Jon Stewart and Jack Posobiec Clash Outside the Capitol Building – Opinion

The battle over the PACT Act continued in Washington on Monday after days of online bickering largely led by “comedian” Jon Stewart.

PACT Act provides funds for veterans care in relation to burn pits. Democrats broke an agreement to let an amendment be allowed to address an issue of discretionary spending being made mandatory. Stewart has made the most absurd claim of all that Republicans just hate veterans. These are the games being played in Washington, though, and it’s a testament to how much of a swamp the place really is.

Stewart had been protesting Republicans at the Capitol Building when Jack Posobiec, a conservative commentator showed up. The following exchange was intense.

So uh, @JackPosobiecJon Stewart was outside of the Capitol, so I met Jack Stewart. Jack had some very basic questions and Jon started screaming at us for 10 minutes. One time he was even nose to nose. I continued to try and calm him. pic.twitter.com/5C9bxEXTAr

— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) August 1, 2022

As I was leaving, I thanked Jon for his time and he said, “I hope this is good for your brand.”

It was an awful thing to say in an event that EVERYONE supports the PACT Act. He also gave me everything I needed to know about his thoughts on this matter.

— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) August 1, 2022

It is not clear that amendments to discretionary spending would cause underfunding. Sen. Pat Toomey, who is the one offering the amendment, has made clear that’s not the case. Stewart either is misinformed or is just making excuses for the fact that he’s trying to pin all the blame on the bill being stalled on Republicans and not Sen. Chuck Schumer for breaking his word.

It’s also a little rich to see Stewart, who has spent his entire career elevating his brand, very often using political issues to do so, take a shot at someone else along those lines. Right now, the comedian hosts a failing TV show on one of the streaming services, and if anyone has seen their profile raised by this battle, it’s been Stewart himself. Whether that’s his motivation, I won’t speculate on, but you’d wish he would at least operate in good faith about the problems with the bill.

Make up your own mind who is “in good faith” here or not. pic.twitter.com/P6cj3tntB5

— Raheem J. Kassam (@RaheemKassam) August 1, 2022

Stewart apparently did calm down eventually. Posobiec later posted another video showing them talking much more composedly. That’s how it should have been from the beginning, but it’s easier to label your opponents as evil than to actually discuss their concerns.

I’m here in DC with @jonstewartAnd @GruntStyle1SGWith a message of support for veterans pic.twitter.com/fdIvBSkRG7

— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) August 1, 2022

The fact remains that the PACT Act would have passed already if it weren’t for Democrats attempting a bait and switch. Stewart is sincere about his support for the bill. However, Stewart’s bad faith trolling only makes things worse. A step back would yield far greater results than pushing Stewart’s side to do right. Do you think that is too much to ask?