(The Hill) – Jon Stewart is rejecting Elon Musk’s criticism that he’s a “propagandist,” and added that he’s “game” for an interview with the tech billionaire if he agrees to appear as a guest on “The Daily Show.”
The 62-year-old comedian made headlines last week after injuring his hand during a segment on the Comedy Central show while criticizing Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We are DOGEing in the wrong place if we really want to change the system,” Stewart said as he railed against sweeping cuts to the federal workforce made by the agency.
Following Stewart’s remarks, Musk expressed a willingness to appear on “The Daily Show,” writing on X, “I will do it if the show airs unedited.” But the Tesla CEO then wrote days later, “Jon Stewart is much more a propagandist than it would seem.”
Stewart responded on Monday’s edition of “The Daily Show.”
“Musk tweeted, or X’d, I guess, that he would like to come on here and talk to me as long as the show airs unedited,” Stewart told the audience. “After thinking about his offer, I thought, you know, hey, that’s actually how the in-studio interviews normally air, is unedited. So, sure, we’d be delighted,” he added.
Stewart then extended an offer to “sweeten or unsweeten” the deal, saying the interview could likely last as long as Musk wanted.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t think this network makes any other programming,” Stewart joked.
“So I am game. I think it would be a very interesting conversation,” he added.
Stewart then turned to Musk’s “propagandist” comment, as well as Musk’s allegation that Stewart is not as “bipartisan” as he used to be.
“The guy who custom-made his own ‘Dark MAGA’ hat that he wears to opine in the Oval Office with the president, who he spent $270 million to elect, thinks I’m just too partisan,” Stewart told the audience. “I’m really not sure what he thinks bipartisan means, but it’s generally not ‘I support Donald Trump and also Germany’s AFD Party.’ That’s not bipartisan. That’s just the same s—,” Stewart said.
The “Daily Show” host then addressed Musk directly, again implying that Musk is a hypocrite for calling him partisan.
“Look Elon, I do have some criticisms about DOGE. I support, in general, the idea of efficiency and delivering better services to the American public in cheaper and more efficient ways. And if you want to come on and talk about it on the show, great. If you don’t want to, sure,” Stewart said. “But can we just drop the pretense that you won’t do it because I don’t measure up to the standards of neutral discourse that you demand and display at all times? Because, quite frankly, that’s bulls—. You know it, I know it. Bulls—.”
Stewart’s remarks come amid DOGE’s efforts to drastically cut spending, with Democrats concerned that the agency is slashing funding and federal jobs without fully understanding where the money is indented to go, or what those jobs entail. Many pointed to a recent incident in which the government tried to bring back fired employees who worked on nuclear weapon programs.
Critics are also concerned over DOGE seeking to allow its staffers to access America’s most sensitive information, such as Social Security data and Veterans Affairs data.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.