Jon Stewart vs. Paul Krugman: Comedian Fires Back at Economist Over Criticism of Segment on Trillion-Dollar Coin

New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman had a problem with the way Jon Stewart of The Daily Show mocked the idea of minting a trillion-dollar coin to get around the debt-ceiling. And last night, Stewart fired back at Krugman, sticking to his assertion that the coin was a stupid idea.

Over the weekend, Krugman took to his column and blasted the way Stewart mocked the trillion dollar coin idea. “It’s obvious that nobody at [The Daily Show] spent even a few minutes researching the topic. It was just yuk-yuk-yuk they’re talking about a trillion-dollar con hahaha,” wrote Krugman. The economist also said on television that “when [Stewart] ust turns it into dumb, ‘I don’t know nothing, but those people look dumb to me,’ he’s ruining his own brand.”

Last night, Stewart had a few words for Krugman. “First of all, I’m pretty sure that is my brand,” he quipped.

“I stand by our research on the topic, the due diligence, and my ignorant conclusion that a trillion-dollar coin minted to allow the president to circumvent the debt ceiling, however arbitrary that may be,” said the comedian.

Watch it here: