Jon Stewart Astonished That He’s ‘Nodding’ in Agreement to Tucker Carlson Videos: ‘Bizarro World’
Jon Stewart once called Tucker Carlson a “dick” to his face on national television, but now he’s astonished to find himself “nodding” in agreement with the former Fox News host.
On Stewart’s The Weekly Show podcast, he invited on CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour and former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes to discuss President Donald Trump’s reaction to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.
Trump opening the door to getting more involved in the war has led to a sharp divide among his most vocal supporters, including Tucker Carlson who recently engaged in a fiery debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on how the United States should respond to Iran. Cruz and others have argued for a more aggressive approach, including taking out Iran’s nuclear sites, while Carlson has pushed for more diplomacy in place of another war in the Middle East.
Stewart called the current situation “bizarro world” in the intro to his show, saying he’s somehow found himself aligned with the last last person anyone would expect.
“We’re in such a bizarro world. You’ve got me nodding my head to Tucker Carlson videos. You got Tucker Carlson going, ‘Why are we going to war with Iran again?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, you tell him brother!'” Stewart said. “Like, that’s how fucking upside down we find ourselves in, in this moment. And it’s all based on one distinct premise. And that is we are being led by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”
Stewart called Trump’s handling of the situation “utter incompetence” and mocked Trump’s hardline deadline for a deal to be negotiated.
“Now it’s Iran and it’s just, ‘Hey, it’s the Iran episode and I gave them 60 days because I’m the dealmaker in chief and we’re going to have a nuclear deal and, and this is all going according to plan’ and it’ utter incompetence,” he said.
Stewart’s acknowledgement of a point of agreement with Carlson is all the more surprising when one remembers the pair’s personal history. In 2004, Stewart appeared on CNN’s Crossfire, hosted by Carlson and Paul Begala. Carlson co-hosted the table-set debate show from 2001 to 2005. It was cancelled not long after Stewart made an appearance where things got contentious very quickly.
During his appearance, Stewart laid into Carlson, even calling him a “dick” at one point. Stewart trashed the show as a platform for meaningless partisanship and hack debates. He also mocked Carlson’s bow tie.
The appearance can be watched in all its glory below:
Begala would go on to pen an op-ed titled, “the day Jon Stewart blew up my show.”
“The show went off the rails and Stewart, who began by denouncing our hostile environment, was within minutes calling Tucker Carlson “a dick.” So he never got to deliver his thoughtful, insightful criticism of our show – until after the cameras were turned off,” Begala wrote, calling the episode a “debacle.”
Watch above via The Weekly Show.
