TONIGHT, THE WORLD of comedy and satire will become a poorer place as Jon Stewart leaves Comedy Central’s The Daily Show after 16 years.
Stewart will hand the reins over to Trevor Noah and the internet will try to come to terms with his departure.
What made Stewart so popular worldwide? Here are some examples.
Malala Yousafzai leaves Jon speechless
Education activist, Taliban shooting victim and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai left the host speechless with her compassion during a 2013 interview. Stewart’s reaction is genuinely moving.
I said I will tell him how important education is and that ‘I even want education for your children as well.’ And I will tell him, ‘That’s what I want to tell you, now do what you want.
Ripping on Fox News
In its mid-00s pomp, Fox News was both widely watched and wildly… crazy.
Stewart spearheaded the media fightback against the channel and his riffs on Glen Beck and Bill O’Reilly were particular delights.
O’Reilly and Stewart appeared on each others shows and gave each other as good as they got.
Sending Elmo to Guantanamo
An Elmo puppet with a beard making a succinct political point about political detainees in Guantanamo Bay and a host valiantly struggling to operate the hand puppet in split screen. Just beautiful.
Not just politics
Stewart’s scope was broad throughout his tenure. Here’s how he reacted when people sid the NFL wasn’t ready for gay player Michael Sam.
Even the President stopped by
Fans of the show will argue that the Bush II years gave it its most fertile ground, but the Obama administration wasn’t spared the rod. In his final appearance on the show, Stewart got Barack Obama to reflect on his two-term presidency.
So long, Jon.
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