Jon Stewart detailed the hypocrisy of conservative media’s condemnation of cancel culture on Monday’s episode of The Daily Show, pointing out that their “boy king” Trump has cancelled numerous opponents who have dared to speak against him.
The late-night host opened his monologue with news of the backlash Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker garnered after delivering a speech to Benedictine College’s 2024 graduate class in which he encouraged women to embrace their roles as wives and homemakers rather than putting their degrees to use. Stewart zeroed in on how conservative media reacted to the criticism, playing clips of right-wing media pundits claiming the left was fueling an attack on free speech.
Stewart noted that conservative media have devoted an entire industry to “complaining about not being able to say the things they say all the time,” adding that “their victimhood is the entire brand.”
After rolling footage of Sean Hannity humorously declaring that he was not the type of person to become outraged alongside clips of Hannity promoting stories that would make “your blood boil,” Stewart stated the universal truth: “In our modern social media driven society our interactions are incentivized and monetized for outrage, and it is fucking exhausting for everyone.”
“We are surrounded by and inundated with more speech than has ever existed in the history of communication, and it is all weaponized by professional outrage hunters of all stripes,” he continued. Yet contrary to “conservatives’ victimization complex,” Stewart said there is “no organized canceled culture conspiracy, where even the slightest misstep can 100 percent get someone on the right cancelled.”
He added there was one exception, “The only one cancelling people on the right is Donald Trump,” before rolling clips of Republicans Chris Christie, Will Hurd, and Mitt Romney being booed on stage after criticizing the four time-indicted former president.
To drive the point home, the Daily Show host referenced former Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s private messages where he called Trump “a demonic force, a destroyer,” while spreading Trump’s election lies on national television.
“Truth is, Trump is the real cancel culture — emphasis on ‘cult,’ because on the right, you can say whatever the fuck you want about gay people, and trans people, from Tik Tok to Patreon,” said Stewart. “But if you ever dare speak one iota against Donald Trump, be, yes, afraid.”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
