Media outlets had a field day this week analyzing Jon Stewart’s alleged “secret” White House meetings with President Barack Obama.
According to a Politico report published Tuesday, Jon Stewart had visited Obama the White House in 2011 and in 2014. The visits were confirmed by White House officials and from a visitors’ log of 4.5 million visits.
Stewart made no mention of the news story on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that was filmed later that evening. Instead the Comedy Central writers were sharpening their wit for a later strike.
Jon Stewart made his first response on the The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on Tuesday night. Stewart said that Obama wanted to “hang out, eat nachos, watch King Ralph.” As for the meetings being secret Stewart said he’s in the visitors’ log and there were pictures. The camera cuts to a cozy Photoshop of the two men sharing one milkshake, two straws.
Wilmore asked Stewart if the President wanted to influence his jokes. Stewart said, “I think that’s what he was trying to do. Because I have a television show and we sometimes say stupid f**ing things about him and his policies.” Then the comedian said, “I’m pretty sure I was there because he’s run out of people to watch King Ralph with.”
Stewart had more to say about the media dustup on Wednesday on The Daily Show, backed by his team of writers and video editors who milked the newsfeed for jokes.
Stewart explained that what the media is saying “sounds so much more awesome” than what happened in real life. Then, Stewart offered a story of the meeting that involved a roundtable with Obama, Elvis, Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Area 51 alien.
The comedian took a jab at journalists calling the meetings secret and said, “Something is not a secret just because you don’t know about it.”
Then, Stewart lambasted Fox News reports for insinuating the comedian was meeting with the President to coordinate a political agenda, citing Vladamir Putin jokes. The show showed reel of Stewart joking about Putin dating back to 2001.
He summed up what may have been the real story. Stewart was asked to go to Washington and he did, twice. Obama warned him not to turn young Americans “cynical” and Stewart countered that he’s actually “skeptically optimistic.”
Then he added that the talks were like Obama’s last appearance on the show, except with salmon.
