The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: TDS Time Machine | Jon Stewart's Best Trump Takedowns of 2025

Date: January 11, 2026
Host: Jon Stewart and The Daily Show News Team

Overview

In this incisive, irreverent episode, Jon Stewart and the Daily Show team rewind through some of Stewart’s sharpest, funniest critiques of Donald Trump’s third presidential term. The episode takes a scathing look at Trump’s actions and policies in 2025, particularly focusing on the trade war, policies on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), immigration decisions, economic fallout, lavish indulgences, the legislative coup (tax and spending bill), and the administration’s performative empathy toward struggling Americans. With the trademark Daily Show blend of biting humor and insightful critique, Stewart dissects the “bullshit gospel of austerity,” Republican hypocrisies, and Trump’s kingly self-regard, all set against the backdrop of mounting public hardship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) and the Conservative Backlash

• Stewart skewers attempts from MAGA politicians and conservative media to blame DEI for national tragedies and failures.
• He satirizes how any minority’s presence in critical positions is quickly scapegoated, especially after disasters.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 02:20):
    “What they’re trying to do is make the default setting on competence in America… a white guy. That’s what this is, a reset to the factory default.”

2. The Case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and Authoritarian Overreach

• The episode highlights the story of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an undocumented migrant wrongly deported due to an “administrative error.”
• Stewart mocks both U.S. and El Salvadoran leaders’ indifference and jokes about Trump’s escalating authoritarianism.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 13:10):
    “I gotta tell you, I did not think he would get this authoritarian this fast. I really didn’t… Maybe if somebody out there had yelled at me on Blue Sky about this, I would’ve known. But no one did. Except every day, in ALL CAPS.”

3. Trump’s Trade War and "Strategic Uncertainty"

• Recaps Trump’s abrupt tariff imposition, economic chaos, and the perilous lack of planning or communication.

• Stewart ridicules the administration’s failure to prep for Chinese retaliation and frames Trump as the worst possible negotiator.

  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 24:02):
    “I’m pretty sure in game theory you are supposed to tell the person on your side where they’re gonna end up, so they don’t freak the f--- out. Or maybe it’s all bullshit.”

• Stewart further deconstructs Trump’s “leverage” logic and obsession with economic dominance—reminding listeners that American leverage is collective, not individual.

  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 32:23):
    “Trump is so arrogant, he thinks the leverage is his. It’s ours. We the people... You are a temporary leprechaun.”

4. The $400 Million Qatari Jet and Presidential Excess

• Stewart gleefully lampoons the apparent deal for a new “flying palace” Air Force One—a personal gift from Qatar to Trump, to be transferred to his presidential library.
• He points out the constitutional and ethical absurdity, running a gag about “King-adjacent” Trump.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 36:40):
    “He’s the imitation crab of kings right now. The ‘I can’t believe it’s not King.’”
  • Memorable moment: Stewart riffing on why a presidential library needs a private jet: “The book must travel in the comfort and style one can only get from Qatar.”

5. Tax and Spending Bill: Austerity for the Poor, Windfalls for the Rich

• Stewart gives a stinging review of the newly passed “legislative coup,” heavily cutting Medicaid, food assistance, clean energy credits, and student aid while massively increasing the deficit.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 48:44):
    “You somehow managed to severely cut the safety net and expand the deficit. That’s impressive. That’s one of those, ‘Hey man, how did you gain all that weight? Ozempic!’”
• He highlights hypocrisy as Republicans who decried “rammed” bills under Democrats now quietly vote yes.
• Points out political theater: Senators like Josh Hawley and Ron Johnson complain about cuts and deficits, then vote for the bill anyway.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 56:15):
    “Mmm, you need to act like it. Did you act like it, Josh? Did you?”

6. The “Bullshit Gospel of Austerity” and Blaming the Poor

• Stewart challenges the trope that fiscal woes originate with “lazy” poor people, spotlighting the reality of working Americans still needing public assistance.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 1:07:29):
    “The problem in our country isn’t the sliver of able-bodied people somehow coasting on the unearned medical coverage they may or may not use, but the millions… who work full time jobs and still need food and medical assistance. That’s the system that’s broken.”

7. Trump’s Ostentation & Performative Empathy

• Stewart excoriates Trump for holding an extravagant Great Gatsby-themed party at Mar a Lago on the night millions lost food benefits—a potent symbol, he argues, of how little he cares.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 1:24:51):
    “He wasn’t working for the American people. That was just some Hollywood Babylon shit that once and for all shows that Donald Trump doesn’t give a fuck about even looking like he gives a fuck.”
• Ridicules updates about gold-and-marble bathrooms and “ass-level windows,” and skewers administration talking points about "rules" when denying aid.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 1:30:39):
    “You’re gonna have tour groups walking by just like go, ‘Oh no, that’s not good...’”

8. Deflecting with “Rules” and the Courts

• Jokes about the administration’s sudden respect for legal limitations—when previously flaunting them completely.
• Satirizes the use of “truthing out” on Truth Social as a substitute for governing.
  • Quote (Jon Stewart, 1:34:12):
    “Stop trying to make truthed out happen. Okay? Like it’s a real verb. He just—well, it’s an excellent question—he just truthed out.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Segments

• On DEI scapegoating:
  “The main problem is that standards were somehow lowered to make sure that a Black person or a gay person gets a chance to land your plane.” (Jon Stewart, 07:07)

• On Trump’s negotiating “genius”:
  “If you think of us as a big, beautiful department store before that business was destroyed by the Internet… Why in God’s name would you use a brick and mortar department store for your metaphor?” (Jon Stewart, 28:50)

• On the Qatari plane gift:
  “A blt. Now imagine that that BLT has an engine, nine bathrooms, and funds proxy wars.” (Jon Stewart, 41:18)

• On hypocrisy in Congress:
  “Any other Republican who initially said, ‘This is terrible, I’m not voting for this,’ and had an even dumber reason for flipping to yes. Tim Burchett from Tennessee, I’m looking at your dumb ass.” (Jon Stewart, 1:02:37)

• On the narrative about the ‘deserving poor’:
  “OpenAI founder Sam Altman said he was politically homeless... Excuse me, not to be that guy. I believe the term is ‘politically unhoused.’” (Jon Stewart, 1:12:59)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• DEI scapegoating and air disaster commentary: 01:30–08:43
• Kilmar Abrego Garcia segment, authoritarianism, media sycophancy: 10:00–15:30
• Trade war, rare earth shortage, and ‘strategic uncertainty’ fallacy: 20:00–35:00
• Qatari jet for Trump, king motif: 36:00–42:00
• Legislative coup: tax bill, Medicaid and SNAP cuts, hypocrisy: 48:30–1:09:00
• Bullshit gospel of austerity, blaming the poor: 1:09:00–1:14:00
• Great Gatsby party during SNAP cuts, gold bathrooms: 1:22:00–1:32:00
• Legal technicalities, deference to the courts, “truthing out”: 1:33:00–1:37:00

Tone and Style

• Satirical, fiercely critical, and deeply funny
• Stewart’s trademark blend of clownish exaggeration and moral seriousness
• Genuinely outraged by hypocrisy and mismanagement, but never self-serious
• Linguistically playful (“temporary leprechaun,” “administrative error,” “ass-level windows”)

Summary

This episode is an extended showcase of Jon Stewart’s ability to blend scathing wit with substantive critique, especially when holding Donald Trump and the GOP to account for hypocrisy, self-enrichment, and policies that hit America’s most vulnerable the hardest. Through rich satire and memorable analogies, Stewart exposes the underlying selfishness and performative nature of the Trump administration’s “leadership”—making this a must-listen for both Daily Show fans and anyone seeking sharp, informed political commentary.