Jon Stewart Addresses Jimmy Kimmel Suspension On The Daily Show, Calls Trump's Free Speech Concerns A 'Cynical Ploy'

Jon Stewart, who typically only hosts The Daily Show on Mondays, made a special appearance behind the desk on Thursday to discuss the current state of free speech in America, particularly as it pertains to ABC's preemption of Jimmy Kimmel Live! over Kimmel's comments about the murder of Charlie Kirk.

But unlike other late-night hosts, who directly named Kimmel in their respective shows of support, Stewart took a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the hot topic. Framing the Comedy Central talker as an "administration-compliant show," he spent his special episode proving his devotion to "dear leader" President Donald Trump, complimenting his "perfectly tinted" skin and excellent taste in literature while sarcastically recapping his recent activities in the UK.

Stewart never even directly mentioned Kimmel, instead pretending he didn't know the host by referring to him using names like "Johnny Drimmel" and "Kimble," all the while obviously standing in full support.

"Our great administration has laid out very clear rules on free speech," Stewart concluded. "Some naysayers may argue that this administration's speech concerns are merely a cynical ploy, a thin gruel of a ruse, a smokescreen to obscure an unprecedented consolidation of power and utilitarian intimidation, principle-less and coldly antithetical to any experiment in a constitutional republic governance. Some people would say that. Not me, though, I think it's great!"

Stewart then threw it to The Daily Show's roster of correspondents, who expressed their own devotion to Trump by saying this in zombie-like unison: "Americans are free to express any opinion we want. To suggest otherwise is laughable. Ha. Ha. Ha. We are a nation of diverse perspectives and we are not afraid to be different."

On Wednesday, ABC announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be "preempted indefinitely" after Nexstar — which owns 33 ABC affiliates nationwide, including stations in Nashville, New Orleans and other, smaller markets — decided not to broadcast the show in light of Kimmel's comments, which a Nexstar executive called "offensive and insensitive."

Kimmel spoke about Kirk's murder in his monologue on Monday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, saying: "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it." FCC chairman Brendan Carr quickly took issue with his comments, threatening to penalize the stations airing Kimmel's show if they don't "change conduct and take action."

Stewart went nuclear on Comedy Central's own parent company Paramount back in July after CBS cancelled The Late Show, hosted by Stewart's former Daily Show colleague Stephen Colbert. Stewart pointed out to Paramount executives, as they approached a $8 billion merger with Skydance Media: "The shows that you now seek to cancel, censor, and control? A not insignificant portion of that $8 billion value came from those f–king shows. That's what made you that money." (Stewart also joined fellow late-night TV hosts like John Oliver and Jimmy Fallon for a surprise drop-in on The Late Show days after the cancellation news broke.)

Hit PLAY on the video above to watch Stewart's comments in full, then drop a comment with your own thoughts on the situation below. Did you appreciate The Daily Show's take?