Jon Stewart Responds to Elon Musk’s First Amendment Claims: ‘Guns Don’t Protect Our Free Speech’

Jon Stewart was back on The Daily Show last night to recount the “October surprises” that might impact the upcoming presidential election. The late-night host noted that anything was possible, but it probably wouldn’t be good, like the infamous Access Hollywood tape.

“Why are October surprises always so shitty?” he said. “Why do we never get a good October surprise that brings our country together?” He added that for some reason these last-minute revelations or incidents seem to benefit Republicans rather than Democrats.

“If monkeypox runs amok, I don’t see how we lose!” Stewart quipped. “What does it actually say about a party that a war, a strike, and a natural disaster work in their favor? ‘Sir, the election’s close, but if we could just get the population shell-shocked and desperate, we can do it.’”

The biggest October surprise so far, for Stewart, has been Elon Musk showing up at a Donald Trump rally over the weekend. “His October surprise is he’s come out MAGA,” Stewart said before showing a clip of Musk proclaiming himself to be “dark MAGA.”

“Ooh, dark Maga,” Stewart replied. “I didn’t know it came in flavors! I wonder if for the holidays they’ll come out with peppermint bark MAGA. Or pumpkin spice MAGA.”

He added, “Now, you might think one of the world’s richest men controlling one of the world’s most influential platforms could be a recipe for what some may consider election interference. You stupid, stupid people. You disgust me. Election interference is what Mark Zuckerberg did.”

The host recalled the 2016 and 2020 elections, when it was Trump who accused Zuckerberg of election interference. He then pointed out the double standard that Musk is offering his fans money to register swing state voters. Trump, apparently, doesn’t think Musk’s behavior counts as interference. But you know what does? The new Sebastian Stan biopic The Apprentice.

“Oh, come on! That’s election interference?” said Stewart. “Maybe it’s election interference, but you gotta be a little bit flattered that you’re being played by Sebastian Stan.”

Editor’s picks

After recounting the various claims of election interference from Trump, Stewart played a clip of Musk saying the Left wants to take away free speech.

“Elon, were you not watching the rest of the show?” Stewart replied. “A movie Trump doesn’t like is going to get sued. A tech mogul he doesn’t like, he wants to put in prison. It’s not free speech if only Trump’s admirers get to do it without consequence. That’s just not how it works. It doesn’t go that way. I don’t see how his support of free speech is ‘expose the belly’ worthy. I just don’t.”

He then played another clip of Musk saying, “But at least the Constitution remains intact and is there to ensure that we have the First Amendment. The Second Amendment is there to ensure that we have the First Amendment.”

“Guns don’t protect our free speech,” Stewart responded. “Our free speech is protected by the consent of the governed laid out through the Constitution. It’s not based on the threat of violence. It’s based on elections, organizing referendums, a judicial system. Our social contract offers many, many avenues to remedy these issues and allows sides to be heard and adjudicated. Guns, from what I can tell, seem to mostly protect the speech of the people holding the gun.”

Trending

The host continued, “It’s a tool of intimidation, and one that I think is actually being irresponsibly and recklessly invoked. Because some people in your crowd thought they might have been shadow-banned by Facebook. I mean, for God’s sake, you guys are in Butler, Pennsylvania. The whole reason you’re there is because some fucking asshole with an AR-15 tried to permanently litigate his vision of this country’s free speech. That’s why you’re there. The whole point of a society is guns don’t decide it. I would prefer at this moment not to trade in a government that offers me many remedies for my concerns, legitimate or illegitimate, for a situation where my rights are determined by how many militia members agree with me.”