# Jon Stewart to step down from The Daily Show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345 "2015-02-10T23:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/401 "2015-04-03T16:49:32Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > All of you saying he isn’t funny based on a few Twitter tweets should watch one of his videos or two. The man is funny and smart. > > I for one can’t muster up any outrage at a few mildly questionable Twitter comments. I’m not saying Trevor Noah isn’t funny, or that he hasn’t been funny. I’m saying that he sounds like an asshole. A mean-spirited, petty, misogynistic, racist asshole. Those tweets weren’t written by a gaggle of writers. Noah wrote them. That is his idea of funny. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/402 "2015-04-03T17:40:59Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > All of you saying he isn’t funny based on a few Twitter tweets should watch one of his videos or two. The man is funny and smart. > > I for one can’t muster up any outrage at a few mildly questionable Twitter comments. I honestly don’t find him that funny. I watched some videos and I saw him on TDS. These tweets are for sure not representative of his act but I found him kind of tiresome regardless. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/403 "2015-04-03T17:51:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Jokes are not punches. Right. I got it. I’d like to introduce you to the idea of figurative speech. Googling it will provide an introduction, but I’d be happy to answer any specific questions you have about it. > > All men are not more powerful than all women. Again, I got it. That’s not relevant for this particular scenario. Jokes about fat women desperately wanting people to get drunk so that the fat women will appear attractive are both astonishingly lame and are specifically targeting people for a perceived area of powerlessness. It’s a bully’s joke, not a satirist’s joke. Since jokes are not punches then what is the problem? The problem with this type of outrage is it buys into the destructive idea of comedy as not as something to bring joy but as a weapon. This is why the descent of Jon Stewart from great young comedian to mugging smarmy tv host is so sad. The problem is the Daily Show type of humor where jokes are not thought of as trying to get laughs but as a type of assault. Thus instead of satire, it became showing an out of context clip of a Republican politician or like minded person, then John Stewart making faces and making a cheap snarky quip while the audience of mind numbed robots bray their approval. Take someone from a group you don’t like and use editing to make them look stupid so you can hold them up as an object of ridicule. I’m sure no one thinks Noah hates fat girls or Jewish girls but rather are mad because those groups do not fall into the category of people I hate so they can not be joked about. Such attitudes are the death of comedy. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/404 "2015-04-03T18:03:01Z")
I disagree that Jon Stewart was remotely as deceptive as you suggest. Yes there was a lot of “clapture” going on but he wasn’t taking a bunch of stuff out of context to get it. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/405 "2015-04-03T18:04:40Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > This is why the descent of Jon Stewart from great young comedian to mugging smarmy tv host is so sad. > The problem is the Daily Show type of humor where jokes are not thought of as trying to get laughs but as a type of assault. Thus instead of satire, it became showing an out of context clip of a Republican politician or like minded person, then John Stewart making faces and making a cheap snarky quip while the audience of mind numbed robots bray their approval. Take someone from a group you don’t like and use editing to make them look stupid so you can hold them up as an object of ridicule. That is the worst part of the _Daily Show_— all that unfair camera trickery they use to make it appear that a Republican said something really crass, sexist, racist or mean-spirited (which in context would’ve been completely flattering), or said something about Obama after having said the complete opposite about Bush, or when they imply (via rapid-fire clips of a dozen Republicans all using exactly the same phrase) that they may have been following a shared set of talking points, when it was actually just a pure coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/406 "2015-04-03T18:05:08Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > All of you saying he isn’t funny based on a few Twitter tweets should watch one of his videos or two. I have. And I have also seen his Daily Show spots. I stand by my opinion that he is not very funny, and not sharp enough to host this show. I hope I am wrong. Time will tell, I suppose. ETA: It is odd to me (and I think, a mistake) that they didn’t run any test shows with Noah before awarding him the gig. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/407 "2015-04-03T18:23:46Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > ETA: It is odd to me (and I think, a mistake) that they didn’t run any test shows with Noah before awarding him the gig. You men like they did With Larry Wilmore and Stephen Colbert? The way CC did with that Jon Stewart guy? Or like the networks did with Craig Ferguson and James Corben and Seth Myers and Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel? Oh, wait. They didn’t. Basically, nobody does this. Maybe having somebody sit in as a guest host doesn’t give that kind of information. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/408 "2015-04-03T18:28:39Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > That is the worst part of the _Daily Show_— all that unfair camera trickery they use to make it appear that a Republican said something really crass, sexist, racist or mean-spirited (which in context would’ve been completely flattering), or said something about Obama after having said the complete opposite about Bush, or when they imply (via rapid-fire clips of a dozen Republicans all using exactly the same phrase) that they may have been following a shared set of talking points, when it was actually just a pure coincidence. Keep kidding yourself that this is all that is done. Keep kidding yourself. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/409 "2015-04-03T18:32:42Z")
They have not already getting his input on correspondents or creative direction like you assumed, Exapno. From that link you put up a couple pages ago: > [@](#): > > **Have other talent or show details been set yet?** > It’s way too early for any creative conversations, but we will get into all of that in the coming months. Some time before the end of this year, we will have an end date for Jon and a start date for Trevor. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/410 "2015-04-03T18:37:57Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Keep kidding yourself that this is all that is done. Keep kidding yourself. If you’ve got examples, I’m willing to be educated. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/411 "2015-04-03T18:55:33Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You men like they did With Larry Wilmore and Stephen Colbert? The way CC did with that Jon Stewart guy? > > Or like the networks did with Craig Ferguson and James Corben and Seth Myers and Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel? > > Oh, wait. They didn’t. Basically, nobody does this. Maybe having somebody sit in as a guest host doesn’t give that kind of information. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Networks do this on a regular basis for potential talk show hosts. I’m not talking about sitting in as a guest host. I’m talking about running an unaired test show, to see if the guy has the chops for the job. In fact, Louis CK dramatized such an event in Season 3, Episode 12 of _ **Louie** _. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/412 "2015-04-03T18:58:28Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > If you’ve got examples, I’m willing to be educated. How do I come up with examples of Fox Fantasies? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/413 "2015-04-03T19:00:58Z")
You have been acting like you’re more knowledgeable than most of us about the hiring process, Exapno Mapcase. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/414 "2015-04-03T19:02:17Z")
And since you asked, **Exapno Mapcase** , here’s a description of a [test show run by Comedy Central for Larry Wilmore](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/arts/television/larry-wilmore-prepares-for-his-nightly-show.html?_r=0): > [@](#): > > Seated at the head of the oblong table where he will preside over his new Comedy Central series, “The Nightly Show,” Larry Wilmore was moderating a vigorous, sometimes sincere, sometimes acerbic panel discussion about the attack on the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo. > > Sally Kohn, who contributes to CNN and The Daily Beast, said that society reacted differently to mass shootings depending on who had committed them. “When white people commit crime in the United States,” she said, “nobody says, ‘Gosh, what’s wrong with white people?’ ” > > Mr. Wilmore replied: “Actually, we say it. But nobody listens.” > > This debate, held last Tuesday night on a newly constructed set at a Midtown Manhattan studio, was a dry run not meant for broadcast. It was seen by an audience of Comedy Central executives and “Nightly Show” writers and producers, including Jon Stewart, anchor of “The Daily Show,” who sat in the front row. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/415 "2015-04-03T19:22:53Z")
Here’s [Trevor Noah’s first appearance on The Daily Show](https://youtu.be/AHO1a1kvZGo). It is awkward, his timing is off, and the audience response is, um, _subdued_. Not auspicious. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/416 "2015-04-03T19:41:02Z")
Well I would cut him some slack on his first appearance. I hope it taught him that you have to be a little less ham handed criticising American issues as a foreigner. Don’t think even the most liberal TDS viewer likes America being unfavorably compared to Apartheid South Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/417 "2015-04-03T19:45:35Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Here’s [Trevor Noah’s first appearance on The Daily Show](https://youtu.be/AHO1a1kvZGo). It is awkward, his timing is off, and the audience response is, um, _subdued_. Not auspicious. This is really a de gustibus case. I love his timing and his demeanor here: he comes across as cool and collected, quietly devastating, and funny as hell. The audience whoops for him at some point. I like his delivery in this sketch better than Stewart’s. I don’t find it awkward or poorly timed or poorly met. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/418 "2015-04-03T19:50:44Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Since jokes are not punches then what is the problem? Oh dear. You haven’t read up on figurative speech yet, have you? I don’t even know how to answer this question if you’re not familiar with this concept. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/419 "2015-04-03T20:08:41Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is really a de gustibus case. I love his timing and his demeanor here: he comes across as cool and collected, quietly devastating, and funny as hell. The audience whoops for him at some point. I like his delivery in this sketch better than Stewart’s. I don’t find it awkward or poorly timed or poorly met. As I’ve said, I hope I am wrong. But we won’t have to guess about that. The guy has the gig now, so we’ll see how he does. If I am mistaken about his talents, I will happily eat crow. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345/420 "2015-04-03T20:12:08Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is really a de gustibus case. I love his timing and his demeanor here: he comes across as cool and collected, quietly devastating, and funny as hell. The audience whoops for him at some point. I like his delivery in this sketch better than Stewart’s. I don’t find it awkward or poorly timed or poorly met. I’m with you here. Noah killed it in this sketch. I was laughing throughout. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jon-stewart-to-step-down-from-the-daily-show/712345.md?page=22)