An exasperated Jon Stewart condemned Republicans on Monday’s episode of The Daily Show on Comedy Central for not folding to Democratic demands to end the government shutdown because, in his mind, Democrats simply oppose people dying.
Stewart teed up a clip of ABC White House correspondent Rachel Scott by insisting Democrats are not demanding much, “Now, as you'll recall, the shutdown began because in order to pass a budget bill in the Senate, you need 60 votes. As the Founders never mentioned. And so, Democrats have come forth with a laundry list of demands to force the Republicans—I'm just kidding—they want, like, two things.”
In the video, Scott claimed Democrats are “demanding that Republicans reverse cuts to Medicaid and extend expiring Obamacare subsidies to prevent insurance premiums from rising for some 20 million Americans.”
A sarcastic Stewart reacted, “Those bastards,” before adding, “It's like they don't even want people to die of generally preventable disease.”
Stewart never did mention that the expanded subsidies were a Biden-era program that removed the cap on recipients making more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level and were meant to be a temporary COVID relief measure.
Instead, Stewart attacked Republicans for allegedly being sore winners. Later in his monologue, he lamented, “Look, man, 75 million Americans voted for a Democrat in this last round of presidential elections, and at this moment, they have zero power at the federal level. Not in the House, not in the Senate, not in the executive, and not in the courts. There has not been a moment of conciliation or concern about the issues and policies that drove those 75 million votes. Not a moment.”
Stewart then doubled down on the idea that Democrats aren’t asking for much before transitioning to the anti-ICE part of the program:
At present, the Democrats' largest victory over these past months is getting a guy, who may or may not be a criminal, back from El Salvador so Trump could send him to Uganda. That was the big win. And then suddenly, a small ask for peoples' preservation of health care is a Molotov cocktail because apparently, Republicans won't be satisfied with 99.8 percent domination. They must have it all. ICE went from deporting ‘the worst of the worst’ to throwing grandmothers onto linoleum and zip-tying American children, and everyone is just supposed to be cool with this new masked, incredibly well-funded paramilitary group, and Democrats are just reduced to petty gestures of restroom resistance.
To put Stewart’s lamentations into perspective. A family of four making 400 percent of the FPL would make $128,600 in 2025. Perhaps that is what the media should be focused on instead.
Here is a transcript for the October 6 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
10/6/2025
11:07 PM ET
JON STEWART: Now, as you'll recall, the shutdown began because in order to pass a budget bill in the Senate, you need 60 votes. As the Founders never mentioned. And so, Democrats have come forth with a laundry list of demands to force the Republicans — I'm just kidding — they want, like, two things.
RACHEL SCOTT: Democrats demanding that Republicans reverse cuts to Medicaid and extend expiring Obamacare subsidies to prevent insurance premiums from rising for some 20 million Americans.
STEWART: Those bastards. It's like they don't even want people to die of generally preventable disease. I wonder what this seemingly reasonable and narrow request will sound like when put through the Fox-o-meter.
…
STEWART: Look, man, 75 million Americans voted for a Democrat in this last round of presidential elections, and at this moment, they have zero power at the federal level. Not in the House, not in the Senate, not in the executive, and not in the courts. There has not been a moment of conciliation or concern about the issues and policies that drove those 75 million votes.
Not a moment. At present, the Democrats' largest victory over these past months is getting a guy, who may or may not be a criminal, back from El Salvador so Trump could send him to Uganda. That was the big win. And then suddenly, a small ask for peoples' preservation of health care is a Molotov cocktail because apparently, Republicans won't be satisfied with 99.8 percent domination. They must have it all. ICE went from deporting "the worst of the worst" to throwing grandmothers onto linoleum and zip-tying American children, and everyone is just supposed to be cool with this new masked, incredibly well-funded paramilitary group, and Democrats are just reduced to petty gestures of restroom resistance.
