Jon Stewart’s comedy tends to be rooted in righteous anger, but when it comes to bills concerning the health of veterans, he’s always been deadly serious. Right now, the former Daily Show host is up in arms over Republicans killing a bill that would provide necessary care to veterans who were exposed to toxic pit burns while serving the country. When one of them, Senator Ted Cruz, tried to spin his axing of the bill (while holding a Diet Dr. Pepper, just like Sidney Powell, holding a Diet Dr. Pepper), Stewart was ready to dismantle his argument.
A Message to and from Mister Senator Ted Cruz…Attorney at Law#PassthePactact pic.twitter.com/QjGRGdPmq4
— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) July 29, 2022
After being called out by Stewart, Cruz recorded a video in which he slammed the bill, called the Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act (aka the PACT Act), and which he’d previously supported. Cruz claimed Democrats had changed the bill so that the spending was “discretionary,” not “mandatory.” Not so, said Stewart in his own video response.
“Everything in the government is either mandatory or discretionary spending, depending on which bucket they feel like putting it in. The whole place is basically a f*ckinging shell game,” Stewart railed. “And he’s pretending that this is some new thing that the Democrats stuck into the bill and snuck it past one Ted Cruz. It’s no gimmick. It’s been there the whole f*cking time.”
The bill had already passed, with Republican support, back in June. When it went up for a re-vote, it failed. Cruz was seen giving a fist-bump to a fellow GOP senator after it died. He claimed the bill was changed, but Stewart disputed it, saying they hadn’t changed “one word.” He also pushed back against claims that it wasn’t narrow enough.
“There is nothing in the bill that is not related to veteran spending,” Stewart said. “Don’t take my word for it. Any a**hole on an iPhone can read it. It’s at congress.gov. This is for veterans who suffered health effects from being exposed to burn pits and other toxins. That is it.”
Since the bill failed on Wednesday, Stewart has been on a tear. He even went on Trumpist network Newsmax, where he tore into Cruz and every other Republican who voted against it.