In the latest episode of Apple TV+’s The Problem with Jon Stewart, the comedian sat down with Oklahoma senator Nathan Dahm to discuss the lawmaker’s pro-gun stance amidst an increase in mass shootings across the United States. Dahm has been working to loosen gun restrictions in Oklahoma, including an anti-“red flag” law that would make it easier for people who are deemed dangerous by police or family members to access firearms.
During the interview, Jon Stewart questioned Dahm’s assertion that allowing more guns in the country will make it safer. When Dahm argued that it is the “individual that is the problem” rather than easy access to firearms, Stewart reminded him that his policies “removed the ability for the state to do that.”
Later in the interview, Stewart asked Dahm why he and many other Republicans want to ban children from seeing drag performances. Stewart questioned why the politician felt so strongly about physically harmless events while caring very little about the gun violence epidemic in the US. When Dahm tried to argue that the government has a responsibility to protect children, Stewart asked him, “What’s the leading cause of death amongst children in this country? And I’m gonna give you a hint, it’s not drag shows reading to children – so what is it?” Dahm eventually conceded that it is firearms.
Stewart then called out Dahm’s hypocrisy, saying, “You don’t mind infringing free speech to protect children from this amorphous thing that you think of. But when it comes to children that have died, you don’t give a flying f**k to stop that because that shall now be infringed. That is hypocrisy at its highest order.”
The clip has been widely shared on social media, with many praising Stewart for holding Dahm to account and interrogating him on his pro-gun, anti-drag logic. This is not the first time Stewart has taken on politicians over their anti-LGBTQ+ views. He recently garnered similar praise for his takedown of Arkansas attorney general Leslie Rutledge over her anti-trans laws.
In the interview, Rutledge tried to argue that gender-affirming care is harmful despite studies showing it is life-saving. Stewart called out Rutledge’s “incredibly made-up figures” that don’t “comport with any of the studies or documentation that exist from these medical organisations.” When asked where her figures came from, Rutledge said she didn’t know “off the top of my head.”
Stewart’s willingness to confront politicians on their harmful and factually inaccurate beliefs is an important reminder of the power of speaking truth to power.