“Daily Show” host Jon Stewart accused CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers of “gaslighting” him during a podcast on Thursday after he argued that President Joe Biden's problem is his age, not his cognitive ability.

Many Democrats have called for Biden to drop out of the presidential race after his performance in a debate with former President Donald Trump raised concerns about the president's cognitive abilities.Jon Stewart's Weekly Show“Commentators are being less than forthright in suggesting Biden's problem is simply 'age' rather than 'cognitive decline.'” (Related story: Briefing erupts after reporters bombard KJP with questions about neurologist's White House visit)

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'Stop gaslighting me': Jon Stewart fires back at CNN commentator who claims Biden is just 'old' pic.twitter.com/GwLe7OMU1T

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“Honestly, I don't know of any interview where you could perform like Joe Biden and get the job. I think you're soft-selling a more fundamental aspect of how people perceive you,” Stewart told Sellers. “I'm not talking about the presidency. I'm talking about jobs like being a cashier at Home Depot, where you don't think, 'Oh, that's the hardest job in the world.'”

“The only problem with looking at it that way, John, is it belittles everything he's accomplished in his first three and a half years,” Sellers shot back.

Stewart told Sellers that was a mistake and that Biden was campaigning for his second term, not what he did in his first.

“But nothing happens in a vacuum… My friends on the left just want to hype up what they saw in the debates. That's fine, I understand. I'm talking about age,” Sellers said. “But I'm also talking about the track record that came before and the threat that lies just ahead… We do ourselves a disservice by saying, 'Our candidate is old,' and I know that. He keeps staggering. I know that.”

“It's not aging…Bakari. It's cognitive decline. It's not just aging. It's cognitive decline,” Stewart said.

Jon Favreau, a former aide to former President Barack Obama, also said that even if Biden does have cognitive decline, he would have a “deficiency in communication skills” — a requirement for a presidential candidate.

“Or they'll reassure you that this is how you operate in this environment. But I wouldn't say that this is discounting the last three and a half years,” Stewart continued. “But it does give us a glimpse into the next four years. If you compare his performance in 2020 to his performance in 2024, there is an inevitable decline. You can't deny that. So what I don't understand is the argument that, OK, fine, he's staying, but deal with it head on. Stop pretending, stop gaslighting.”

Sellers suggested it was “fine” to discuss Biden's cognitive abilities and not to “gaslight” him about it, but that it was more important to focus on Trump, whom she called a “fucking monster.”

“That's what we're worried about. We're worried about monsters,” Favreau said.

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