What will it take for Congress to heed Jon Stewart’s call and renew the Zadroga Act, which provides much-needed medical benefits to 9/11 first responders?
Tonight, Stewart did something that is sure to get their attention: He dressed up as Donald Trump.
After surprising the audience during his old friend Stephen Colbert’s Late Show monologue, Stewart suffered the indignity of having the host put a Trump-esque wig on his head. In lieu of makeup, Colbert rubbed Cheeto dust all over Stewart’s face.
The late night surprise follows Stewart’s last-minute appearance on his old home of The Daily Show earlier this week, where new host Trevor Noah gave him a powerful platform to make his case.
Telling Noah that portions of the Zadroga Act officially expired in September and the rest will expire by next year if Congress doesn’t act, Stewart explained, “Soon to be out of money, these first responders—many sick with cancers and pulmonary disease—had to travel at their expense to Washington, D.C., hundreds of times to plead for our government to do the right thing.”
“The only conclusion I can draw,” he added, “is that the people of Congress are not as good a people as the people who are first responders.”
