Jon Stewart Slams Democrats for Overreacting to Trump's Executive Orders
On this week's episode of "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart criticized Democrats for labeling Donald Trump as "un-American" and "authoritarian" for signing executive orders during his first week in office.
Stewart argued that Trump was exercising his constitutional rights as president. He played a compilation of news outlets reporting on a "purge" executed by Trump, which he dismissed as sensationalism.
He noted that Trump had fired 17 government agency watchdogs known as "inspectors general," a move that Democrats labeled as a "glaring sign" of corruption. However, Stewart pointed out that Trump has the legal right to remove such agents at any time, although he failed to provide 30 days' notice and a list of reasons.
"Every action is met with a very not-equal overreaction," Stewart said. "This throws off our ability to know when shit is actually getting real."
He also criticized liberal pundits for attacking Trump's pardons, arguing that it is a president's constitutional right to grant pardons. "For some reason, we have given presidents the power of a king, and then we say, 'Well, you're not going to get all kingly and shit on us, right?'" Stewart said. "Don't hate the player, hate the founding fathers."
Stewart concluded the segment by calling on Democratic leaders to "exist outside of" Trump and articulate their own vision for the country. "How would you use this power?" he asked. "Convince us to give that power to you as soon as possible!"