Jon Stewart slams “Shark Tank”'s Kevin O'Leary for excusing Donald Trump fraud: 'F---ing entitled arrogance'
O'Leary and others suggested that Trump's bank fraud case is a victimless crime. "Avoiding taxes hurts all of us," Stewart said on "The Daily Show."
Amid his ongoing fraud scandal, there are several sharks circling Donald Trump and his supporters in the political waters, and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart just took a huge bite out of the former president's platform (and Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary) as Trump prepares to post a reduced $175 million bond in his fraud case.
Though Stewart opened Monday's edition of the talk show by feigning attraction to (and hilariously pretending to caress) Trump's "thick ass," he quickly shifted to more serious matters, after news broke that Trump's initial $464 million fine in the fraud case had been lowered to $175 million following Judge Arthur Engoron's finding that Trump inflated his assets and defrauded banks.
Stewart then highlighted a series of conservative voices citing Trump's crime as victimless, including the Shark Tank personality, who admitted: "That didn't go over very well within the investment community, because we're all asking each other, 'Who's next?'"
"The persecuted minority of the investment community? I am surprised to hear this from Kevin O'Leary, the guy who's such an asshole that even the other people on Shark Tank think he's an asshole. I'm surprised to hear he's so chill about overvaluing something that he thinks is victimless, because when someone tries to do that to him..." Stewart said, trailing off before the show cut to a montage of O'Leary decimating Shark Tank contestants — who appear on the ABC show seeking investments for their inventions — for over-valuing their endeavors.
"How is he not this mad about over-evaluations in the real world, because they are not victimless crimes. First, the banks got paid back at lower interest rates. Although, to be honest, who gives a s---, but, second, money isn't infinite. A loan that goes to the liar doesn't go to someone who's giving a more honest evaluation, so the system becomes incentivized for corruption," Stewart observed. "Avoiding taxes hurts all of us. Donald Trump's shenanigans cost the city of New York."
He then introduced another clip of O'Leary speaking to CNN personality Laura Coates, who informed O'Leary that Trump had engaged in the "falsification of business records" and "issuing false financial records," and asked him if his argument was that such infractions shouldn't be prosecuted.
"Everything you just listed off is done by every real estate developer everywhere on Earth in every city," O'Leary responded. "This has never, ever been prosecuted."
An incensed Stewart then tore into O'Leary over the sentiment, which echoes a similar one spoken by The View panelist and ex-White House communications team member Alyssa Farah Griffin, who also called her former boss' actions a "victimless crime" in February.
"There is a theory in law that, if enough people commit a crime, it automatically becomes legal. You're familiar with The Purge, are you not?" Stewart said, referencing the film series that hypothesizes what would happen if all crime — including murder — was legalized for 24 hours. "The f---ing entitled arrogance. I don't know if you know this, but most people just can't commit fraud and expect to face no repercussions, even if everyone's doing it. Try getting a car loan by saying you have 10 times as much money as you do."
Stewart finished: "I'll guarantee you there aren't just financial consequences for those lies, but criminal ones. But, don't tell that to the investment community, because in their minds, in pursuit of profit, there is no rule that cannot be bent, there is no principle that cannot be undercut, as long as you and your f---ing friends are making money."
EW has reached out to O'Leary for comment.
Stewart appears on The Daily Show Mondays at 11 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central. Watch Stewart discuss Trump and O'Leary in the clip above.
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