Jon Stewart Addresses Defeated 9/11 First Responders Bill With Segment: “I Give Up”

Last week the House of Representatives defeated a bill that aimed to provide over $7 billion in aid to first responders of the attacks on 9/11 who have been negatively effected by toxins in the air. Rep. Anthony Weiner‘s fiery speech on the House floor over the bill received a lot of attention for the rare emotion he displayed. Last night, Jon Stewart discussed Weiner’s speech, and broke down the reasons behind it in a new segment called “I Give Up.”

While Mr. Stewart is extremely well-regarded for his comedy stylings, he’s just as well received for his thoughtful and consistent, cut-through-the-bullshit commentary on news, politics and cultural issues in general. So while the following segment has plenty of laughs, it also includes a somewhat surprisingly angry Stewart, for which the 9/11 first responders bill appears to transcend traditional political rhetoric. And rightly so.

Given that Stewart lives in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, just a few short blocks from Ground Zero, and was likely personally witness the heroic actions of the first responders, one can certainly understand his anger. In fact, Stewart there is a fairly clear jump cut in the middle of the segment where Stewart appears to have gone off script, calling Rep. Kevin Brody (R – TX) “asshole” for opposing the bill, which is followed by “sorry, this makes me angry.’ Producers of the show likely shortened the segment in post-production to meet Comedy Central’s timing requirements.

Another, lighter, reason for Stewart’s personal connection to this story is that it features a close and old friend, Rep. Weiner. Stewart revealed int he segment that he and the Queens Congressman once shared a summer rental together, though he added its “not as gay as it sounds.”