Jon Stewart Takes Aim at Trump’s Reaction to Lindsey Graham’s Death

Late-Night TV

"I think the President has zoomed through the first five stages of grief and gone straight to number six: Fuck that guy"

On the latest episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart addressed Donald Trump‘s mediocre reaction to the death of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11.

“The big news from the weekend was the sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina,” Stewart said as he opened the show. “Now, obviously, I knew him a bit from lobbying down at Capitol Hill, but I didn’t know him particularly well. So I’ll let Lindsey Graham’s best friend memorialize the late senator.”

Stewart then cut to a clip from Fox and Friends, where Trump called in and said, “He was a great guy and he was a friend. He would call me all the time. He would just — I’d say, ‘Stop calling me, Lindsey.’”

Stewart mimicked Trump, “’I’ll never forget the way that I always let him go to voicemail. It was our thing.'” He added, “Obviously, he’s just opening the eulogy on a lighthearted note. I’m sure the poignancy follows.”

The host then cut back to a series of Trump’s reactions, including: “He loved playing golf. He loved being outside. It wasn’t that he was a great striker of the ball. He wasn’t Jack Nicklaus. He was not Tiger.” “He was totally against me. He said, ‘I’ll get you in South Carolina. I’m going to get you in South Carolina.’ That didn’t work out too well. It was a nasty campaign. He was tough and nasty.” “I wanted to see the war with Ukraine end very quickly. I think he was more into, you know, keeping it going, frankly.” “He was a total workaholic politician. You know, some people don’t call that work. Some people call that a lot of talking.”

Stewart responded, “Well, I think the President has zoomed through the first five stages of grief and gone straight to number six: Fuck that guy.”

He noted that Trump appeared on almost every show on TV to remember Graham, even when the “host of the show seemed to not want him too.” He played a clip of Trump on Fox News continuing to speak as the reporter tried to interject with questions. “‘Oh no, I’m sorry Mr. President the TV station’s going through a tunnel!'” Stewart quipped.

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In another clip, Trump revealed that he gave Graham a “99 out of 100” in life because of his reaction to Jan. 6. Stewart noted, “My favorite part of any eulogy is when the announce the person’s life score. He’s doing a eulogy like it’s Portnoy doing a pizza review.”

Stewart also marveled at the fact that Graham died before Mitch McConnell. “How the fuck is that possible?” the host asked. “It’s hard to believe. McConnell was the one who spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals since his Capitol Hill buffering episodes. McConnell was the one who suddenly disappeared for a month and nobody heard from him, to the point where the governor of his own state was asking for proof of life, which, coincidentally, we got yesterday.”