Jon Stewart reacts to Donald Trump, Joe Biden presidential age debate

Jon Stewart has come out of his Daily Show retirement to call out two of the United States’ retirement-aged presidential candidates.

On his first day back in nine years, the late-night host weighed in on the ongoing debate over whether the likely 2024 presidential nominees — Joe Biden and Donald Trump — were too old to hold office. The ages of both Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, have become a hot topic amongst voters in recent months amid concerns about their respective cognitive abilities ahead of this year’s election. 

“So, the question then becomes, ‘What the f— are we doing here, people?’” Stewart asked during Monday’s broadcast. He added, “These two candidates, they are both are 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.”

“We have two candidates who are chronologically outside the norm of anyone who has run for the presidency of this country in the history of this country,” he continued. “They are the oldest people ever to run for president — breaking by only four years the record that they set the last time they ran!”

Stewart then described Biden and Trump as “objectively old.” He added, “They’re at the age [where] there are no more age-related milestones to hit. They got the AARP card. They’ve got social security. They’ve got their movie discounts. There is no, ‘oh, wait ’til you hit 88, you get to drink and drive!’ No! The only thing left for them is a Today show Smucker’s shoutout.”

However, Stewart noted that their age doesn’t mean that “neither man is vibrant, productive, or even capable” of doing things. “But they’re both stretching the limits to handle the toughest job in the world,” he explained. “What’s crazy is thinking we’re the ones, as voters, who must silence concerns and criticisms. It is the candidate’s job to assuage concerns, not the voter’s job not to mention them.”

Stewart acknowledged that while Biden “isn’t Donald Trump,” he explained that “the stakes of this election don’t make [him] less subject to scrutiny” going forward either. He then warned viewers that the next nine months are “going to suck” as both of their political campaigns ramp up ahead of the election.

“It’s all going to make you feel like Tuesday, November 5th, is the only day that matters, and that day does matter,” Stewart stressed. “But man, November 6th ain’t nothing to sneeze at or November 7th. If your guy loses bad stuff might happen, but the country is not over. And if your guy wins, the country is in no way saved.”

“So the good news is I’m not saying you don’t have to worry about who wins the election,” he concluded. “I’m saying you have to worry about every day before it and every day after forever.”

Watch Stewart discuss Biden and Trump’s ages in the video above. 

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content: