Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, the #1 ranked program on Comedy Central, with over one million viewers per episode, has spoken out against the genocide in Gaza and called out warmongers like Donald Trump. He has been applauded for reflecting attitudes of the anti-war majority in a way that our public officials do not. It undoubtedly helps our movement when high-profile figures like Stewart amplify our message.
We were both surprised and concerned then when Stewart, jokingly or not, parroted pro-war talking points just days after Trump and Netanyahu launched an unprovoked war on Iran as Iran was engaged in negotiations with the U.S. Sign the letter to Jon Stewart!
Dear Jon Stewart,
Shortly after the U.S. and Israel launched a war on Iran, you rightfully criticized the actions of the Trump and Netanyahu regimes on your show, The Daily Show. We sincerely thank you for the anti-war stances you've taken over the years. Your segment about the war on Iran highlighted both the absurdity of U.S. regime change wars specifically and of war more broadly — is critical in times like these.
Your platform is massive and incredibly important. Your political messages, satirical or not, have a considerable impact on people, which is why we are reaching out to you.
In a recent segment, you discussed Iran's response to the U.S. and Israel's attacks. One attack on Iran killed their top political leaders, and another carried out by the U.S. targeted a girls' elementary school, killing over 165 little girls. In response, Iran started launching attacks against U.S. military installments in the Gulf countries. Of course, these exist to encircle Iran and ensure U.S. military dominance over the whole region. They store equipment, move troops, and serve as launching pads for U.S. attacks. We know you know this, though, because your segment included a video in your segment saying that Iran's attacks were conducted against the U.S. military — not Gulf countries broadly. After all, Iran has not killed the Gulf's political leaders or bombed its elementary schools. Yet you compared Iran's retaliation to the actions of an irrational man in a bar fight, swinging at anyone and everyone. This, of course, is what Trump wants the American public to think to justify his war — that he is dealing with an irrational actor that will lash out and attack its neighbors for no reason at all.
We are aware that your show is comedic. However, as someone who represents a significant anti-war voice and has very common sense ideas that reflect the American public opinion, this analysis conveyed through the joke was concerning. Especially when Iran was under the impression that talks with the United States were going well, and that a deal might be reached soon (as you state at the beginning of your segment). This narrative is regurgitating talking points from the Trump Administration that started this war in the first place, and wants Americans to believe that Iran is attacking the rest of the world out of no where. It plays into the hands of the Trump officials who want this war to go on longer, for more Americans to die, and for the American public to buy into the scary enemy that they paint Iran to be. All while ignoring the fact that over and over again, it's been the United States via the Trump Administration that's abandoned negotiations with Iran, not the other way around.
We know your heart is against war and militarism and that you don't support this or other wars. We urge you to continue being a voice against regime change wars and to keep making people laugh even in such dark times, which is increasingly difficult these days. In those attempts, however, we ask you to be mindful of your framing — and to resist being used as a tool for dishonest, sadistic war criminals.