Jon Stewart isn’t buying that his old sparring partner Tucker Carlson is actually making a shift away from MAGA.
On this week’s episode of The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, the host posited that Carlson’s alleged distaste for Donald Trump is not a revelation, but “the latest shift of the grift.”
Carlson’s condemnation of the president has grabbed headlines, to the point where the former Fox News host was called on for a nearly two-hour-long interview with The New York Times in which he discussed his shifting politics. Across the contentious conversation, Carlson discussed his rupture with Trump, as well as Israel, Senator Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, and Nick Fuentes.
He was also confronted about his suggestion that Trump is “the Antichrist,” which he denied ever saying, despite the fact that it is on video.
Stewart, who has an infamous history with Carlson, mocked the latter’s response to this question and offered an explanation as to why Carlson appears to be leading the MAGA rift. “It’s a grifter subculture, and they’re all a part of it,” Stewart, 63, said.
“Tucker’s move is just the latest shift of the grift. That’s all this is,” Stewart declared. “There’s no epiphany; it’s just that f---ing ship is sinking.”
Stewart also tore into the mainstream media for spotlighting Carlson’s latest rhetoric, saying that the media is purporting it as “an interesting transformation.”
“No, it’s not!” Stewart exclaimed.
In his conversation with The Times, Carlson, 56, denied ever making such remarks about Trump, despite the host displaying a clip of him doing so. “I don’t know where that comes from, but I know that those words never left my lips because I’m not sure I fully understand what the Antichrist is,” he explained.
In April, the Tucker Carlson Show host said he regretted endorsing Trump, sending shockwaves through the political world after years of steadfast support for the president. He said he is now wrestling with his conscience, that there were “signs of low character,” and that he is sorry for “misleading people.”
“You know, we’ll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be,” he told his brother in the episode.
Carlson joins a roster of one-time MAGA stalwarts, including Megyn Kelly and Candace Owens. The president responded to months of criticism from his previous loyalists in a furious Truth Social rant, calling them “stupid people.” With regard to Carlson, the president got personal, saying he is amongst “hand flailing fools” and deeming him “a broken man.”
Stewart’s assessment of the Trump-Carlson fallout comes decades after a battle of his own with Carlson. The two media commentators notoriously clashed in a 2004 episode of CNN’s Crossfire, during which Stewart slammed Carlson and co-host Paul Begala for using on-air debates to divide America. “Stop. Stop, stop, stop hurting America,” Stewart told them.
At one point, their fiery exchange reached a peak when Carlson suggested that Stewart was more fun on his own show, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Stewart responded, “You know what’s interesting, though? You’re as big a d--- on your show as you are on any show.”
The broadly circulated segment lives on. It’s widely believed that Stewart’s interview was the catalyst for the cancellation of Crossfire. CNN’s president at the time, Jonathan Klein, specifically cited Stewart’s criticisms of the show and said he agreed “wholeheartedly.”
In 2025, Stewart found himself in a rare moment of agreement with Carlson over their shared criticism of going to war in Iran. “We’re in such a bizarro world, you’ve got me nodding my head to Tucker Carlson videos,” Stewart said on his podcast in June. “You got Tucker Carlson going, ‘Why are we going to war with Iran again?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, you tell him, brother!’ Like, that’s how f---ing upside down we find ourselves in this moment.”
