Internet Reacts to Jon Stewart's Powerful Monologue on Charleston Shooting

image
Published: 19 Jun, 2015
Updated: 15 Oct, 2022
2 min read

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjzrvRKv6Ks

Jon Stewart is known for taking some of the biggest news stories in the media and making them funny, giving audiences an opportunity to hear about important things happening in the nation and world around them in an entertaining way. However, when it came to the tragedy in Charleston, South Carolina, Stewart had no jokes to write.

"I didn't do my job today," Stewart said in the beginning of his monologue. "Maybe if I wasn't nearing the end of the run or if this wasn't such a common occurrence, I could have pulled out of the spiral, but I didn't ... I honestly have nothing other than sadness."

For 5 minutes, Jon Stewart broke character to give arguably one of the most impassioned rants ever on his show. Stewart explicitly called the shooting in South Carolina a terrorist attack and expressed frustration over the fact that America will spend tens of billions chasing ISIS and Islamic terrorists around the world, but we won't do anything about these incidents of domestic terrorism.

"We still won't do jack s--t," he remarked.

"What blows my mind is the disparity of response between when we think people that are foreign are going to kill us and us killing ourselves." - Jon Stewart, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Mother Jones said the segment is "probably the most important video we've seen in months."

Jon Stewart's segment on the #CharlestonShooting is probably the most important video we've seen in months.Posted by Mother Jones on Friday, June 19, 2015

Social media has been abuzz with chatter about Jon Stewart's monologue since it went viral. On Twitter, Stewart has received an overwhelmingly positive response for the most part:

https://twitter.com/TIME/status/611939458041147392

https://twitter.com/dantherriault/status/611893434660556800

IVP Donate

https://twitter.com/d0ntcallmed0ll/status/611920781837266949

https://twitter.com/jeffcannata/status/611919226127847425

https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/611914246100811776

https://twitter.com/SwiftOnSecurity/status/611911256405094400

https://twitter.com/rumchampion/status/611909845566910464

https://twitter.com/Nash076/status/611939930005114880

https://twitter.com/AndreWolff_/status/611956158094553088

However, while many people do not disagree with Stewart calling this a terrorist attack or that racism is still a problem in the U.S., some people were more concerned about the gun control aspect of the debate even though Stewart said from the very beginning that he didn't want to get into those political debates.

Let Us Vote : Sign Now!

https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/611888523784884225

https://twitter.com/jtLOL/status/611878612774457344

https://twitter.com/2Lu88/status/611733605568516096

https://twitter.com/ElectionLawCtr/status/611913638933233664

What was your reaction to Jon Stewart's monologue?

Latest articles

An electric sign of the American flag.
ABC's Sara Haines Calls Out 'Narrow View' that Independent Voters Can't Exist in Trump Era
American journalist and co-host of ABC’s The View, Sara Haines, refutes the notion that people can't be independent-minded in their election choices in an era in which the Republican Party is controlled by Trump – a perspective voiced by her colleague, Sunny Houstin that Haines describes as “narrow.”...
06 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read
US map divided in blue and red with a white ballot box on top.
Could Maine Be the First State to Exit the National Popular Vote Compact?
On May 20, the Maine House of Representatives voted 76–71 to withdraw the state from the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), reversing course just over a year after Maine became the 17th jurisdiction to join the agreement....
04 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read
New York City
Nine Democrats Face Off in NYC Mayoral Debate as Ranked Choice Voting, Cuomo Probe, and Independent Bid from Adams Reshape the Race
A crowded field of nine Democratic candidates will take the stage tonight, June 4, in the first official debate of the 2025 New York City mayoral primary. Held at NBC’s 30 Rock studios and co-sponsored by the city’s Campaign Finance Board, NBC 4 New York, Telemundo 47, and POLITICO New York, the debate comes at a pivotal moment in a race already shaped by political upheaval, criminal investigations, and the unique dynamics of ranked choice voting....
04 Jun, 2025
-
6 min read