Jon Stewart calls out Donald Trump for claiming he 'respects' the Obamas
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Comedian Jon Stewart has sharply criticized former president Donald Trump's recent claim of respect for Barack and Michelle Obama, dismissing it as "bulls**t."
On his podcast, 'The Weekly Show', Stewart took issue with Trump's statements about the former first family, describing them as insincere given the history of animosity Trump has directed at them.
Jon Stewart criticizes Donald Trump's 'respect' for Obamas
During a recent episode of his podcast, Jon Stewart discussed Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention, where she appeared visibly hurt by the ongoing attacks on her family.
"She was really wounded by the, if we’re being honest, disgusting treatment, which continues to this day, of the Obama family," Stewart said. "Just the vile attacks, like, not policy, not anything other than just vile, conspiratorial, personal disturbing."
Trump had praised Obama in an interview with CNN earlier that week, calling him a “nice gentleman” and acknowledging respect for him and his wife. "I like him. I think he’s a nice gentleman, but he was very, very weak on trade," Trump said. Later, he added, “But I happen to like him. I respect him, and I respect his wife.”
Stewart dismissed this praise as disingenuous, stating, “And then you have Trump yesterday, ‘I’ve got a lot of respect for the Obamas.’ Bulls**t!” He pointed out that Trump’s praise is at odds with his past behavior, specifically his promotion of the "birther" conspiracy theory, which falsely claimed Obama was not born in the United States.
“Him saying it doesn’t make it true. He was the leader of an absolute torrent and river of slime,” Stewart noted. “I imagine for her, she thought, ‘We’ve given our pound of flesh to this endeavor, and I don’t want any part of that'.”
Donald Trump gets defensive after criticism from Obamas
Michelle Obama's speech strongly criticized Donald Trump, particularly in response to his recent comments about "Black jobs." Her husband, Barack Obama, also took aim at Trump, describing him as someone who spreads conspiracy theories and has a “weird obsession with crowd sizes.”
Trump responded to the criticisms by questioning whether he should continue to focus on policy or engage in personal attacks.
"They always say, 'Sir, please stick to policy, don't get personal'... and yet [the Democrats are] getting personal all night long, these people. Do I still have to stick to policy?” Trump asked at a North Carolina rally, referencing the calls from Republicans for him to concentrate less on personal insults and more on policy differences.
He said he would "rather focus on policy" but added that sometimes "it's hard when you are attacked from all ends."
