Jon Stewart said President Trump’s legal woes with media companies amount to an effort to tear down the country for “insurance money.”

He referenced Trump’s defamation lawsuit warranting a $15 million payout from ABC and first lady Melania’s $40 million documentary deal with Amazon as proof of funds in exchange for “protection.”

“They just put money into the pot. So ultimately, at the end of this, does Trump burn our fucking country down for insurance money? Like, where are we headed?” Stewart said during a Friday appearance on The Bill Simmons podcast. 

He said large-scale settlements set a poor precedent for future court battles with the Trump administration.

“Now [Trump will] go after Harvard or Comcast or whatever the hell else he does because a policy of appeasement always leads to more conquest,” Stewart said. 

Throughout Trump’s second stint in office, he has clashed with Harvard over their campus culture, alleging the school harbors students with antisemitic views. 

He has pushed to have one of the country’s oldest institutions stripped of their tax exempt status and said their ability to welcome international students should be revoked. 

“Harvard’s going to have to change its ways,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. 

As the president encourages a nationwide educational overhaul, Stewart has suggested Democrats prepare for the next presidential race in 2028. 

He urged the party to “overcome the stink” in the next election cycle to regain support from voters after November’s landslide loss.