obamacare. Boom! And while that was
only nine years ago, to be fair, when they promised
to release their health care plan, they didn’t realize
how controversial it would be. [LAUGHTER] [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Back then, he drew
titties on everything. [LAUGHTER] It seems like after
eight long months, the Democrats finally have
themselves a specific ask, finally have themselves
a small amount of leverage to accomplish this
specific ask and an ask that is somewhat popular
with the American people, which means clearly
this is a mistake. I call upon my colleagues
in the Republican Party to explain why. I think Mr. Schumer
made a mistake. I think he marched his
troops up into a box canyon. I don’t know what that means. [LAUGHTER] Yes, is Charles
Schumer shrewdly protecting health care
premiums, or is he Custer at his last stand? [LAUGHTER] Any whimsical folksy
but not massacre-y folksy? Once you shut
down government, you’ve got to figure out
how to get it back open. A wise person once said,
if you pray for rain, you gotta be prepared
to deal with the mud. [LAUGHTER] Touché. [LAUGHTER] Who was that wise
sage who said that? Confucius? A bard of the South, perhaps? Lear? When you pray for rain, you
gotta deal with the mud, too. [LAUGHTER] [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Well done, sir. Throughout all these
obscure colloquialisms, can the news media
cut through, what is exactly the concern If
Democrats stand on principle? Do you worry
your fellow Democrats are walking into a trap? Democrats just marched
into a shutdown trap. I think they
walked into a trap. –stepping into a trap. –stright into a trap. It’s a trap! [LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE] I have to come
clean about something. I added that last
clip in there. [LAUGHTER, CHEERS] You’re Welcome. And let me say this,
and I mean this sincerely. Adding “it’s a trap” is
probably not fair to the media or to the larger
discussion of our troubled health care system. But mostly, I believe,
adding that clip isn’t fair to Admiral Ackbar. [LAUGHTER] Admiral Ackbar served this
galaxy with distinction. He does not deserve
to have such a distinguished career
reduced to one catchphrase or a flippant punchline. Gial Ackbar rose from
the hardscrabble backwaters of Coral Depths City
to lead the Mon Calamarians in rebellion against
the empire, a perilous and fraught journey where Akbar
once had to escape capture during the Quarren
insurgency to lead his forces to the decisive
victory at the storied Battle of Jakku. [LAUGHTER] A hero like that
deserves to be remembered for his accomplishments, for
his bravery, for his service, and for his sacrifice. And by the way, all
of that information was brought to you by You’re
Never Getting Laid. [LAUGHTER, CHEERS] Yes! You’re never getting laid. If you recognize any of that
shit that I just talked about, you’re never getting laid! [LAUGHTER, CHEERS] And if you think learning
any of that information about Admiral Ackbar
will get you laid– It’s a trap! Exactly! [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Today’s episode is like
four one-man shows. [LAUGHTER] By the way, we
didn’t even defi– what is the trap the Democrats
have walked themselves into? REPORTER: President Trump
warning mass layoffs of federal workers are coming. We’d be laying
off a lot of people that are going
to be very affected, and they’re Democrats. They’re going to be Democrats. A lot of good can come
down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot
of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things. REPORTER: Trump writing,
“I can’t believe the radical left
Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. So the trap is,
if the Democrats shut down the government, Donald
Trump takes advantage of the situation and begins
to, I don’t know, trim programs
Democrats care about. Or maybe Donald Trump might
let go of some federal workers. Or Donald Trump might
eliminate funding, but only for blue states. Or Donald Trump might [BLEEP]
send in the National Guard, but only into blue areas. In other words, to continue
doing all this shit, Trump has not needed
any provocation or pretense or reason
to already have been doing. Lo these past, God, it
feels like [BLEEP] 80 years. And yet somehow
the Republicans have the balls to continue to insist that the
secondhand urine on our legs is rain. It is a regrettable situation
that but the president does not want. Democrats are the ones who
have decided to inflict the pain, not the president. The president– the president
takes no pleasure in this. Bullshit! The president takes
no pleasure in this? The president takes
only pleasure. Given the president’s
vascular condition, this might be the only
thing keeping him hard. I swear to you. His catchphrase was
literally “you’re fired.” His only reason for getting up
in the morning is vengeance. Trump has been steamrolling
over the Democrats and the law so consistently since day
one of the presidency, the nation’s pundits
and legal experts are running out of ways to describe it. The legality of this
is very much unclear. –some sort
of legal gray area. –extraordinarily
shaky legal ground. –not technically
currently illegal. There’s a lot
of questionable legality. –considered by legal
experts to be legally dubious. While Trump is not
technically violating the law, he’s violating
the spirit of our laws. [LAUGHTER] Word to the wise,
especially those programming sometimes rather technical
and dense discussions of legal issues, you’re
going to want to leave the donut B-roll on the floor. [LAUGHTER] But trying to listen
to a lawyer the whole time, I’m like, is he going
to hit that mother-[BLEEP]? [LAUGHTER] Look, man, 75 million
Americans voted for a Democrat in this last round
of presidential elections, and at this moment,
they have zero power at the federal level– not in
the House, not in the Senate, not in the executive,
and not in the courts. There has not been a moment
of conciliation or concern about the issues and policies
that drove those 75 million votes, not a moment. At present, the Democrats
largest victory over these past eight
months is getting a guy who may or may not be a
criminal back from El Salvador so Trump could
send him to Uganda. That was the big win. And then suddenly
a small ask for people’s preservation of health care
is a Molotov tough cocktail. Because apparently Republicans
won’t be satisfied with 99.8% domination. They must have it all. ICE went from
deporting the worst of the worst to throwing
grandmothers onto linoleum and zip-tying American children. And everyone’s
just supposed to be cool with the new,
masked, incredibly well-funded
paramilitary group, and Democrats are just
reduced to petty gestures of restroom resistance. Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted that she was
blocked from entering a city building in Illinois. Victory is ours! [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] Look, I’ve given Democrats
an enormous amount of shit for their poor leadership. Lack of specific and actionable
plans, terrible messaging, abysmal wordplay. Did I mention poor leadership? But standing up for 75 million
Americans in this moment to defend the rights
of people to go into a little less medical
debt seems like the least they can [BLEEP] do. And perhaps– [CHEERS, APPLAUSE] And perhaps maybe
that will remind the Republicans that
their mandate wasn’t 100%. They’ve just caught a
constitutional, administrative, and logistics break. Because if this continues,
as a wise man once said– –it’s a feeling a-not a good.

Jon Stewart dives into the emerging effects of the government shutdown, the battle over healthcare that has Republicans and Democrats pointing fingers, and Trump’s delight in using the shutdown to continue steamrolling Democrats and the Constitution. #DailyShow #JonStewart #Trump

0:00 – Jon Stewart’s TDS Welcome
0:48 – Government Shutdown Felt From Airports to National Parks
4:32 – Citizens Comment on how Shutdown Affects Them
6:17 – Republicans Reject Demands of Democrats for Budget
7:46 – Chuck Schumer Speaks Up for Democrats Amid Shutdown
10:22 – House Speaker Mike Johnson Claps Back at Democrats’ Healthcare Claims
12:25 – Republicans Criticize Democrats’ Healthcare Demands
16:37 – Trump to Lay off Democrats During Shutdown

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