Jon Stewart criticizes Dems for 'pedaling really hard and not going anywhere,' like stationary bike
Jon Stewart tore into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Democratic Party for being ineffectual in countering President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans.
"The Daily Show" host slammed Schumer and his party on Monday night after 10 Democrats, including Schumer, voted alongside Republicans for a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government open on Friday.
Stewart compared the Democratic Party to a stationary bike, "pedaling really hard and not going anywhere," after months of failing to block President Donald Trump's agenda in the wake of the 2024 election.
The late-night host played a clip of Schumer from 2019, where he claimed that he talked with members of the Republican Party "all the time" at the gym, setting Stewart up for a gym-humor crack at the senator.
DEMOCRATS LASH OUT AT SCHUMER FOR ‘BETRAYAL’ OF SIDING WITH TRUMP
"In the gym, they’re only being agreeable with you because they want you to leave them alone, in the gym, on the stationary bike. ‘Oh, sure, Chuck, I’m definitely going to do that.’ But I have to tell you something, pedaling really hard and not going anywhere, it’s a great metaphor for the Democratic Party right now," Stewart quipped, to the raucous applause of the audience.
Earlier in the show, Stewart sarcastically told his audience to "fear not," because Democrats finally have the opportunity to stand up to Trump, who he labeled a "wannabe tyrant."
"But fear not! Because Democrats, put on the back foot, finally have an opportunity to stand up and show their dispirited party they still have the principle and the backbone to face down this wannabe tyrant," Stewart mocked.
Stewart described the CR as being "designed to hurt the American people," and went on to harshly criticize Schumer for complacency in resisting Trump's agenda.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Schumer claimed in a recent New York Times interview that once Trump's favorability poll numbers drop below 40%, Republican lawmakers would begin working with Democrats. He noted that with Trump at 48%, they need to "keep at it" until the president's approval drops.
Stewart responded to the comments by telling his audience: "Apparently the grand plan is, Dems keep fecklessly complaining until the 48 approval comes down to 40, which is a plan. But it’s forgetting one crucial piece of information in Schumer’s popularity calculation."
The late-night host showed a clip from MSNBC revealing that "only 27% of voters have a positive view of the party. The lowest favorability rating in the history of NBC’s polling."
Stewart mocked Democrats for the weak numbers.
"You’re at 27%! You’ve got to get Trump to lose eight points of popularity for you to get to the point where you’re only 13 points below him! Your approval is only seven points above where it turns red and goes into low power mode," Stewart ribbed.
Fox News Digital's Michael Lee contributed to this report.