Former “Daily Show” host and comedian Jon Stewart mocked Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, after the Senate Majority Leader downplayed Stewart’s efforts to advocate for a bipartisan bill that would provide compensation for 9/11 victims and first responders.
Stewart made his surprise appearance on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to rebut McConnell’s comments made earlier on Monday.
Following Stewart’s emotional appeal to lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week, the comedian followed up with a Fox News interview to claim the proposed legislation “has never been dealt with compassionately” by McConnell.
McConnell appeared on Fox News on Monday morning and said Stewart was “all bent out of shape” and had been “looking for some way to take offense.”
“Many things in Congress have [come] at the last minute,” McConnell said. “We have never failed to address this issue, and we will address it again.”
During his visit to “The Late Show,” Stewart balked at McConnell’s suggestion that he was “bent out of shape” and delivered a scathing monologue at the expense of the senator.
“No, Mitch McConnell, I am not bent out of shape,” Stewart said, adding that he was “fine” but had been “bent out of shape” for the 9/11 victims.
The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund aims to provide compensation for those who “suffered physical harm or [were] killed” in the 9/11 attacks or its aftermath. Funding for the measure had been drying up since its inception and lawmakers listened to Stewart’s and the first responders’ testimony on the importance of reauthorizing the bill.
“These are the first heroes, and veterans, and victims of the great trillions-of-dollars war on terror,” Stewart said. “And they’re currently still suffering and dying and in terrible need. You would think that would be enough to get Congress’ attention, but apparently it’s not.”
Stewart went on a tirade against McConnell and other lawmakers, much like his signature comedic monologues from his 15 years hosting Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
“I feel like an ass—-. Now I feel stupid. This is a huge misunderstanding,” Stewart said. “I didn’t know that they were busy. Now I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t mean to interrupt them with their jobs!”
“Listen senator, I know that your species isn’t known for moving quickly,” he added, in an apparent reference to his reoccurring joke about McConnell and turtles. “But damn senator. You’re not good at this argument thing. Basically, we’re saying you love the 9/11 community when they serve your political purposes. But when they’re in urgent need, you slow-walk, you dither, you use it as a political pawn to get other things you want.”
The bill’s extension cleared the House Judiciary Committee, but has yet to be voted on by the full House or Senate vote.
“You know what, if you’re busy, I get it,” Stewart said. “Just understand that the next time we have a war, or you’re being robbed, or your house is on fire, and you make that desperate call for help, don’t get bent out of shape if they show up at the last minute with fewer people than you thought.”
