The Daily Show host Jon Stewart finally addressed Paramount's "shameful settlement" deal with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Following the news last week that Paramount and Trump have agreed to settle the lawsuit over the Kamala Harris 60 Minutes interview, fans have been wondering whether Stewart will offer his take on the issue, considering that The Daily Show is owned by Comedy Central's parent company, ViacomCBS, which is now owned by Paramount.
Fortunately for fans, Stewart did not disappoint.
How Did Jon Stewart React to Paramount-Trump Settlement Deal?
The Monday night (July 7) episode of The Daily Show began with a hilarious bit where Stewart was seemingly going to discuss the Paramount-Trump settlement deal.
However, his commentary was "interrupted" by the graphics: "Please stand by. Brought to you by Arby’s for when you want a sandwich commensurate with your company’s shame."
After the fake commercial, the camera cut back to Stewart, "concluding" his commentary, "That’s why it’s so wrong." Then, he realized that he was cut off.
Fortunately for fans, that wasn't the only time that Stewart referenced the settlement deal in the episode, and he wasn't going to avoid the topic despite the potential conflict with the parent company.
Later in the episode, Stewart brought in former 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft as his guest to candidly discuss the Paramount-Trump settlement deal.
What Do Jon Stewart and Steve Kroft Think of the Paramount-Trump Settlement Deal?
After Stewart and Kroft explained to the viewers the context of the Paramount-Trump settlement deal, Stewart played a clip of a Fox News interview with Trump that had a similar edit.
"I would like to know why the 60 Minutes edit was worthy of a $16 million acquiescence of what is considered the Tiffany News gold standard network for Paramount of news, where very clearly Fox just did what seems to me to be a more egregious edit?" Stewart asked.
Kroft responded, "It was a shakedown. That’s what I call it."
When Stewart asked if the "settlement [was] just a payment so that this [Paramount-Skydance] merger can go through and not be challenged by Trump’s FCC," Kroft responded, "Yes."
Stewart said, "So the implication is you don’t get your $8 billion merger, you don’t get your $2 billion payout unless you give me [Trump] a tremendous amount of money. Now, that strikes me as, and I’m obviously not a lawyer, but I did watch Goodfellas. That sounds illegal."
What do you think of Stewart's reaction? Let us know in the comments.
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