Jon Stewart made his triumphant return to The Daily Show Monday night and Comedy Central’s iconic political satire host promptly roasted Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Stewart took aim at Biden for opting to forego an interview with CBS during this year’s Super Bowl, an appearance that had become a tradition for the President of the United States. A Super Bowl interview could have been an opportunity for Biden to answer a few softball questions, especially on the heels of his contentious press conference last week that furthered concerns about the 81-year-old’s cognitive abilities.
Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show and roasted Biden for not giving CBS a Super Bowl interview pic.twitter.com/whwM1CSjPJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 13, 2024
“But don’t worry, because they don’t need the press conference,” Stewart said of Biden. “The Super Bowl was on Sunday and the president was offered a chance, as per tradition, to do an interview where millions and millions of people could see him competently and clearly lay out his 2024 agenda. Or he could just turn that down and do what this is.”
Stewart proceeded to air Biden’s groundbreaking TikTok debut, where the president answered questions related to the Super Bowl in his first video on the platform which was coolly captioned, “lol hey guys.” In the video, Biden was asked to pick between Travis and Jason Kelce, to which the president promptly said, “Mama Kelce, I understand she makes great chocolate chip cookies.”
“Fire everyone!” Stewart pleaded after watching Biden praise Donna Kelce’s chocolate chip cookies. “Everyone! How do you go on TikTok and end up looking older?”
While there’s nothing wrong with loving a good chocolate chip cookie, it’s safe to say Biden’s TikTok debut did little to quiet any concerns about whether he’s fit for another term in office. His Super Bowl snub, however, added to those concerns.
Biden took part in the customary Super Bowl interview during the first two years of his presidency, speaking with Lester Holt on NBC in 2022 and Norah O’Donnell on CBS in 2021. Last year, Biden opted to forego an interview with Fox ahead of Super Bowl LVII, perhaps not too surprising considering his relationship with the network. But Biden’s relationship with CBS was not strained.
George W. Bush was the first president to take part in a Super Bowl interview, speaking with Jim Nantz in 2004. After a five-year lull, Barack Obama joined NBC for an interview conducted by Matt Lauer and the segment became customary from that point on. The annual spot went uninterrupted until Trump declined to be interviewed by NBC during the Super Bowl in 2018 after he accused the network of “fake news.”
Biden’s decision to snub CBS during the Super Bowl was surprising, but perhaps not as surprising as his decision to join TikTok. In 2022, Biden signed a law banning TikTok from federal government devices citing security concerns. Two years later, he’s talking chocolate chip cookies on the platform during the Super Bowl.
