The video: After Bill Maher slammed "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart for drawing what Maher considers false parallels between extreme liberal and conservative pundits, Stewart has responded in trademark deadpan style. (See highlights from last night's "Daily Show" below.) The Comedy Central star intercut clips of Maher and other detractors of Stewart's recent D.C. rally (Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow) with a parody of Martin Scorsese's boxing classic Raging Bull featuring Stewart taking a slow-motion beating. Then Stewart drolly announced "plans" to stage a new rally on the National Mall this weekend to answer their gripes. He ended on a semi-serious note: "I disagree with their classification of [our message]. But I'm sure we'll all have a chance to clarify it on each other's programs for the next 10 years."
The reaction: Stewart dealt a roundhouse blow to his critics last night, says Ken Tucker at Entertainment Weekly, who don't seem to understand that he's "engaged in media criticism, not political activism." To use his own boxing metaphor, "Stewart remains the champ." None of Stewart's critics are actually contending with the real message of his rally, says Jason Linkins at The Huffington Post — namely, "that the singular excess of the modern media is the way they reflect American life in a distorted funhouse mirror." Watch an excerpt from "The Daily Show" here:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful ArranThe Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
China's London super-embassyThe Explainer The People's Republic wants to build a massive new embassy in central London, and a lot of people aren't happy about it
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
