Comedian John Stewart returned to host "The Daily Show" on Thursday after a multi-year hiatus and promptly chided what experts have described as the president's latest attack on free speech.
President Donald Trump's administration has made multiple efforts to curtail free speech following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week. For instance, the administration has repeated the narrative that Democratic rhetoric and left-wing groups inspired Kirk's killer to act.
On Wednesday, Trump-aligned FCC chair Brendan Carr made a thinly veiled threat that the FCC may need to review the licenses of networks that carry shows like "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that he said "do not serve the public interest." Nextstar Media Group announced later that Jimmy Kimmel's eponymous show would be suspended indefinitely. The decision happened a couple of days after Kimmel made a comment about Kirk's killer that conservatives found offensive.
"There are rules of free speech that everybody needs to abide by, and in case anybody forgot, we're going to go over them again," Stewart said sarcastically.
Stewart then played clips of conservative pundits arguing that there should be repercussions for lying.
"You can't just go on television and make up lies," Stewart said.
He then played clips of administration officials telling audiences stories that don't align with objective data, like that crime is up and that immigrants are mostly criminals.
"That's how it's done!" Stewart said.
