Jon Stewart praised the American people for standing up to President Donald Trump in a way that institutions have not during his second term.
On “The Weekly Show,” Stewart thanked voters after Democrats flipped seats across the country in what was described as a “blue tsunami” during Tuesday’s 2026 midterm elections. “The American voting public should get a ticker tape parade today for being, really, the one remaining institution in this country that had the courage to repudiate the reality distortion machine that has been the Donald Trump project,” Stewart said.
“The universities fell before his feet. Law firms fell before his feet, and the American people said, ‘Oh well, let me just give you a quick little reality check,’” he said.
During Trump’s second term, Hollywood institutions like Paramount have cozied up to the president in hopes that he would act in their favor, particularly when it comes to their ambitious M&A plans. Several Ivy League universities have also buckled under political and financial pressure from the Trump administration, despite filing lawsuits challenging the president.
Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, broke down what it means now that the Democrats have a governing majority over Congress.
“It means all of the thingsthat we have sat around being so scared of — that Donald Trump could just stay in office that he could unleash ICE on the streets, that we couldn’t get our democracy back. No, what we are watching right now is our ability to bring it back,” she said.
Longwell also noted that there was a swell of first-time voters that contributed to the diverse Democratic wins nationwide. Democrats won Senate seats in Kansas, Texas and South Carolina for the first time in decades.
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