Jon Stewart has some thoughts about the pet-eating rumors Donald Trump amplified during the presidential debate. According to the Daily Show host, “in any other political campaign,” this would be a career-ending controversy.
Stewart made the comments on the latest episode of his podcast The Weekly Show With Jon Stewart. “In any other environment, if you stood on the stage, true or not, and just shouted, ‘Immigrants are eating dogs and people’s pets!’” would have been a race-ending moment like Howard Dean’s infamous scream in 2004.
“Howard Dean was a little loud with a scream,” Stewart continued, giving examples—“Michael Dukakis somewhat answered a question intemperately,” during a debate which also ruined his chances at the presidency.
ADVERTISEMENT
But Stewart pointed out that despite those relatively tiny gaffes in comparison to Trump’s comments about migrants, nothing seems to move Trump’s base. “[Any other candidate] would be done,” Stewart said. “It doesn't seem to have any impact in any way, shape, or form on his political fortune.”
That said, Stewart did point out that despite that “immovable” base support Trump seems to hold no matter what he does or says, his opponent Kamala Harris seems to represent a kind of “kryptonite” to the former president.
“What has been the Trump or far-right kryptonite, it would seem to me, is the court system,” Stewart explained. “Anybody can say anything about anything on the radio or on Fox News [outside of] the false claims about dominion and getting sued—but it’s very clear that when they talk about, ‘oh, the fraudulent voting, and there were so many illegal immigrants,’ when they go to court [about those issues], they get thrown out because they have no proof,” he said. “I do think her style as a prosecutor, Kamala Harris in some ways embodies a little bit of that kryptonite.”
