Jon Stewart opens up about quitting 'The Daily Show'
When Jon Stewart announced that he was leaving The Daily Show after an acclaimed 16-year run, he told viewers that it was time "for someone else to have that opportunity" to do the show. But now the comedian is revealing a lot more about his decision, which wasn't just because of one thing. In fact, in an interview with The Guardian, the host explained that he had a whole bunch of reasons why he felt it was time to say goodbye to his Daily desk, everything from his family to job satisfaction to that pesky 2016 election. Here are his reasons:
Job (dis)satisfaction
It’s not like I thought the show wasn’t working any more, or that I didn’t know how to do it. It was more, "Yup, it’s working." But I’m not getting the same satisfaction. ... These things are cyclical. You have moments of dissatisfaction, and then you come out of it and it’s OK. But the cycles become longer and maybe more entrenched, and that’s when you realize, "OK, I’m on the back side of it now."
The political process itself
Honestly, it was a combination of the limitations of my brain and a format that is geared towards following an increasingly redundant process, which is our political process. I was just thinking, "Are there other ways to skin this cat?"
His family
Beyond that, it would be nice to be home when my little elves (his children, Nathan and Maggie) get home from school, occasionally.
The 2016 election
I’d covered an election four times, and it didn’t appear that there was going to be anything wildly different about this one. ... I also felt that, for the show, you don’t want to leave when the cupboard’s bare. So I think it’s a better introduction when you have something providing you with assisted fuel, like a presidential campaign. But really, the value of this show is so much deeper than my contribution.
The emotional drain of watching cable news all the time
Watching these channels all day is incredibly depressing. ... I live in a constant state of depression. I think of us as turd miners. I put on my helmet, I go and mine turds, hopefully I don’t get turd lung disease.
Stewart also opened up about what's next for him, although he didn't have as much to say about the future as he did the past:
(If I left the show,) I would do what I’m doing. Whether it’s standup, the show, books or films, I consider all this just different vehicles to continue a conversation about what it means to be a democratic nation, and to have it written into the constitution that all men are created equal – but to live with that for 100 years with slaves. How do those contradictions play themselves out? And how do we honestly assess our failings and move forward with integrity?