Jon Stewart Is Aligned With Democrats, but Isn't Afraid to Have His Own Opinion

After almost a decade away, news broke in January 2024 that Jon Stewart would be returning as host of The Daily Show. Stewart hosted the show until 2015 and will be returning to host the show one day a week, on Mondays.

Following Jon's reemergence as the show's host, many wanted to better understand what his political views are. While he has spent much of his career calling out Republicans over their policy positions and hypocrisy, does that mean that Jon is a committed Democrat? Here's what we know about the TV personality's partisan leanings.

When Jon was accused of being a Democrat in 2000 by Larry King, he said that that was probably true.

"I think that's probably correct. I think I would say I'm more of a socialist or an independent but, yes, I mean, no one would ever I think watching our show think that, boy, that guy is just leaning so far right," he said at the time.

Jon also said, though, that he would make fun of or call out Democrats if he felt it was appropriate to do so.

Jon also said that he had voted for Republicans in the past, saying that the last time he voted for a Republican was in 1988 when he chose George H.W. Bush over Michael Dukakis.

Jon said that Bush had an "integrity about him that I respected greatly." In more recent years, Jon has advocated for single-payer healthcare and has been outspoken about Israel's mistreatment of the Palestinian people.

Jon was one of many media figures who signed a letter to President Biden calling for a ceasefire in the aftermath of Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. These positions suggest that Jon still leans pretty far to the left, at least on most things, and that sometimes his positions hew so far to the left that he even disagrees with the Democratic president's stated position.

Jon's willingness to speak out both seriously and not about politics was part of the reason for The Daily Show's tremendous success while he was the host. Since he left the show in 2015, though, it's fair to say that a lot has changed in the world of politics. Donald Trump's entire run as one of the main characters in our political landscape has happened, and the country has become even more divided than it was while Jon was hosting the show.

On The Problem with Jon Stewart, his short-lived interview series for Apple, Jon interviewed many people who were doing things he viewed as actively harmful. Sometimes, those interviews would go viral in part because Jon was willing to be so direct in asking questions about the harms involved in certain policies. Now, Jon is returning to the show that made him a star, and fans are thrilled by the news. He probably won't fix everything, but it'll be nice to have him back.