Jon Stewart used the opening segment of Monday night’s episode of “The Daily Show” to criticize Elon Musk’s appearance at Sunday’s Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Although the appearance was widely ridiculed online for Musk’s enthusiasm, as he literally jumped around the stage — the content of his speech focused on the First and Second Amendments.
“The other side is trying to take away freedom of speech,” Musk said. “We need free speech to have a democracy. That’s why we have the First Amendment…The Second Amendment exists to make sure we have the First Amendment.”
Stewart began by pointing out that former President Trump has threatened legal action against the new movie about his life, “The Apprentice,” which Musk’s team has called “election interference.” In response, he spoke about the hypocrisy of Musk praising his embrace of free speech.
“If only Trump supporters can speak without repercussions, that’s not free speech,” Stewart said. “That’s not how it works. That’s not how it works.”
Stewart then refuted Musk’s Second Amendment comments.
“Guns don’t protect our freedom of speech,” Stewart said. “Our freedom of speech is protected by the constitutional consent of the governed. It is not based on threats of violence. It is based on elections, the organization of referendums, and the judicial system. Our social contract provides so many avenues for resolving these issues, allowing both sides to be heard and judged.
“As far as I can tell, guns seem to primarily protect the speech of the people holding them,” he continued. “I think this is a method of intimidation and is actually being invoked irresponsibly and recklessly, because some in your crowd thought they might have been shadowbanned by Facebook. So, just to be clear, you’re in Butler, Pennsylvania. The reason you’re there is because some asshole with an AR-15 is telling you his vision of free speech in this country. Because you tried to sue forever. That’s why you’re there. The point of society is that guns don’t define society, whether they’re legal or not. I wouldn’t want to trade a government that provides many remedies for my concerns for a situation where my rights are determined by how many militias agree with me. ”
Watch the full segment below.