Comedy Central’s Monday host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, kicked off the show by trying to suggest that the shooting at Saturday’s White House Correspondents' Dinner was merely another incident involving guns in America and suggested that the whole thing could have been avoided if President Trump was never invited.
Stewart began, “But first, let's begin, obviously, with the big news, the White House Correspondents Dinner. It was supposed to be an evening of fun and merriment until, like most things in America, it was interrupted by gunfire. This is why we can't have nice things, and to be perfectly frank, it's not even a nice thing. Nobody wanted this [bleep] dinner in the first place. Nobody needed—we're so [bleep] In this country right now we can't even pull off a dinner that shouldn't have existed in the first place. ‘Hey, let’s celebrate the First Amendment with an administration that is doing everything it can to destroy it.’”
Jon Stewart opened The Daily Show by talking about Saturday's WHCD shooting, ", like most things in America, it was interrupted by gunfire" and declaring "We're so [bleep] In this country right now we can't even pull off a dinner that shouldn't have existed in the first place.… pic.twitter.com/EdrB9TIsrS
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 28, 2026
Later, Stewart welcomed Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, whom The Daily Show sent to the dinner on Saturday. Triumph was wearing a collar that read “hero” and was part of his and Stewart’s mocking of journalists for their hero complex after the incident, but Stewart also returned to his earlier remarks about guns, “Triumph, I have to tell you, the larger issue—the larger issue we continue to have is gun violence and no effort to pass legislation to stop it.”
It was hard to tell whether Triumph was roasting Stewart or sarcastically roasting Second Amendment supporters who do not appreciate the rush to politicize these things. Perhaps it was a little of both, because he responded, “Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon please don't do this. Don't politicize a political event.”
Stewart tried to defend himself, “I’m not—it's not politicizing it, Triumph. It is a fact. It is a fact that in America, another event is ruined by gun violence, and we’re lucky this time—”
Again, Triumph tried to get Stewart to stop talking, but he kept going, “No, I’m going to keep talking. It’s—no—I’m not. I’m not. I—”
With an outstretched puppet leg, Triumph repeated, “Jon, now is not the time. Now is not the time.”
After a brief digression into CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer’s bathroom experiences at the time of the shooting, Stewart gave the vaguest possible indication that Saturday was more than just a common street crime with a gun, “You know, a lot of people bring up the fact that we do also have a hate speech problem in this problem. Do you think it's time that we look in the mirror? You know, there is talk about how we have to talk the temperature down.”
Triumph again tried to shut Stewart up, “Jon, Jon. Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh. I have, like, five more jokes to get through, and then you can talk about temperature.”
Presumably, Stewart would also wait to turn down the temperature until after he has claimed that Trump is trying to destroy the First Amendment.
Here is a transcript for the April 27 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
4/27/2026
11:01 PM ET
JON STEWART: But first, let's begin, obviously, with the big news, the White House Correspondents Dinner. It was supposed to be an evening of fun and merriment until, like most things in America, it was interrupted by gunfire. This is why we can't have nice things, and to be perfectly frank, it's not even a nice thing. Nobody wanted this [bleep] dinner in the first place. Nobody needed—we're so [bleep] In this country right now we can't even pull off a dinner that shouldn't have existed in the first place. “Hey, let’s celebrate the First Amendment with an administration that is doing everything it can to destroy it.”
…
11:25 PM ET
STEWART: Triumph, I have to tell you, the larger issue—
TRIUMPH THE INSULT COMIC DOG: Yes.
STEWART: — The larger issue we continue to have is gun violence and no effort to pass legislation to stop it.
TRIUMPH: Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon please don't do this. Don't politicize a political event.
STEWART: I’m not—it's not politicizing it, Triumph. It is a fact. It is a fact that in America, another event is ruined by gun violence, and we’re lucky this time—
TRIUMPH: Jon, Jon, Jon, shhh, shhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh, shhhhh
STEWART: No, I’m going to keep talking. It’s—no—I’m not. I’m not. I—
TRIUMPH: Jon, now is not the time. Now is not the time.
STEWART: Can I ask you a question? Did you wipe your feet when you came in?
TRIUMPH: I used the same bathroom as Wolf Blitzer.
STEWART: Triumph—
TRIUMPH: Yes. Yes.
STEWART: —clearly you're still traumatized.
TRIUMPH: I went through so much.
STEWART: Yes.
TRIUMPH: I contacted HR and told them I'm going to need an emotional support dog. Yes, preferably a poodle who's into butt stuff.
STEWART: You know, a lot of people bring up the fact that we do also have a hate speech problem in this problem. Do you think it's time that we look in the mirror? You know, there is talk about how we have to talk the temperature down.
TRIUMPH: Jon, Jon. Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh. I have, like, five more jokes to get through, and then you can talk about temperature.
