# How much affect on the election has Jon Stewart not being the host of The Daily Show had? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233 "2015-12-02T18:51:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/1 "2015-12-02T18:51:26Z")
For instance, would Trump still be a leading candidate? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/2 "2015-12-02T18:58:40Z")
I’d say basically zero affect. Most people who are supporting Trump aren’t watching the Daily Show and wouldn’t care what Stewart says one way or the other. And Stewart only retired in the beginning of August, and Trump was ahead in the polls then and Stewart wasn’t exactly taking it easy on him. I think ratings of the new Daily Show with Trevor Noah is down a bit from Stewart’s time, but not by a huge amount, and Noah is covering the election just as much as Stewart would have. I don’t think that there are any major things that Noah has missed that Stewart would have done and would have gotten more traction for. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/3 "2015-12-02T18:59:05Z")
Would you actually expect Stewart’s audience to be big Trump supporters in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/4 "2015-12-02T19:04:35Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > For instance, would Trump still be a leading candidate? 1. Isn’t it effect? 2. Zero impact on the election. Zero. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/5 "2015-12-02T19:27:51Z")
Jon Stewart has never had the slightest impact on elections, and neither has Rush Limbaugh. Both guys have niche audiences that already agree with them on nearly everything. Neither guy would have a prayer of winning over someone who didn’t already share his beliefs. A liberal who listened to Rush and a conservative who listened to Stewart would BOTH come away saying, “That asshole doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Both guys are in the businesses of amusing True Believers, not the business of winning converts. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2015, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/6 "2015-12-03T09:08:07Z")
Effect. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/7 "2015-12-07T14:37:06Z")
Trump is a baffoon and Stewart loved to poke fun at those and in so doing he pointed out that the emperor had no clothes. Everyone is afraid to show Trump for the jerk he is…Stewart never was. That liberals watched his show and conservatives didn’t had nothing to do with the power he wielded and the influence he had. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/8 "2015-12-07T14:44:03Z")
What election? The one that’s still a year away? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/9 "2015-12-07T14:53:47Z")
Well, I believe the Firesign Theatre’s “Fighting Clowns” album is what sealed the 1976 election for Carter, despite the wonderful 'We Need a Football President" song supporting Gerald R. Ford. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/10 "2015-12-07T15:27:54Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > Trump is a baffoon and Stewart loved to poke fun at those and in so doing he pointed out that the emperor had no clothes. Everyone is afraid to show Trump for the jerk he is… Ummm…no. Absolutely no one is afraid to make fun of Trump, and it’s being done every day on TV, on the internet and in print. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/11 "2015-12-07T16:04:50Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > What election? The one that’s still a year away? The primary season starts very soon, with the Iowa caucuses scheduled for February 1. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/12 "2015-12-07T16:09:28Z")
Buffoons commit buffoonery. I don’t know what baffoons do, so perhaps we really are afraid of them. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/13 "2015-12-07T16:16:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Buffoons commit buffoonery. I don’t know what baffoons do, so perhaps we really are afraid of them. Perhaps they commit baffling buffoonery. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/14 "2015-12-07T16:36:25Z")
On Baffin Island. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/15 "2015-12-07T17:13:33Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Ummm…no. Absolutely no one is afraid to make fun of Trump, and it’s being done every day on TV, on the internet and in print. It’s also had zero effect on his numbers, much like Stewart would have had. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/16 "2015-12-07T17:31:30Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > On Baffin Island. In ye olde dayes, it would have been a woodwind inftrument. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/17 "2015-12-07T17:41:28Z")
A baffling Baffin bassoon buffoon? Wasn’t Bugs Bunny’s “maroon” a portmanteau of “moron” and “buffoon” ? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/18 "2015-12-07T17:45:10Z")
Then there are the Irish, with their “bosthoons.” And the English “boffins.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/19 "2015-12-07T22:02:18Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Then there are the Irish, with their “bosthoons.” And the English “boffins.” Who keep puffins for pets, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233/20 "2015-12-08T02:12:37Z")
“Boffins” are scientists and engineers who are usually in esoteric fields. I’m sure the London Zoological Gardens staff a Puffin Boffin. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-affect-on-the-election-has-jon-stewart-not-being-the-host-of-the-daily-show-had/739233.md?page=2)