Comedian and talk-show host Jon Stewart has returned to Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and has been serving up commentary of the 2024 election.
Among his recent commentary is calling out former President Donald Trump for overstating the value of his real estate.
Stewart is now being accused of doing the same.
What Happened: Stewart has offered up plenty of criticism of Trump in the past and his latest take centers on the former president being convicted of civil fraud and owing $454 million.
The comedian played a clip of a CNN interview with Kevin O’Leary in which the “Shark Tank” star said the New York state’s ruling against Trump didn’t sit well with the real estate sector, which was now worried more rulings could be coming.
Stewart was shocked by the interview and told his viewers that O’Leary should be mad about overvaluations “because they are not victimless crimes,” as shared by the New York Post.
The comedian also said that Trump paid taxes based on lower assessed values, which is fraud.
“The attorney general of New York knew that Trump’s property values were inflated because when it came time to pay taxes, Trump undervalued the very same properties,” Stewart said. “It was all part of a very specific real estate practice known as lying.”
While Stewart criticized Trump for his overvaluation of real estate, social media quickly discovered and shared in a viral post that the comedian previously sold a Tribeca duplex for $17.5 million. The sale price was 829% higher than an estimated market value of $1.882 million and significantly higher than an assessed value of $847,174.
“Did Jon Stewart commit fraud when he sold his penthouse for $17.5M?” Political commentator Timothy Pool said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Stewart took to X to share his comment on the calls of him being a hypocrite.
“OMG!! I’ve been caught doing something not remotely similar to Trump! I guess all I need to do now is start a fraud college, steal classified docs, bankrupt casinos, pay hush money, grab p******, discriminate in housing, cheat at golf and foment insurrection and you’ll revere me!” Stewart tweeted.
Related Link: Jon Stewart Mocks Donald Trump For New Immigration Crisis Phrasing, Hannibal Lecter Comparisons
Why It’s Important: While it is reported Stewart may have paid lower taxes based off of the assessed value, what Stewart is being accused of isn’t illegal.
Selling a real estate property for above market value isn’t illegal and anyone who has tried to buy a home or property knows that sometimes the listing price or estimated value is lower than what the home or property actually sells for.
In Trump’s civil fraud case, none of the market values based on sale prices were taken into consideration. Instead, it was inflated values on properties that were significantly higher than assessed values. The higher rates were then used to get more favorable financial terms from banks.
The state of New York ordered Trump to pay a $454 million bond to appeal the ruling, which is the highest bond ever in U.S. history for an individual, according to the New York Post.
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