Jon Stewart praises Kamala Harris' debate performance: 'She crushed that'
Jon Stewart didn't pull any punches in his presidential debate reaction.
"The Daily Show" returned live for the second debate, the first with Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee former President Donald Trump head-to-head, with Stewart starting off by calling Tuesday night's debate "refreshing" for its return to question-dodging.
"I just want to say, after surviving the PTSD of the last presidential debate, how unbelievably refreshing it is to go back to the same old, nobody's going to answer any (expletive) questions!" Stewart yelled after watching clips from the first question on the United States economy. "We're back!"
After airing Trump's comment calling Harris (via her father) a "Marxist," Stewart suggested by Harris' facial expressions that the vice president considered those fighting words.
"Oh (expletive)!" Stewart said before mock throwing jabs. "She's about to open up a can of 'ass Kapital' on Donald Trump! Linsey Davis, you better change the subject before the fingers on Kamala's hand unite."
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Jon Stewart praises Kamala Harris' answer to abortion question: 'Holy ...'
Stewart was impressed with Harris' handling of a question on the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Harris pushed back on Trump's claim that a majority of Americans and legal scholars "wanted" to end the guaranteed right to abortion.
"Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because their healthcare providers are afraid they might go to jail and she's bleeding out in a car in the parking lot," Harris said in the clip. "She didn't want that."
"Holy (expletive), she crushed that," the comedian said to applause.
Jon Stewartsays Biden is 'becoming Trumpian' amid debate fallout: 'Disappointed'
Stewart later suggested that Harris' dig at the "exhaustion" and "boredom" felt after attending Trump rallies got under the former president's skin and were also fighting words.
"Folks, the eagle has landed! She has attacked what is Donald Trump's most cherished family member: his rally crowds," Stewart said.
"Donald, remember your training. The question is about why you killed the bipartisan immigration bill. You don't need to think about the other thing," he added, setting up a clip of the Republican nominee taking Harris' bait.
Jon Stewart criticizes Trump's lack of accountability on Jan. 6 question
Stewart later reacted to Trump's claim that his only involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was that he "gave a speech" with a sobering response.
"You spent two months riling up your base that our country had literally been stolen from them through fraudulent means that you could never even get a whiff of in a court of law," Stewart said. "You abused their trust. You showed up for a speech?"
The host chided Trump for his lack of accountability.
"This man, who constantly professes to be your champion, who says they're going to have to go through him to get to you, will always, when the boat is going down, be the first into the lifeboats," Stewart said. "Because in that moment, he will always say the same thing: 'I didn't know anything about it.' Even though everybody knows he was the … captain of the ship."
He continued: "In any other country, that lack of accountability would be disqualifying."
Taylor Swift'sresponse to presidential debate? She quickly endorsed Kamala Harris.
Kamala Harris gets Taylor Swift endorsement after debate
Harris' performance spurred a highly-coveted Taylor Swift endorsement, with the pop star chiding the Trump-Vance ticket in her announcement on Instagram Tuesday night.
"I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos," Swift wrote.
