When former Daily Show host Jon Stewart appeared before Congress on Tuesday to make his case for extending the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, he noted how few members had shown up to the hearing. “Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders,” he said, “and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress.”
Among the subcommittee members missing was California congressman and 2020 Democratic contender Eric Swalwell.
“Because he’s off running for president and I understand that,” The View’s Meghan McCain said on Wednesday’s show. “But I do think that when you’re talking about 9/11 first responders more people should be showing up to those hearings.”
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Pushing back, Joy Behar said it’s “more about funding than attending,” to which McCain responded, “I think listening is important.”
Swalwell, who supports the funding bill, told Time magazine on Tuesday that he was at the Department of Justice—and not “off running for president,” as McCain put it—when the hearing took place. “I get pulled in different directions,” Swalwell said, adding of Stewart, “I appreciate his vigor and passion on the issue.”
McCain, who said she watched The Daily Show every night through high school and college, also had high praise for Stewart.
“I trust him, in a way that I don’t any other late-night host,” she said, alluding to her complicated feelings about Seth Meyers. “And I commend him for his commitment to this, and for his emotion, because it’s valid. And when he’s saying something like this, we as Americans should listen.”
