NEW YORK, June 19 (UPI) — Jon Stewart spoke out during Thursday night’s Daily Show about the recent Charleston shooting, calling it an act of terrorism.
The outgoing host did not have a list of jokes lined up as he usually does for last night’s episode. Instead, he solemnly confronted the pain he and many felt in the wake of the hate crime that took place within the walls of a historically black church and left nine dead Wednesday night.
“This is a terrorist attack,” he said. “This is a violent attack on the Emanuel Church in South Carolina, which is a symbol for the black community.”
The primary suspect, who was apprehended Thursday and faces a bond hearing Friday, reportedly told his victims they “had to go” because of the color of their skin.
“This wasn’t a tornado,” he said in response to some outlets calling the attack a tragedy. “This was a racist.”
“What blows my mind is the disparity of response between when we think people that are foreign are going to kill us and us killing ourselves,” Stewart said. “We invaded two countries and spent trillions of dollars and thousands of American lives and now fly unmanned death machines over like five or six different counties, all to keep Americans safe.”
“[But] nine people shot in a church. What about that? ‘Hey, what are you going go to do? Crazy is what crazy is, right?” he continued. “That’s the part I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around.”
“I hate to use this pun, but this one is black and white,” Stewart said to applause.
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