“The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart expressed worry this week that the Trump administration’s lawsuit against CBS News could also result in the end of his show, as well as pain for the country.
In an interview on “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Stewart slammed President Donald Trump’s pending lawsuit against CBS News and its parent company Paramount, saying it’s merely a way to get major corporations to grovel before the president’s agenda.
“But what you’re seeing now is, all must pay tribute to the king,” he said, elsewhere accusing other U.S. corporate leaders of paying Trump “protection money” to survive.
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Trump sued CBS News and Paramount – also Comedy Central’s parent company – for $10 billion in October over allegations of election interference involving the “60 Minutes” interview of then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired weeks before the presidential election (the amount has since jumped to $20 billion).
Both Trump and Paramount have entered mediation, which could conclude at any time.
Stewart brought up the topic during the interview, saying that he’s comfortable hosting “The Daily Show” on Monday nights up “until, you know, the company is bought out by people that don’t want anything to do with ‘The Daily Show.'”
“And then who the f— knows what’s going to happen. I mean, look what they’re doing now to ’60 Minutes’ and CBS News and everything else,” he added.
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Host Bill Simmons remarked that both of them, along with other media pundits, are “in an area now that we’ve never been in my lifetime.”
“Oh, it’s insane,” Stewart replied. He predicted that the media landscape they’re a part of might not exist in the future because of the president’s lawsuit, which he went on to criticize.
“Now you can make comments about, ‘Well, I think I didn’t like the way they edited it in the way that oftentimes people don’t like the way they edited it. But it certainly doesn’t rise to the level of libel, slander, or whatever the f— else they’re doing with a $2 billion lawsuit.”
Stewart defended the way the CBS News show edited the Harris interview, adding, “It’s a purely subjective editorial decision.”
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He called out other networks and business moguls for cooperating with the Trump administration, accusing them of bribing the president so that he avoids harassing them.
“And the price of peace is different. You know, ABC had to pay $15 million. Bezos had to pay $40 million for a documentary on Melania. Zuckerberg had to pay – they just put money into the pot, so hopefully they don’t get… What does that remind you of?”
“Michael Corleone,” Simmons responded, naming the main character from the “Godfather” films. “Right,” Stewart replied. “It’s protection money.” Later, he referred to it as “bribery.”
He continued, “So ultimately, at the end of this, does Trump burn our f—— country down for insurance money? Like where are we headed?”
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