Jon Stewart Addresses Jimmy Kimmel Return, Trump’s ‘Power Grabs’

The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart addressed ABC’s reinstatement of Jimmy Kimmel‘s late-night show, set to return tomorrow, and issued a stern warning to those who would continue to back president Donald Trump throughout his continued “authoritarian power grabs.”

First tackling Kimmel’s forthcoming reprisal following his abrupt and indefinite preemption by the Disney broadcasting network, which received strong audience applause and cheers, Stewart said, “I’ll tell you, Jimmy Kimmel’s flying high like Advil today,” referencing Trump’s press conference earlier today on the causes of autism, which he linked to acetaminophen usage.

The political comic continued, “That campaign that you all launched, pretending that you were going to cancel Hulu while secretly racing through four seasons of Only Murders in the Building, that really worked, congratulations.”

He added of parent corporation Disney’s dominance in the media: “Wasn’t it interesting, to try and figure out all the tentacles Disney has in your daily life? It’s one thing to swear off cruises, but the Avengers? Nahhh. How is it possible that by getting rid of one company, I can’t watch Winnie the Pooh or Monday Night Football? Or listen to early Hilary Duff?”

Later in the segment — after discussing Trump’s recent Truth Social post, in which he urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to enable the Department of Justice to prosecute his political rivals — Stewart issued a call to Trump’s supporters.

“You don’t have to bend over backwards trying to make Trump’s authoritarian power grabs seem like the rule of law. He does not give a f— anymore. He’s saying it straight-up,” the host said. “Trump is saying: ‘The people like dictators.’ Trump is saying: ‘I hate my opponents, and I want them punished.’ And Trump is saying: ‘I’ll use all the levers of government at my disposal to accomplish that goal.’ So you can get on board with that and say, ‘I’m with that,’ or you can join the rest of us and fight like hell for this constitutional republic.”

Watch the episode here: