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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'A new era of hurricanes'Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
-
How Britain's demographic is changingA 50-year record population increase was fuelled by greater migration
-
The story of Japanese jeweller TasakiThe Blend A revival in the use of pearls in fashion and jewellery design places heritage brand Tasaki centre stage
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockadeSpeed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attemptSpeed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPBSpeed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion banSpeed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling BiblesSpeed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitnessIn Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
