Jon Stewart left stunned after spotting ‘backup Trump’ behind POTUS

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Jon Stewart turned a brief clip of President Donald Trump speaking to reporters into one of the biggest laughs on ‘The Daily Show’ after joking that a mystery man standing behind the president looked like a "backup Trump."

The segment aired Monday, July 20, after Trump's appearance at the World Cup final.

The identity of the mystery man remains unclear, though he may have been Viktor Knavs, First Lady Melania Trump's father, who attended the match alongside the president. The White House has not commented on the observation.

Jon Stewart jokes about mystery man standing behind Donald Trump

Stewart was discussing the World Cup final, where Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, when he rolled footage of Trump speaking with reporters in front of Air Force One.

Instead of focusing on the president's remarks, Stewart became fixated on a man standing in the background who appeared to resemble Trump in several ways.

The man had a similar build, appeared to be around the same age, walked comparably, and was also dressed in a navy suit. The resemblance immediately caught Stewart's attention.

"What’s up with the guy behind Trump? Can we see that again? Can you bring that out? Who the f**k is this guy?" Stewart asked while replaying the footage.

Still trying to figure out who he was looking at, Stewart added, "Who in the world is it? Oh my God! Is that a backup Trump?"

The audience erupted in laughter as the comedian continued building on the joke.

"Wait, what? Wait, who? What? Is that a back-up Trump or is that Trump?" Stewart continued. "Wait, is the one we've been dealing with backup Trump or is that Trump?!"

Although Stewart leaned into the joke, the identity of the man has not been officially confirmed.

Jon Stewart also mocks Donald Trump's World Cup appearance

The mystery man was not the only thing Stewart poked fun at during the segment.

He also criticized Trump for remaining on stage after presenting Spain with the winner's trophy, suggesting the president was enjoying the spotlight longer than necessary.

"What the f**k are you doing on the stage?" Stewart asked. "It's for the players. Why must everything be tainted by the overinflated ego of Cankles Muldoon? Why?"

Trump's extended stay during the trophy celebration also caught the attention of an Australian Special Broadcasting Service commentator, who was heard on a hot mic saying, "They're going to edit him out of that."

Stewart later shifted his attention to Trump's comments after the match.

Introducing the clip with sarcasm, Stewart said, "I will admit this: afterwards, Trump had some really insightful post-game analysis."

The show then aired footage of Trump saying that the 2026 soccer tournament was "four times greater than any FIFA ever held."

Stewart quickly seized on the wording. "What's a FIFA? How do you hold a FIFA? How could our FIFA be four times greater than any other FIFA?" he joked. "Is that what they told you? You know they're telling you that because everyone around you lies to you."

White House fires back as long-running Trump-Stewart feud continues

The comedy segment drew a sharp response from the White House.

Spokesperson Steven Cheung Ingle blasted Stewart, saying, "Jon Stewart is a talentless hack who clearly suffers from a severe and debilitating disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain and ruined his life to the point he has to compensate for his embarrassing inadequacies."

The exchange is only the latest chapter in the long-running feud between Stewart and Trump.

Trump has publicly criticized Stewart before. In 2013, he posted on X, "Little Jon Stewart(?) Is a p****, he would be hopeless in a debate with me!"