Psychologist and author Mary L. Trump — an outspoken critic of her uncle, former President Donald Trump — took to social media Tuesday night to rebuke what “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart had to say about this year’s presidential race.
Stewart made his return to the program Monday, hosting for the first time since 2015, and took the opportunity to express what he thought was a fair comparison between the presumptive 2024 nominees.
“These two candidates, they are both similarly challenged. And it is not crazy to think that the oldest people in the history of the country to ever run for president might have some of these challenges,” he said, referring to Trump and current President Joe Biden.
“We’re not suggesting neither man is vibrant, productive or even capable. But they’re both stretching the limits of being able to handle the toughest job in the world,” Stewart added.
Mary Trump later reposted the clip of Stewart’s statement to X, but took issue with the comedian’s comparison of the men, tweeting: “Not only is Stewart’s ‘both sides are the same’ rhetoric not funny, it’s a potential disaster for democracy.”
In a follow-up newsletter, the 58-year-old author of an unauthorized biography of her uncle made it clear exactly why she feels Stewart’s comments were so misleading.
“In what universe is Donald vibrant, productive or capable??” she wrote in her Tuesday newsletter, which she titled “Jon Stewart’s Danger to Democracy.”
“This statement wasn’t even tongue-in-cheek,” she continued. “Stewart was making a straight-up comparison. There are no excuses here. Stewart knows who Donald is. Donald isn’t vibrant. He is compulsive and unhinged. Donald isn’t productive. He is inept. Donald isn’t capable. He is a disaster.”
She went on to praise Biden’s accomplishments while in office, including economic recovery efforts and investments into climate and infrastructure. Despite his age of 81, Mary Trump said Biden is the candidate who gives “American democracy a fighting chance.”
Not one to mince words, she also characterized her uncle as a “fascist,” as well as a “cruel, unfit rapist who, in addition to being a criminal defendant under four indictments, sides with our enemies at every opportunity.”
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