Jon Stewart fires back at Mitch McConnell over 9/11 victims fund bill
As generations of opponents have discovered, it can be hard to land a punch in a political fight against Mitch McConnell, the longest-serving Republican Senate majority leader in US history.
But entertainer and activist Jon Stewart targeted the Kentucky senator in a late-night diatribe delivered on Monday on the Late Show, the variety program hosted by former Stewart protege Stephen Colbert.
Periscoping from beneath Colbert’s desk at the start of the program, Stewart escalated a tangle with McConnell that began last week, when Stewart blasted members of Congress for failing to attend a hearing about renewing funding for the 9/11 victims compensation fund.
Stewart was needlessly “bent out of shape” about members missing the hearing, McConnell replied in a Fox News appearance on Monday morning. “That frequently happens because members have a lot of things going on at the same time,” McConnell said. “And it sounds to me like he’s looking for some way to take offense.”
Stewart seized on McConnell’s comments in his appearance on Colbert’s program.
“You know what, Stephen, I feel so stupid,” Stewart said. “This is a huge misunderstanding. I didn’t know that they were busy. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt them with their JOBS!
Stewart continued:
As an activist, Stewart has become the public face of the fight to renew the 9/11 victims’ fund, which is set to expire next year. In his Fox News appearance, McConnell said Stewart didn’t need to worry about it.
“We have never failed to address this issue and we will address it again,” McConnell said. “I don’t know why he’s all bent out of shape.”
The exchange afforded a case study of the six-term senator’s favored tactic for political knife-fights. The tactic is to exude the profound comfort of untouchable power – even his critics admit McConnell is convincing at it – and then to express confusion about why his opponents are so worked up.