Jon Stewart returned to his Daily Show desk after a nine-year break on Monday night.
The comedian will host the series on Mondays during the 2024 election cycle. He originally departed the series in 2015, with Trevor Noah taking over hosting duties. Noah left the show in 2022, and the series has continued with several rotating potential hosts since then.
"Welcome to The Daily Show, my name is Jon Stewart. Now, where was I?" Stewart said as the broadcast began, picking right up where he left off. He was welcomed with cheers and applause before he went on to address his grand return head-on.
"I have committed a lot of crimes, and from what I understand, talk show hosts are granted immunity," Stewart said.
After joking about the Super Bowl and Taylor Swift conspiracy theories, Stewart focused on the 2024 presidential election, narrowing in on the expected race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Stewart then reached out to news team correspondent Dulcé Sloan, who gave her opinion on the options Americans have when it comes to voting this year.
"This is just the same s*** all over again, it's just a reboot. We need more than just the same show with an older but familiar face," Sloan said.
“You... you're talking about the two candidates, right?" Stewart joked.
"Yeah! I mean, they already had this job," Sloan replied. "Now these old white dudes gotta come and reclaim it? Like, come on, sir. Go do something new. It's so desperate. Like, let someone else run the show."
Again, Stewart asked: "You're talking about the election, right?"
"I said what I said," Sloan replied.
The Daily Show airs weeknights on Comedy Central, with new episodes available the next day on Paramount+.