Jon Stewart Objects to Jen Psaki Branding Joe Rogan, Theo Von Part of ‘Trump Enterprise’

Jon Stewart pushed back on Jen Psaki calling podcasters like Joe Rogan and Theo Von part of a right-wing “ecosystem” feeding the “Trump enterprise” as the pair discussed the future of progressives and the media.

During the latest episode of The Weekly Show, Stewart accused progressives of falling far behind conservatives when it comes to the media and culture, at one point joking, “Four hours of Joe Scarborough shouldn’t be allowed in this country!”

“I do think there should be some semblance of an idea that, look, they’re kicking progressive ass right now. And if progressives don’t organize their media, their think tanks, and all that, it’s going to continue to happen. It’s chaos,” he said.

Psaki argued that the left does not have a media “ecosystem” like the right does, which she argued feeds into the “Trump enterprise.” Rogan, however, did not agree with Psaki’s two examples of this ecosystem: Rogan and Von.

Rogan has been a hot topic of debate for political pundits since the 2024 presidential election where he threw a last-minute endorsement at President Donald Trump. That endorsement followed a three hour interview between the two, and Rogan has not been shy about how similar plans to interview then-Vice President Kamala Harris fell apart.

Von, known for his frequent Rogan appearances, also got slightly more political during the election, interviewing Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and others.

Rogan objected to the comedians being lumped into a “right ecosystem,” noting that the vast majority of their shows do not touch on politics at all. What gets amplified, the Daily Show host argued, from their podcasts is what feeds the perception they are more political than they actually are.

Check out the exchange below:

JON STEWART: “Tour hours at Joe Scarborough shouldn’t be allowed in this country! And then, like, Rachel Maddow, it’s schizophrenic at times. Like, yeah, I do think there should be some semblance of an idea that, look, they’re kicking progressive ass right now. And if progressives don’t organize their their media, their think tanks and all that, it’s going to continue to happen. It’s chaos.”

JEN PSAKI: “Well, I will say, broadly speaking, what Democrats — it’s not Democrats, I’m going to say people on the left — do not do that the right does very well is support within the system each other. And what I mean by this is this. Theo Von appears on Joe Rogan show, right? He promotes what Joe Rogan’s doing, but they all promote all of the things each other are doing and what the elected officials, I guess, are doing, too. And the left is a little bit more kind of discombobulated in terms of supporting the different entities on the left. There is not a left ecosystem that matches the right ecosystem.”

STEWART: “But Ailes didn’t do that either. It was it was the principle, the ideological principles, not the party. He and Murdoch, the same way, they’re promoting an ideological worldview that they believe is correct. And Theo Von and Joe Rogan, I think are different animals than any of this. Like, I wouldn’t say they’re — I don’t think they’re part of any machine.”

PSAKI: “Don’t you think — but they are still in the right-wing ecosystem, wouldn’t you agree?”

STEWART: “No, I would consider them in a more probably libertarian comedic complex, you know, more along the lines of and if you watch or listen to their shows, a lot of times it’s just pure like goofing off.”

PSAKI: “Has nothing to do with politics and they are oftentimes—”

STEWART: “Almost entirely.”

PSAKI: “But they are supportive of the Trump enterprise is what I mean. So maybe I’m loosely putting them in that category.”

STEWART: “I think they are supportive, but they are not relentless in the Trump enterprise. Like, they are not Charlie Kirk. They are not Ben Shapiro. They are very different animals. They are not invested in. Now the shit that you get picked up and like go to the headlines at Mediaite, yeah. But on balance, that’s not what their shows are about.”

Watch above via The Weekly Show.