It seems that there were a couple of secret Jon Stewart White House visits that took place in years past that are now coming to light as the Daily Show host prepares to exit his long-running gig. Darren Samuelsohn at Politico is sharing the details about the meetings that had been kept under wraps until now.
Politico details that the secret Jon Stewart White House meetings took place in October 2011 and February 2014. The first meeting was held with President Obama over coffee in the Oval Office. It seems that in this instance, the Daily Beast notes, the vicious budget fight playing out publicly was the catalyst that propelled Obama and his team to bring in Stewart for a talk.
In the second instance, Jon Stewart’s White House visit was sparked by the Russian intervention in Ukraine. This second meeting took place a few hours before President Obama went on-camera to discuss potential ramifications of Russia continuing to push into Ukraine.
Though these meetings had never been talked about publicly, Politico notes that Stewart’s White House visits were listed in the visitor logs. In addition, several former Obama aides have seemingly confirmed the meetings. Though these meetings were done quietly, Daily Show viewers know that Obama has appeared on the show multiple times and the two men have generally had a comfortable rapport with one another.
Obama’s most recent and last appearance on the Daily Show came just a week ago. Viewers chuckled as the president joked that he was putting an executive order into place that would prevent Stewart from retiring. Stewart wraps up his Daily Show hosting stint, to the dismay of fans, after just a handful of new episodes airing over the coming days. The last show with Stewart behind the desk airs on Comedy Central on August 6.
As Time notes, President Obama first appeared on the Daily Show in November 2005. Additional appearances came in August 2007, April 2008, October 2010 and October 2012. The two never discussed Jon Stewart’s White House visits, but it has always been clear that the two men had a respect for one another.
While the under-the-radar meetings didn’t change the world, it does seem that they are an indication of how the president looked beyond his inner circle for insight and influence. There are others within politics who have talked about the Daily Show host’s influence over the years. However, Jon Stewart’s White House meetings may be the most significant sign that he made what may be more of an impact along the way than he’d typically feel comfortable acknowledging.
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