Jon Stewart defends Constitution, digs up Ted Cruz's Simpsons impressions on The Daily Show

Stewart spent a lot of time tonight mocking Cruz, but the Texas senator was not the object of his ire. Stewart spent the opening 20 minutes showing Trump’s brazenness and the shamelessness with which he treats his power. This isn’t exactly news, but Trump 2.0 is a mask-off presidency—unless you’re a federal agent looking to snatch people off the street, then it’s mask on. Between his belief that “bad” stories about him should be “illegal” and his message to Pam Bondi on Truth Social ordering her to prosecute his political enemies, the pretense is gone. It’s become so bad that even Cruz called FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s now-infamous “we can do this easy way or we can do this hard way” comment “dangerous.” Not that anyone can count on a sitting member of Congress to do anything about it. Still, it’s important to acknowledge where we’re at.

“You don’t have to bend over backwards trying to make Trump’s authoritarian power grabs seem like the rule of law,” Stewart said. “He does not give a shit anymore. He’s saying it straight up. Trump is saying, ‘The people like dictators.’ Trump is saying, ‘I hate my opponents and I want them punished.’ Trump is saying, ‘I’ll use the levers of government at my disposal to accomplish that goal.'”

That’s where we’re at. So, without further ado, here’s that video of Ted Cruz’s Simpsons impression from, Jesus, a decade ago.