Jon Stewart rips the media for doing a 'terrible job at de-escalation'

Comedian Jon Stewart offered some pointed media criticism during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, arguing the press does a "terrible job at de-escalation."

The host of The Problem with Jon Stewart on CNN's State of the Union made the case that the media places too great a focus on stories seeking to "expose the conflict lines" in the United States. Stewart put forward this argument after Tapper asked a question referencing California recently mandating gender-neutral toy sections in stores.

"Honestly, like that law, who gives a s--t?" Stewart asked. "You know what I mean? In terms of the importance of the running of California. Yeah, it's a law — who's it really going to impact?"

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As another example, Stewart mocked people who are bothered by pop star Demi Lovato changing their pronouns to they and them, and the former Daily Show host argued this is the kind of story that doesn't matter but is still "ubiquitous" in the media.

"I think the media does a terrible job at de-escalation," Stewart said. "And de-escalation is the antidote to all this nonsense. And I don't mean civility and I don't mean nonpartisanship. I mean focusing on things that are more urgent and elemental in people's lives, and really hammering away at those things, rather than purely the emotional fault lines that occur in societies."

During the interview, Stewart also argued that it's a "mistake" to focus only on former President Donald Trump, as opposed to focusing on "systems and dynamics that have been in place long before this cat ever learned how to surf those waves."