Jon Stewart Reacts to Trump Inauguration Speech, Elon Musk Salute

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Jon Stewart shared his perspective on the “significant change in atmosphere” during Donald Trump’s second swearing-in ceremony, as discussed on Monday evening.

On Monday’s episode of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”, Stewart tackled the eventful inauguration day of President Trump (with the full video available below). In his 15-minute opening segment, he poked fun at the tech moguls present, the unexpected last-minute pardons issued by President Joe Biden to his family members, Elon Musk’s contentious crowd gesture, and, predictably, Trump’s speech.

— Many wealthy tech moguls showing deference to Trump: “A multitude of bald billionaires, all appearing to be regular patrons of the same high-tech life extension clinic and requesting ‘the Lex Luthor’ potion… These half-dozen men who hold approximately 20% of the world’s wealth and have access to every private moment you’ve ever taken a selfie. One might think this meeting should take place in a secret lair near Zurich’s volcano, or perhaps we are simply an open-source version of the Illuminati. But where’s the excitement in that? Frankly, there isn’t an app for communication not controlled by at least one of these individuals. And you might not worry about them all donating a million dollars to be present and seemingly flattering a president who openly threatens those who refuse such gestures. But trust me, things could get very peculiar.

— Regarding Elon Musk’s hand gesture, which some have suggested resembles a Nazi salute (a claim Musk has dismissed), I’d like to offer a more charitable interpretation: it appears he was expressing an awkward ‘I sympathize with you’. It seems unlikely this gesture will be repeated. To humorously explain the second instance, let’s say that might have been Elon’s attempt at ‘dabbing on the haters’.

—”Trump might have been hesitant to place his hand on the Bible during his swearing-in, as it could have caused a fire due to some unexplained circumstances.

Look who’s there! I hope he can’t hear you. The traditional American handover of power involves a subtle form of criticism, where the incoming president gets to express their disapproval quite openly, even in front of the outgoing president and his partner.

— At the inauguration, Biden appeared to have granted last-minute pardons to his immediate family members as Trump made his entrance.: “Biden, it seems like you’ve been so busy planning your pardons that they got scheduled automatically! What on earth are you doing, man? You’re pardoning your entire family like a captain going down with the ship! The rest of us might as well reenact Jack and Rose!

Stewart summarized: “The main point from today is that a man who attempted to undermine the government has been given authority smoothly, and the departing president initiated a fresh tradition of forgiving everyone close to him. These two figures have essentially formed a self-feeding snake, swallowing its own tail, a pattern without any responsibility.

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2025-01-21 07:54