Jon Stewart is calling out what he sees as a full-blown shakedown by Donald Trump—and he isn’t pulling any punches
On The Bill Simmons Podcast, Stewart painted a dark picture of how Trump’s power is being used to pressure media, tech companies, and even law firms into handing over money, favors, and influence just to stay in his good graces.
“What you’re seeing now is, ‘All must pay tribute to the king.’ And the price of peace is different,” Stewart said.
He pointed to a series of big-money deals as examples. “ABC had to pay $15 million, Bezos had to pay $40 million for a documentary on Melania. Zuckerberg had to pay. They just put money into the pot.”
He called it exactly what it looks like to him: “protection money.”
According to Stewart, this isn’t just about access—it’s about avoiding punishment. In his view, companies are paying up to stay out of Trump’s crosshairs.
But it’s not just tech and media. Stewart said Trump’s influence has even forced major law firms to change how they operate—offering pro bono work and altering who they hire, all to avoid getting hit with executive orders that could cut them off from government contracts or access to federal buildings.
Some of those orders have already been struck down by judges as unconstitutional. But the damage, Stewart says, is already being done.
“Ultimately at the end of this, does Trump burn our f—— country down for insurance money?” Stewart asked. “Like, where are we headed?”
He also pointed to the behind-the-scenes meltdown at CBS News, where top staffers reportedly walked out over plans to settle a lawsuit Trump filed—one that legal experts say is baseless.
Why the outrage? Because settling the case would mean issuing a public apology.
“The reason they all left is part of the deal is they have to apologize,” Stewart said. “And in that moment, these people who have built careers on their excellence and their integrity had to look and go like, ‘Alright, well I hope I’ve done well enough that I can weather this, but there’s no f—— way that I’m going to apologize for doing my job the way it’s supposed to be done, just because this one guy is offended by it.’”
For Stewart, it all adds up to one thing: extortion. And he’s warning that if no one stands up to it, the country could pay the price.
Watch the full commentary below:
