Jon Stewart responds to Haley Stevens’ last-minute endorsement of Mike Rogers who she once called a ‘nightmare’: ‘Is her car in a ditch?’
Misplaced priorities.
Jon Stewart spent his November 2, 2026, broadcast tearing into Michigan congresswoman Haley Stevens for her sudden choice to back Mike Rogers. The move came right before the election on Tuesday, November 3. Stevens previously spent her time fighting against the very platform Rogers represents. Stewart made it clear he finds the whole situation confusing. He spent a large part of his show trying to figure out how this shift happened.
According to Variety, Stevens had been very clear about her shared goal with Abdul El-Sayed to defeat Rogers. Stewart showed clips of Stevens speaking out against the Republican candidate. She once said, “Mike Rogers has shown that he is just going to go along with whatever Donald Trump does.” She also said, “He is not going to speak out when erratic tariffs are impacting our auto industry.” Stevens even went so far as to call Rogers a nightmare.
The endorsement appeared on Sunday in a video that looked like it was filmed inside a car. Stewart reacted to the timing and the setting with disbelief. “Is her car in a ditch? Is she endorsing Mike Rogers after getting in a car accident,” asked Stewart. He added, “‘Real quick, before I lose consciousness, I am endorsing the nightmare.’ This is like the most diabolical episode of Fargo I have ever seen.”
Stewart tried to parse the potential reasons for this change of heart
The late-night host noted that Stevens mentioned El-Sayed dropping her from the Sunday campaign event. “That says why you are mad at Abdul, but not why you are for Rogers,” Stewart argued. He pointed out the irony of the situation. “Rogers is, hold on, let me find a word. A nightmare,” continued Stewart. “This is a person who is against every principle that you have worked for your entire career.”
Stewart then suggested that Stevens should have come up with a better excuse for the move. “I mean, at least say you were visited by three ghosts who convinced you that it turns out people do not need health insurance,” Stewart joked. He insisted that this choice cannot simply be about bruised feelings.
The criticism did not stop with Stevens’ video endorsement
Stewart also poked fun at a recent CNN appearance where Stevens spoke with news anchor Anderson Cooper. The host highlighted a moment of awkward silence that led to a sharp reaction from Cooper. “You see what you just did there, Haley Stevens? Are you happy with yourself? You just turned Anderson Cooper into Andy Cohen,” Stewart remarked. He noted that Cooper is a newsman who did not want to sass. “You gave him no choice but to sass,” Stewart said.
Stewart also turned his attention to President Donald Trump during the same episode. According to The Hill, he focused on the closing message Trump delivered at the Lincoln Memorial. Trump spent much of his time talking about the Reflecting Pool instead of political topics. “That was the president of the United States on the day before the midterms, choosing to make a speech at the reflecting pool to talk about the reflecting pool,” said Stewart.
He highlighted the content of Trump’s speech. “No symbolism. No metaphors. Just straight-up pool maintenance,” said Stewart. He called it Donald Trump’s ‘I had it cleaned’ speech. Trump spent over 20 minutes detailing renovations like repairs to cracked granite and pipes. He even described the pool color as a beautiful dark blue, very dark blue. “They call it American black blue,” Trump claimed.
Stewart mocked Trump for claiming he kept more promises than he actually made
“I have kept every single promise I made, except far more. I have actually kept far more promises than I made,” Trump said in a clip. Stewart responded to this claim stating that was not possible dimensionally, in this realm. He added, “That, now, dementially, yes, that that may be possible, but not dimensionally.”
Stewart also pointed out the historical weight of the location. He noted the echoes of the I Have a Dream speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Stewart said in his monologue, “In the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial with the echoes of Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech, please lay out for the American people what you think is most important for them to know.”
The contrast between the setting and the content of the speech clearly bothered Stewart. He even walked offstage for a moment after showing a montage of the pool repairs and returned looking bewildered by the president’s focus on pool maintenance. The entire monologue served to highlight what the late night host viewed as chaotic behavior from both Stevens and the president.
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