Donald Trump became president for the second time yesterday, offering a lot of comedic fodder for Jon Stewart on the latest episode of The Daily Show. The late-night host recapped the inauguration, calling it “this most historic vibe shift of a day.” Stewart began his monologue by explaining how Trump returned to the same room where he incited a riot only four years ago.
“Now, generally, if this were a Dateline documentary, he would return to that room to express a form of repentance in maturity and acknowledgement of the pain that had been wrought on that terrible day,” Stewart said. “But in this show that we’re filming now, it’s to be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.”
He recounted how strange it was for outgoing president Joe Biden to join Trump for tea before the inauguration. “I’m not saying Biden should have done his own insurrection, but there’s got to be a happy medium between storming the Capitol and ‘Would you like a crumpet?’” Stewart noted.
The inauguration was attended by numerous people, including the Supreme Court, Trump’s family, and several U.S. senators. “But not to worry, also attending were all those people who warned Americans to shun this wannabe fascist dictator called Trump,” Stewart said, showing footage of lawmakers like Bernie Sanders and former president Barack Obama. “Look at me, Ma. Oh, let’s go see Hitler and get a quick selfie first.” He added, “Mike Pence showed up, I guess to let the crowd finish the job.”
Also there: the tech industry. Or, as Stewart described them, a “plethora of stocky, bald billionaires who also seem to go to the same biohack life extension clinic and say, ‘Give me the Lex Luthor.’” He quipped, “Shouldn’t this gathering be happening in a volcano’s lair near Zurich? Or are we just open-sourcing the Illuminati now?”
One of those billionaires, Elon Musk, had the opportunity to speak during the events of the days, which led an online fervor after he made what looked like a Nazi-inspired salute on stage. “Charitably, I’m going to say that was just an awkward ‘my heart goes out to you’ gesture,” Stewart responded, miming what that gesture might look like when done normally. “Even Taylor Swift has done that.”
“But, listen, it’s a fucking nerve-wracking day,” he continued. “You’re not normally a public speaker. It’s a one-off gesture. Please try not to use it again.” Stewart then played footage of Musk making the gesture towards the crowd a second time. “Son of bitch,” he said. “You really want to make sure the people in the back see it, I guess. I’m just going to be generous and say maybe that was Elon’s attempt at dabbing on the haters.”
Stewart recapped the swearing-in ceremony, during which Trump refused to place his hand on the Bible, as is traditional. “Obviously because one or the other would burst into flames,” Stewart replied. “Perhaps both. And so, ladies and gentlemen, the torch has been passed from Biden to Trump. Yes, the torch has been passed to the same generation of Americans.”
Elsewhere during his monologue, Stewart reflected on how much of the media treated the inauguration like a normal transfer of power without questioning it.
“So the takeaway of this entire day was a man who tried to overthrow the government has been peacefully handed the reins of power and the outgoing president has started a new tradition of blanket pardoning everyone in his orbit,” Stewart said. “The two men creating a magnificent snake sucking its own dick cycle of no accountability.”