Jon Stewart asks if Trump will 'burn our country down for insurance money' amid CBS lawsuit
"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart expressed worry this week that the Trump administration's lawsuit against CBS News could also result in the end of his show, as well as pain for the country.
In an interview on "The Bill Simmons Podcast," Stewart slammed President Donald Trump's pending lawsuit against CBS News and its parent company Paramount, saying it's merely a way to get major corporations to grovel before the president's agenda.
"But what you're seeing now is, all must pay tribute to the king," he said, elsewhere accusing other U.S. corporate leaders of paying Trump "protection money" to survive.
Trump sued CBS News and Paramount – also Comedy Central's parent company – for $10 billion in October over allegations of election interference involving the "60 Minutes" interview of then-Vice President Kamala Harris that aired weeks before the presidential election (the amount has since jumped to $20 billion).
Both Trump and Paramount have entered mediation, which could conclude at any time.
Stewart brought up the topic during the interview, saying that he's comfortable hosting "The Daily Show" on Monday nights up "until, you know, the company is bought out by people that don't want anything to do with 'The Daily Show.'"
"And then who the f--- knows what's going to happen. I mean, look what they're doing now to '60 Minutes' and CBS News and everything else," he added.
Host Bill Simmons remarked that both of them, along with other media pundits, are "in an area now that we've never been in my lifetime."
"Oh, it's insane," Stewart replied. He predicted that the media landscape they're a part of might not exist in the future because of the president's lawsuit, which he went on to criticize.
"Now you can make comments about, 'Well, I think I didn't like the way they edited it in the way that oftentimes people don't like the way they edited it. But it certainly doesn't rise to the level of libel, slander, or whatever the f--- else they're doing with a $2 billion lawsuit."
Stewart defended the way the CBS News show edited the Harris interview, adding, "It's a purely subjective editorial decision."
He called out other networks and business moguls for cooperating with the Trump administration, accusing them of bribing the president so that he avoids harassing them.
"And the price of peace is different. You know, ABC had to pay $15 million. Bezos had to pay $40 million for a documentary on Melania. Zuckerberg had to pay – they just put money into the pot, so hopefully they don't get… What does that remind you of?"
"Michael Corleone," Simmons responded, naming the main character from the "Godfather" films. "Right," Stewart replied. "It's protection money." Later, he referred to it as "bribery."
He continued, "So ultimately, at the end of this, does Trump burn our f------ country down for insurance money? Like where are we headed?"
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"There will be a lot of people who are drawn to this particular pride as a giant 'F*** you' to the administration, and there will be a lot of people who are incentivized into negative behaviors that may not necessarily be characteristic of who they are because of that fear and misinformation and general dissatisfaction with human rights violations that are happening in a lot of different ways." New York City's annual Pride March commemorates the 1969 uprising by members of the LGBTQ community at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images Comments across social media have also highlighted the mixed emotions. In a video about WorldPride posted to TikTok earlier this month, a top comment with more than 2,000 likes says: "Being real... I'm not going this year. I'm scared." Another reads: "Couldn't pay me enough to attend a mass gathering like this in this political climate." But others had a different take, including this commenter who wrote: "Don't let them make us scared we deserve happiness too." While some may choose to skip this year's events due to safety concerns, Stoller predicts their absence will be filled with others eager to take a stand. "Folks who may not have attended in the past, might not have felt motivated to show up, to protest, to be in this current political climate and make their voices heard — those folks might come out of the woodworks," they said. For those with layered identities, navigating Pride this year is even more complex. David D. Marshall, founder and CEO of Journey to Josiah Inc., a Baltimore-based adoption nonprofit, said the feeling of a "robust need to fight" is met with the reality that, for people of color, showing up is a "a whole different experience" to White LGBTQ people. 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Based on the achievements of the Israel Defense Forces—including damage to Hamas, weakening Hezbollah, destroying Syria's military arsenal during Assad's collapse, and demonstrating Israel's capability to strike deep into Iran—Israeli leadership could, from a position of strength, pursue releasing all hostages simultaneously, halt this senseless war, end the humanitarian crisis, and uproot Hamas from power. This would enable Israel, though belatedly, to join Trump's vision of a New Middle East, including normalization with Saudi Arabia, regional deployment to tackle the Iranian challenge, and participation in the trade corridor project from India through the Gulf to Europe. Choosing a "war of deception" instead—where misleading propaganda presents political warfare as serving Israel's security—would be a grave mistake. It's highly doubtful that continuing the war could produce results different from previous Gaza rounds over the past 20 months. But it would certainly constitute a death sentence for some or most living hostages and deepen the diplomatic tsunami and International Criminal Court claims Israel already faces. This approach might make sense if it could achieve "total victory" over Hamas, but that won't happen. When this new war inevitably halts—under diplomatic pressure, humanitarian crisis, battlefield events, or domestic political developments—we would find ourselves in precisely the same situation as today. To understand, examine recent history. The October 7th barbaric attack created a compelling imperative for Israel to ensure Hamas could never again reign over Gaza or threaten Israel from there. The question was how to achieve this goal. Since Ben-Gurion, Israel has followed four strategic maxims: wars should be aggressive, fought on enemy territory, ended quickly to translate battlefield results into diplomatic and political realities while maintaining international legitimacy, and—extremely important—never lose the moral high ground. That's how we won in 1967 in six days and 1973 in three weeks. Netanyahu has betrayed almost all these principles. Read More: The Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Was Never Going to Last Another strategic maxim, from Clausewitz to Kissinger, holds that war must have a clearly defined, operationally feasible political purpose. As the Roman saying goes: "If you don't know which port you want to reach, no wind will take you there." This maxim was deliberately ignored. Netanyahu has blocked any discussion of this issue since October 7th, 2023. It was clear to any serious observer that Hamas suffered major military blows daily, losing most weapons systems and leadership figures since October 7th. However, since any Hamas group or individual can easily "disappear" within minutes, hiding among the Strip's 2 million civilians and emerging from tunnels or building windows to attack Israelis, their absolute elimination remains a Sisyphean task. Even after 58 years in the West Bank, we never fully eliminated Hamas' presence in Jenin or Tulkarm. The only way to ensure Hamas cannot reign over Gaza and threaten Israel is by replacing it with another governing entity legitimate to the international community, Arab neighbors like Egypt, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, and Palestinians themselves. Practically, this means a temporary inter-Arab force backed by the Arab League, potentially supported by UN Security Council resolution, funded by Saudi Arabia and UAE, with a technocratic government overseeing Palestinian bureaucracy and a new, non-Hamas security body trained by the inter-Arab force under U.S. supervision. Israel would present only two conditions: no Hamas military branch member could participate in the new entity's organs, and the IDF, initially deployed to the Strip's perimeter, would withdraw to the border only after all pre-agreed security benchmarks are met. This plan, easily implementable a year ago, and appearing to save Gaza and Gazans from further destruction, is harder now, because it could be interpreted as saving Israel from sinking into Gazan mud. But the plan remains viable despite the Israeli government's refusal to consider it. Since this is the only practical "day after" plan, there's no sense sacrificing hostages' lives or endangering Israeli troops in pointless warfare. Who can look into the eyes of future bereaved parents, newly widowed spouses, new orphans, disabled and traumatized soldiers, and claim with clear conscience that everything was done to prevent loss, or that it had justification? As long as Israel rejects hostage release and war's end, the risk increases of international initiatives, including Arab neighbors calling for Israel boycotts and steps toward recognition of a Palestinian state by European countries—many of them stable friends of Israel. Read More: I Am a Former Hamas Hostage. Here's My Message to Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu Permanent occupation of the Gaza Strip, population transfer of 2 million Palestinians, and Israeli resettlement on the that land are base and delusional visions that would backfire and accelerate confrontation with the world. Why is Netanyahu, an intelligent, experienced, savvy politician, failing? The answer isn't simple. Netanyahu has ruled since 2015 through an alliance with ultra-Orthodox parties who don't serve in the army and care only about sectoral needs, and since January 2023 added ultra-right zealots believing Gaza resettlement and Palestinian transfer are heavenly orders. He's caught in a dilemma: 80% of the public sees him as primarily responsible for the country's worst day, 60% believe he should resign. A heavy majority perceives his judicial reform, initiated immediately after January 2023 elections, as a "judicial coup d'état"—an attempt to castrate the legislative branch and demolish Supreme Court independence. Many believe the aim of his blatant attack on democracy is to escape his bribery, fraud, and breach of trust court case. For him, any pause in the war—even 60 days, certainly longer—would immediately bring reckoning and accountability: accelerated court proceedings; demands for national inquiry committee investigating October 7th, and events before, during and after; coalition meltdown; and probable disgraced ejection from public life. I believe Netanyahu genuinely wants all hostages home. But when this clashes with immediate threats to his political survival, he prefers leaving them in Gaza. He has already torpedoed several hostage deal opportunities, and seems to be doing it once again over the weekend, by resisting U.S. guarantee to Hamas for an end to the war in exchange for release of all hostages and entering, together with the Trump Administration, into Trump's New Middle East Order (to include the replacement of Hamas, described above). Netanyahu sticks to his eternal war in order to avoid a pause in fighting, which might lead to the end of his political career. This behavior is unacceptable to Israel and Israelis. We are, as former Supreme Court President Aharon Barak wrote years ago, 'defending democracy' that "should be capable of defending itself against those who try to use the very freedoms and tools it provides to destroy it from within." We're led by someone who lost his strategic and moral compass, dragging the nation into war motivated by personal political interests against our security and common future. Israel urgently needs new, sober leadership with clear realistic vision and self-confidence—leadership capable of reading our people's soul, understanding partners' and rivals' minds, and above all, having courage to make decisions and power to implement them. The world will pass judgment. But the burden of bringing Israel back on track is ours—Israeli citizens. I believe we will overcome. This war will end soon, and Israel's worst ever government will be replaced by a responsible, effective one. A long path of repair must follow. Contact us at letters@
