Jon Stewart Slams Elon Musk’s Trump Rally Appearance, Second Amendment Rhetoric: ‘Guns Don’t Protect Our Free Speech’

Jon Stewart used his opening segment on Monday night’s episode of “The Daily Show” to break down Elon Musk’s appearance at a Trump rally on Sunday in Butler, Pa. While the appearance was widely mocked online for Musk’s enthusiasm — he literally jumped around the stage — the content of his speech was focused on the First and Second Amendments.

“The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech,” Musk said. “You must have free speech in order to have democracy. That’s why it’s the First Amendment … The Second Amendment is there to ensure that we have the First Amendment.”

Stewart first spoke about the hypocrisy of Musk applauding Trump’s embrace of freedom of speech, given that the former president threatened legal action against the upcoming film about his life, “The Apprentice,” with his team referring to it as “election interference.”

“It’s not free speech if only Trump’s admirers get to do it without consequence,” Stewart said. “That’s just not how it works. It doesn’t go that way.”

Stewart then broke down Musk’s Second Amendment comment.

“Guns don’t protect our free speech,” Stewart said. “Our free speech is protected by the consent of the governed laid out through the Constitution. It’s not based on the threat of violence. It’s based on elections, organizing referendums, a judicial system. Our social contract offers many, many avenues to remedy these issues and allows sides to be heard and adjudicated.

“Guns, from what I can tell, seem to mostly protect the speech of the people holding the gun,” he continued. “It’s a tool of intimidation, and one that I think is actually being irresponsibly and recklessly invoked. Because some people in your crowd thought they might have been shadowbanned by Facebook. I mean, for God’s sake, you guys are in Butler, Pennsylvania. The whole reason you’re there is because some fucking asshole with an AR-15 tried to permanently litigate his vision of this country’s free speech. That’s why you’re there. The whole point of a society is guns don’t decide it. I would prefer at this moment not to trade in a government that offers me many remedies for my concerns, legitimate or illegitimate, for a situation where my rights are determined by how many militia members agree with me.”

Watch the full segment below.

Jon Stewart returned to hosting The Daily Show on Monday night, and he immediately dove into the possible “October surprises” that could still impact the final weeks of the presidential election campaign.

Stewart began the segment by briefly looking over past October surprises, including the infamous Access Hollywood tape, as well as the media running through a selection of recent natural disasters and wars that might become the dreaded black swan event in the waning days of the campaign.

“Why are October surprises always so shitty? Why do we never get a good October surprise that brings our country together?” Stewart joked, adding that he hoped that internet stars Pesto, the absolute unit of a baby penguin, and Moo Deng, the impish baby pygmy hippo, may start dating.Stewart that expanded the point about October surprises, by suggesting that they invariably favor Republicans, who capitalize on death and misery to score election points. “If monkeypox runs amok, I don’t see how we lose!” Stewart said mockingly. “What does it actually say about a party that a war, a strike, and a natural disaster work in their favor? Sir, the election’s close, but if we could just get the population shell-shocked and desperate, we can do it.”

Turning his attention to recent events, Stewart said an October surprise for him was seeing Elon Musk, exposed belly and all, at Donald Trump‘s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “[Musk’s] October surprise is he’s come out MAGA.”

“Now, you might think one of the world’s richest men controlling one of the world’s most influential platforms could be a recipe for what some may consider election interference,” Stewart said, before joking to the audience, “You stupid, stupid people.”

Stewart called back to the 2016 and 2020 election, when Trump vociferously accused Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of election interference and pointed out the brazen double standard now that Musk, the owner of the embattled X platform, has come out in support for the former president. The segment dived deeper into Trump’s repeated threats to punish and imprison people who he felt were interfering in the election against him, including the team behind the biopic The Apprentice.

“Trump has threatened almost all of them with either imprisonment, lawsuits, or censoring, which is why this one section of this weekend’s rally in Pennsylvania was so striking, when Elon Musk was discussing why he supports Donald Trump,” Stewart said, coming to the main thrust of the segment.

A clip of Musk’s speech from the Trump rally was then played: “The other side wants to take away your freedom of speech. You must have free speech in order to have democracy. That’s why it’s the First Amendment.”

Stewart shot back: “Elon, were you not watching the rest of the show? A movie Trump doesn’t like is going to get sued. A tech mogul he doesn’t like, he wants to put in prison. It’s not free speech if only Trump’s admirers get to do it without consequence. That’s just not how it works. It doesn’t go that way. I don’t see how his support of free speech is “expose the belly” worthy. I just don’t.”

Another clip of Musk’s speech was then played: “But at least the Constitution remains intact and is there to ensure that we have the First Amendment. The Second Amendment is there to ensure that we have the First Amendment.”

A clearly riled Stewart went for the jugular: Guns don’t protect our free speech. Our free speech is protected by the consent of the governed, laid out through the Constitution. It’s not based on the threat of violence. It’s based on elections, organizing referendums, a judicial system. Our social contract offers many, many avenues to remedy these issues and allows sides to be heard and adjudicated. Guns, from what I can tell, seem to mostly protect the speech of the people holding the gun. It’s a tool of intimidation…”

Met with rapturous applause, Stewart hushed the audience as he wasn’t done.

“It is a tool of intimidation and one that I think is actually being irresponsibly and recklessly invoked. Because some people in your crowd thought they might have been shadow-banned by Facebook. I mean, for God’s sakes, you guys are in Butler, Pennsylvania. The whole reason you’re there is because some fucking asshole with an AR-15 tried to permanently litigate his vision of this country’s free speech,” Stewart said, referring to the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump. “That’s why you’re there. The whole point of a society is guns don’t decide it. I would prefer at this moment not to trade in a government that offers me many remedies for my concerns, legitimate or illegitimate, for a situation where my rights are determined by how many militia members agree with me.”Softening his voice, Stewart concluded by addressing Musk directly. “The country ain’t perfect, and there’s a lot of issues we don’t agree on: choice, immigration, shrinkflation of snack chips, the unholy marriage of penguins and hippos. But, honestly, dude, a country that can adjudicate these complicated issues through a sometimes frustrating, overly bureaucratic constitutional system of checks and balances and peaceful transfer of power is the only kind of country that I want the children of Pesto and Moo Deng to grow up in.” 

Related Posts

The fallout? Pure chaos. What began as just another morning of coffee-table chatter on The View has exploded into a storm that could shake daytime television to its foundations. Legendary Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger isn’t just upset — he’s livid, and now he’s striking back with a $50 million lawsuit that insiders say could drag the entire ABC network into a brutal legal showdown. According to sources close to the rock icon, Jagger felt ambushed when a recent segment crossed the line, turning what was supposed to be lighthearted commentary into what he’s calling a “calculated public execution” of his character. And Jagger isn’t letting it slide. The lawsuit reportedly names every co-host, top producers, and even senior network executives — a move that has sent tremors rippling through ABC’s hallways. Detail in comment👇👇👇

The fallout? Pure chaos. What began as a routine morning of coffee-table chatter on The View has spiraled into a storm that could rock daytime television to its very core. Legendary Rolling…

Read more

“Tupac Shakur Is Allegedly Back: Ready to Expose Jay-Z and Diddy? Nearly three decades, Tupac Shakur is rumored to be alive in Cuba, living quietly away from the spotlight. Sources claim the legendary rapper is preparing to reveal sh0cking secrets about hip-hop moguls Jay-Z and Diddy, sending the music world into a frenzy. But the biggest question remains: what exactly has Tupac been hiding all these years — and why now? …😲👇”

The music world has been thrown into chaos as shocking rumors suggest Tupac Shakur, the legendary rapper presumed dead since 1996, may actually be alive — and ready to reveal…

Read more

RED-HOT LEAK: VANESSA BRYANT AND NBA STAR JAYLEN BROWN SPOTTED IN HOSPITAL – INTERNET ERUPTS, WHAT’S THE TRUTH? Internet and the basketball world are in turmoil after a leaked video went viral at breakneck speed across TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter: Vanessa Bryant – widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant – spotted at a hospital with what appeared to be a baby bump. Just a few seconds of footage was enough to turn social media into a pressure cooker of questions, conspiracy theories, and endless speculation. The burning question tearing through forums: Who’s the father? Is it the “young baller” Vanessa has been rumored to be dating – Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown – or a completely unknown figure yet to be revealed?

For weeks, social media has been swirling with whispers, speculation, and sensational photo collages claiming Vanessa Bryant — the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant — was secretly involved with…

Read more

Jaylen Brown officially spoke up about his relationship with Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryan’s ex-wife, confirming that the two have a child. Jaylen’s statement has caused a stir in the NBA world…. Full Story

In a move no one saw coming, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has broken his silence and confirmed rumors that had been swirling for months. During an exclusive conversation with…

Read more

Stephen Curry’s father called him in tears at 3am to tell him the sad news that his mother, Sonya, had ….

The world of basketball was shaken when reports emerged that in the quiet hours of the night, NBA superstar Stephen Curry received a heartbreaking phone call from his father, Dell…

Read more

In the final days of his battle against terminal cancer, young Branson Blevins cherished only one simple but sacred wish: to meet his idol Stephen Curry. When he received the news, Steph did something that broke the hearts of his fans…

Branson Blevins was not just another young basketball fan; he was a boy whose short life had been defined by courage, faith, and an unwavering love for the game. Diagnosed…

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *