The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, in a special live episode following the presidential debate between former U.S. president Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night, was left incredulous.
“What the f— just happened?” he exclaimed.
The perplexed late-night host mocked Trump’s comments, which he presented without any evidence, about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
“We’re a failing nation,” Trump said. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Stewart responded: “Having spent some time in Springfield myself, I believe I know what’s happening here. I believe Trump himself may be becoming one of Springfield’s most famous residents,” before cutting to an old clip of Grandpa Simpson on The Simpsons.
He also issued a PSA for viewers: “A quick reminder to all the pet owners out there: Always remember to leash your dogs. It’s an important way to keep your dog from fighting other dogs or being hit by a car or being eaten by your immigrant neighbours.”
Trump’s claims were questioned by David Muir, a moderator for the debate and anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, as he interrupted the debate to say that Springfield’s city manager has already clarified there is no evidence to suggest immigrants are eating dogs.
When Trump pushed back with claims that “the people on television say their dog was eaten by the people that went there,” Muir corrected him once more: “Again, the Springfield city manager says there’s no evidence of that.”
Trump’s comments echoed claims made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and other Republicans.
On Monday, Vance posted on X: “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” The next day, Vance posted again on X about Springfield, saying his office had received inquiries from residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
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Other Republicans shared similar posts. Among them was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who posted a photo of kittens with a caption that said to vote for Trump “so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”
Hours before Trump’s debate with Harris, he posted two related AI-generated photos on his social media site. One Truth Social post was a photo of Trump surrounded by cats and geese. Another featured armed cats wearing MAGA hats.
In his recap, Stewart also highlighted several other debate moments, including Trump and Harris’ stances on abortion.
Duelling clips of the two nominees’ answers to the abortion issue were played, including the former president saying “we’ve gotten what everybody wanted” after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“I have talked with women around our country. You wanna talk about this is what people wanted?” Harris responded. “Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health-care providers are afraid they might go to jail — and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn’t want that.”
Stewart’s reaction was downright gleeful, telling viewers “Holy s—, she crushed that.”
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“This is like one of those Groundhog Day movies where you get to go back and fix the bad way something happened earlier to the good way,” he continued.
Later in the show, Stewart’s tone turned serious.
Criticizing Trump’s response to the Jan. 6 riot, where the former president repeatedly claimed that Nancy Pelosi was responsible because “she didn’t do her job,” Stewart didn’t mince words.
“You spent two months riling up your base that our country had literally been stolen from them through fraudulent means, that you could never even get a whiff of in a court of law and let yourself just abuse them,” he said. “You pressed on. You abused their trust. You showed up for a speech? You f—ing tweeted, ‘Join me on January 6, it will be wild.’”
The host continued, “One thing will always be true, and it is the quality of the former president I respect the least: Whenever he is cornered and forced to face even the smallest of consequences for his own mendacity and scheming, he reverts to the greatest refuge of scoundrels.”
Stewart then spoke directly to Trump’s supporters: “This man, who constantly professes to be your champion, who says they’re going to have to go through him to get to you, will always, when the boat is going down, be the first into the lifeboats, because in that moment, he will always say the same thing: ‘I didn’t know anything about it.’”
“In any other country,” Stewart said, “That lack of accountability would be disqualifying.”
‘The Daily Show’ airs on weeknights at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Slice.
— With a file from The Associated Press
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