“Makes one of his dreams come true”: Jon Stewart calls Donald Trump a ‘Make-A-Wish’ kid in latest ‘The Daily Show’ episode

On the season premiere of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart returned from his summer hiatus and immediately dove into the swirl of speculation surrounding Donald Trump’s health. With characteristic timing and precision, Stewart punctured the frenzy over the trending #TrumpIsDead hashtag, offering a calm, albeit wry assurance that, despite the rumors, Trump is in fact alive, though unmistakably displaying physical signs of strain. 

The host also skewered media overreactions and the bordering-on-sycophantic gestures from Trump’s inner circle. In one pointed quip, Stewart likened the cult of accommodations to a Make-A-Wish scenario:

 “Everyone who shows up to his office makes one of his dreams come true.” 

Jon Stewart likens Trump to a ‘Make-A-Wish’ kid in the newest Daily Show episode

Stewart’s return episode began with a brisk unpacking of the online panic that Trump had vanished from public view—a silence that had ignited wildly speculative headlines. Stewart quipped, “He’s clearly hiding something about his health,” before cutting to the social media uproar over his rumored death.

Once assured that Trump was, in fact, alive (though “weirdly puffy” as Stewart deadpanned), the host turned to what he considered the most striking development. He spoke about the way Trump’s inner circle appears to orbit him with deference bordering on pity. In Stewart’s words: 

“it’s very Make-A-Wish kid. Everyone who shows up to his office makes one of his dreams come true.” 

That metaphor was backed by clips of supporters vying to please, offering Trump the FIFA World Cup trophy, a U.S. Marshal badge, or even a mock Nobel Prize “variety pack”.
But the satire didn’t end there. Stewart layered in darker undertones and likened the dynamic to The Twilight Zone, where compliance isn’t just rewarded but demanded. He painted a chilling image of a narcissistic figure wielding emotional control, reinforced by people so intimidated that they act as if saying farewell: 

“Not the benign suffering child,” he announced, “but that Twilight Zone kid… who sends you to the cornfield if you don’t kiss his ring”.

Other highlights from the episode included Stewart mocking the reports of Trump’s chronic venous insufficiency and his dramatically swollen ankles, which were nicknamed “cankles” and described as “neon signs of a body under pressure.” He also cheekily dismissed attempts to conceal bruises with makeup, saying, “It’s not like you can treat leprosy at Sephora”. Quite an entertaining episode for audiences overall.