Jon Stewart says he’s not leaving anytime soon, and he’s trying to make that official.
The comedian, whose current contract to host The Daily Show ends in December, revealed that “we’re working on staying” during an interview. Remnick had asked whether the Comedy Central host was planning to “sign another” contract.
When asked if he wants to remain at the helm of the late-night show he originally left in 2015 and returned to in early 2024, Stewart confirmed his desire to continue. Hosting on Mondays since his return, Stewart made it clear that, if it’s his choice, he wants to stay.
About a year ago, Stewart announced that he would remain on The Daily Show through December 2025. But since then, the political and media landscape has changed drastically, Donald Trump has returned to the White House, and Paramount has merged with David Ellison’s Skydance.
Stewart even referred to the Paramount Skydance CEO, the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, as his “new boss.” landscape has changed drastically, Donald Trump has returned to the White House, and Paramount has merged with
In recent months, Stewart’s Paramount colleague and former Daily Show co-star Stephen Colbert revealed that CBS’ The Late Show would end its run, while ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! was briefly suspended.
CBS, owned by the same parent company as Comedy Central, confirmed in July that The Late Show would conclude in May 2026.
Though executives called it “purely a financial decision,” the move came shortly after Colbert criticized Paramount for a $16 million settlement with Trump over a lawsuit tied to a 60 Minutes interview featuring his 2024 Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended for less than a week following Kimmel’s viral monologue about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassin, which prompted FCC commissioner Brendan Carr to threaten ABC’s affiliate licenses and led Nexstar and Sinclair to plan preemptions of his show.
Stewart, who also criticized the 60 Minutes settlement, implied that Colbert’s show cancellation was connected to his outspoken comments about Trump and the lawsuit. He even mocked Kimmel’s suspension with a satirical, “administration-compliant” edition of The Daily Show.
He continued, “If you’re trying to figure out why Stephen’s show is ending, I don’t think the answer can be found in some smoking gun email or phone call from Trump to CBS executives or in CBS QuickBooks spreadsheets on the financial health of late night.
I think the answer is in the fear and pre-compliance that is gripping all of America’s institutions at this very moment, institutions that have chosen not to fight the vengeful and vindictive actions of our…commander-in-chief.
To those corporations and advertisers and universities and law firms, all of them, if you still think that bending the knee to Trump will save you, I have one thing to say [breaking into song]: I know you’re scared, I know you’re weary, I know your plans don’t include me, but these are troubled times, so sack the fuck up!”
Since the merger, Paramount Skydance has enacted further changes at CBS News. The company appointed Kenneth Weinstein, former CEO of the conservative-leaning Hudson Institute, as CBS News’ ombudsman and named journalist Bari Weiss the network’s editor-in-chief after acquiring her platform, The Free Press.
When Remnick asked Stewart on Sunday about his earlier “I think” remark, the host laughed and said, “I’m neurotic.”
Throughout the conversation, which touched on Trump’s second term, the Democratic Party’s shortcomings, and the dangers of social media algorithms, Stewart made it clear he intends to keep fighting and encourages others to do the same.
“You don’t compromise on what you do, and you do it until they tell you to leave,” he said.
“I think it rattled everyone to some extent, but it also presented great opportunity, and so I don’t know that we’ve had as much fun as we did that Thursday morning, coming up with all the stupid little shit that you see, including, like, gold pictures and red ties. You know, it gave us some purpose.”
That said, Stewart pushed back on the idea that comedians are “the victims of this administration.”
“We are a visible manifestation of certain things, but the victims are the people that are struggling to have any voice and are being forcibly removed from streets by hooded agents — those are the victims of this administration,” he said.
Addressing recent controversy over comedians performing in Saudi Arabia, Stewart took a measured stance and avoided criticizing those who joined the Riyadh Comedy Festival.
“I don’t touch other people’s money,” he said. “It’s hard, man.”
“I thought the only person who should’ve done it was Pete Davidson, because they owe him money,” he joked, referencing how Davidson’s firefighter father died responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Stewart also didn’t hold back his criticism of the Democratic Party, condemning what he called its “passivity…to stick with the status quo that most people felt was not working for their needs.”
He expressed support for Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for New York City mayor, drawing applause from the audience at Manhattan’s Webster Hall, but struggled to name a national leader for Democrats.
When audience members jokingly suggested that Stewart himself should lead the party, he dismissed the idea as a reflection of collective frustration.
“Have we really gotten to that point?… That’s also a function of frustration, a cry of desperation. I’m other; I’m none of the above,” he said. “The Democratic party is ripe for what happened to the Republican party in 2016. But hopefully it will be somebody who uses that power for good and not for self-aggrandizing and not for their own gratification.”
Still, he found a glimmer of hope in recent civic action, citing the massive turnout at the No Kings rallies.
“When 7 million people show up in America on a weekend for anything, I mean, honestly, anything,” he said. “We’re not Russia, and their history of autocracy or dictatorship…is an alien culture to us, and it is uncomfortable, and that discomfort may be our saving grace.
And don’t think we’re going to wear that well. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to be in some kind of soft autocracy where news is controlled, but we have a lot of different avenues, and suppression creates opportunity and a populace that is thirsty for inspiration and leadership and morality and integrity…that’s fertile ground for that opportunity.”