We are going to miss Jon Stewart.

You can replace the guy as the host of The Daily Show. But you can’t replace his skills as a broadcaster and communicator. Nobody else could do what he does, and what he did last night, when he delivered a powerful, heartbreaking commentary on the horrific shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. Stewart’s words were light on comedy, but heavy on tough truths. That was the right choice. Sometimes, there’s just nothing funny to say. Sometimes, it’s more powerful when a guy who makes jokes for a living stops fooling around and says something straight from the heart. He cut right to the core of the issue with comments like:

“The Confederate flag flies over South Carolina, and the roads are named for Confederate generals, and the white guy is the one who feels like his country is being taken away from him.”

Stewart said at the top of this segment that he “didn’t do his job” today. On the contrary. This is exactly what he should be doing. (His commentary was so good it even made The New York Times.) Trevor Noah has some mighty big shoes to fill when he replaces Jon Stewart after his last night as the host of The Daily Show on August 6.

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