Jay Carney: Jon Stewart Was ‘Probably The Toughest Interview’ President Obama Had In 2012

April 17th, 2014 3:34 PM

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney sat down with CBS News’ Major Garrett on April 17 at George Washington University and made some comments about the 2012 election that should cause some eyes to roll.

Appearing alongside Garrett in an event entitled “A conversation with Jay Carney,” the press secretary claimed that during the 2012 presidential election “If you look back at 2012 and the series of interviews the sitting president of the United States gave, probably the toughest interview he had was with Jon Stewart.” [See video below.]

The discussion began with Carney talking about whether a sitting president should visit The Daily Show to which he argued “The answer was yes, again because the young voters we were trying to reach are more likely to watch The Daily Show than some other news shows.” After claiming that Stewart was the toughest interview Obama had in 2012, Carney doubled-down and asserted “Probably the most substantive, challenging interview Barack Obama had in the election year was with the anchor of The Daily Show.

Following the interview, several reporters hyped the “serious” nature of the interview. CNN’s Anderson Cooper noted that “the president was trying to keep things light tonight when he taped an appearance on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. The conversation took a serious turn, as it often does on Stewart’s show, regarding the attacks on the U.S. compound on Benghazi.

NBC’s Chuck Todd noted how “The president was actually a bit more serious during his appearance on The Daily Show, a stop his campaign is encouraging as a way to try and see if a so-called stagnant you vote can get reenergized like 2008.

If The Daily Show was Obama’s toughest interview during the 2008 election then liberal journalists should take a good look in the mirror and reevaluate whether or not they are being actual reporters or acting as promoters for the Obama Administration’s agenda.

H/T: Real Clear Politics