9 Most Scathing Jon Stewart Cable News Takedowns on ‘The Daily Show’ (Videos)

As Fox News and CNN can attest, politicians weren’t the only ones who felt the sting of the Comedy Central host’s biting wit

Jon Stewart’s singular talent for calling out politicians and public figures is one of the biggest losses “The Daily Show” will suffer when he signs off this Thursday.

From his legendary ongoing feud with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, to his skewering of CNN over its incessant coverage of Malaysian Airlines flight 370, Stewart never gave any journalist a pass when he thought there was hypocrisy or bias afoot.

Stewart’s final “Daily Show” episode is set to run about 20 minutes longer than normal, giving him ample opportunity for one last epic burn, but until then, here are nine of his most memorable cable news takedowns.

CHAOS ON BULLSHIT MOUNTAIN
Victim:
Fox News
Subject: Mitt Romney’s “47 percent” comment
Then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s infamous remark provided no shortage of scrambling from Fox News, and Stewart was all too happy to point them out.

 

WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Victim:
MSNBC
Subject: Justin Bieber
Breaking in to an in-depth discussion with a former congresswoman about NSA spying on U.S. citizens to cover Justin Bieber’s legal woes? Not on Stewart’s watch, MSNBC.

 

FOX NEWS’ FALSE STATEMENTS
Victim: Fox News
Subject: Fact checking
Politifact called out Stewart on a fact he got wrong about Fox News’ viewership, and Stewart took the opportunity to call out the innumerable times the fact-checking website has dinged the cable network on its factual inaccuracies.

 

NERF CROSSFIRE
Victim: CNN
Subject: Softball journalism
Stewart’s power and ability to “take down” cable news was demonstrated literally during this famous appearance on CNN’s “Crossfire,” which was canceled shortly thereafter.

 

LACTATE INTOLERANCE
Victim: Fox News
Subject: Flip-flopping on entitlements
Megyn Kelly changed her tune about maternity leave after she herself had a child. Stewart was not amused by the hypocrisy.

 

RACE/OFF
Victim: Fox News
Subject: Ferguson coverage
The killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer set off a firestorm of controversy in the U.S., and Stewart was quick to condemn Fox News’ spin on the events.

 

THE NEVER CNN-DING STORY
Victim: CNN
Subject: Malaysian Airlines flight 370
Stewart skewered CNN for its 24/7 coverage of the missing plane, because cable news at its weirdest deserved no less.

 

THE GRETCH WHO SAVED THE WAR ON CHRISTMAS
Victim: Fox News
Subject: The “War on Christmas”
Fox’s Christmas coverage gave Stewart no shortage of material to make fun of the network, and Gretchen Carlson in particular.

 

GETTING BILL O’RILED UP
Victim: Bill O’Reilly, white people
Subject: White privilege
Stewart’s longstanding friendly feud with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly is iconic, and perfectly encapsulated in this exchange about white privilege.

 

Stewart started as “Daily Show” host on Jan. 11, 1999. He will host his final show on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 11:30 ET on Comedy Central.

South African comedian Trevor Noah will take over the late-night staple on Sept. 28.

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