Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Jon Stewart laid into President Donald Trump and his administration, calling the group “petty” and “weak” during Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show.”
The senator stopped by the Comedy Central program and discussed Pete Hegseth’s recent censure of him, which came about after he (and other politicians) called on service members to resist any “illegal” orders issued by Trump. As Kelly defended during his appearance, he did not break the law with his social media video, slamming the Trump administration’s accusations against him as “ridiculous.”
Stewart, who read aloud the memo sent to Sen. Kelly regarding the censure, added: “This is the part that I thought was sort of bonkers. ‘On November 20th, 2025, you issued a joint statement defending the video and reinforcing your call for refusal of what you characterize as unlawful orders.’ Well, you didn’t characterize it that way. That’s what you said.”
He continued: “You criticized military leadership for firing admirals and generals in quotations, and surrounding themselves with yes men, also in quotations, asserting you would — and they bolded this — always defend the Constitution.”
Kelly once again double down on his sentiments, adding, “I’m in the United States Senate. I’m on the Armed Services Committee. My job is oversight. I voted for those admirals and generals. They fired them. And this guy’s surrounded by a bunch of yes men. They didn’t like that I said that.”
While Stewart was baffled by the fact the administration was trying to strip Kelly of his rank and pension for speaking out, the latter vowed he was “going to do everything in [his] power not to allow them to do that.”
Per Stewart, Trump and Hegseth’s response to the video spoke volumes of the administration’s character.
“That is fragility,” the comedian sounded off. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen strength portrayed in this manner, this smacks of weakness and fear. When people have the power and and the respect, they don’t need to be petty. This is petty.”
Kelly co-signed Stewart’s stance, and took a shot at Trump in response. “It’s a reflection of the person at the top,” the senator said. “It always is.”
Watch the “Daily Show” highlight above.
“The Daily Show” airs weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on Comedy Central.
