Jon Stewart mocks CNN for cashing in on Biden cancer diagnosis
Daily Show host Jon Stewart shamed CNN on Monday for endlessly promoting a top anchor's new book about Joe Biden's cognitive decline while covering the former president's cancer diagnosis.
Stewart, 62, blasted the network as 'f***ing weird' for touting the tome alongside news that Biden is battling an 'aggressive' form of prostate cancer.
He framed the effort as not only self-serving, but poor journalism - saying CNN had its chance to report on news of Biden's mental state before the election.
The book, Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, claims to detail a distinct Democratic 'cover-up' designed to allow Biden to run again.
Ahead of the book's Tuesday release, it was plugged by co-author and CNN host Jake Tapper, Brian Stelter, and Kate Bouldan - leading Stewart to call out specific sound bites.
'You will not believe what we found out,' Tapper says in one clip, while holding up a copy of his book.
'Don't news people have to tell you what they know when they find it out?' Stewart sarcastically responded, suggesting CNN had the chance to air such reporting a year ago.
'Isn't that the difference between news and a secret?'
Stewart ran through plethora of other CNN clips featuring talking heads flogging the book.
'Biden's health was very much in the news even before the cancer diagnosis was announced on Sunday,' Early Start host Rahel Solomon said in a segment.
'That's because of a new book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios journalist Alex Thompson,' she added.
The tagline was later repeated word-for-word by CNN International anchor Ben Hunte on CNN Newsroom.
'CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, looks at a controversy the book is already generating ahead of its release on Tuesday,' Hunte added, giving the floor to CNN's media reporter.
Mere hours before, Stelter had appeared to question the timing of Biden's diagnosis, calling it 'extraordinary' and pointing out how it arrived on 'the same day audio clips of [Biden's] Robert Hur interview were all over the news.'
'The timing of former President Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis is certainly dramatic,' he said, speaking to Hunte and viewers in a clip also played by Stewart.
'Coming on the eve of a blockbuster new book about his health and his time in the White House.
CNN Business correspondent Rahel Solomon was one of several CNN hosts to promote their coworker's new book
'That book is "Original Sin" by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson.
'The book has been getting a lot of pre-publication publicity and buzz, as well as a lot of preorders,' Stelter continued.
'[It's] because of the damning new details it contains about Biden's time in office and his decision to seek reelection in 2024.'
Another segment singled out by Stewart showed CNN News Central anchor Bolduan saying, 'This very tough news, this very challenging news,' while speaking on Biden's diagnosis.
'And at the same time, the backdrop of our colleague Jake Tapper's book with Alex Thompson coming out this week,' she quickly added.
After showing a clip of anchor Dana Bash saying it's going to be a "tough week" while touting the book, Stewart couldn't resist.
'It's so hard, it's such a difficult time, so unfathomable in terms of the pain his family must be feeling and yet, if you act now, you use the code "backslash tap that book,"' he sniped.
CNN stars Kate Bouldan, Van Jones, and Brian Stelter all shilled for the book as well
This left an incredulous Stewart to find humor in the situation. He branded the 'pivot from excitedly promoting your anchor's book to somberly and respectfully promoting your anchor's book' a failure
'Forgetting about the fact how f***ing weird it is that the news is selling you a book about news they should have told you about a year ago for free.'
'Nothing could slow down this coming, feeding news frenzy about Biden's cognitive health, other than maybe a report on his actual physical health,' he added separately.
'Doing the story seems almost disrespectful.'
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