Jon Stewart has declared that Donald Trump does indeed act like a king, and his hands are what prove it.
In his monologue Monday, Stewart ripped into one of the most popular arguments MAGA pundits have made against the “No Kings” rallies on Saturday, which is that the anti-king rhetoric makes no sense because the president doesn’t behave like a king.
“Trump has the lavish sensibilities of a king, the entitled mind of a king,“ Stewart said. With mock skepticism he added, ”But if he was really a king, where’s the broken-down, inbred body of a king, saddled with the exotic infirmaries of royalty?”
Stewart showed a montage of news clips covering Trump’s consistently bruised hands.
“OK, those are weird,” Stewart said. Still jokingly trying to remain skeptical, he added, “But a real king would have his minions dismiss said infirmaries.”
Stewart showed a clip of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that Trump’s bruises are the result of “minor soft tissue irritation from frequent hand-shaking and the use of aspirin.”
Stewart replied, “Look... I’ve been in the business a long time. I’m not the president, but I’ve shaken a lot of hands. And I’m pretty sure it doesn’t cause gangrene.”
Ahead of the protests, Trump took issue with the name activists had chosen for the rallies. “A king... this is not a king. You know, they’re saying, they’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king,” he griped to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
He continued to insist he’s “not a king at all” while speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night, claiming he merely worked his “a-- off” to make the U.S. great. Trump also attacked those demonstrating against him as “whacked out” and not “representative of this country.
To further his point about Trump’s king-like behavior, Stewart pulled out a copy of the Declaration of Independence and read aloud some of the grievances the Founding Fathers held against King George III.
“He has kept among us in times of peace standing armies without the consent of our legislatures,” Stewart read, showing an NBC News article detailing trump’s deployment of federal troops into Chicago in early October.
“Cutting off our trade with all parts of the world,” Stewart read, showing a picture of Trump revealing his reciprocal tariff list in April 2025.
“He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us,” Stewart read from the Declaration, showing a picture of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
“I mean, come on,” Stewart said.
The Daily Show host concluded, “Maybe Trump isn’t an all-powerful king, the kind who can do whatever he wants, but he’s undeniably king-adjacent, king-esque, moving for more.”
Stewart joked, “He’s the imitation crab of kings right now. The I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-king.”
