The petition was started on 6 August (15), the same day Stewart ended his stint as frontman of satirical news series The Daily Show.

A message posted with the petition on Change.org reads, "Jon Stewart is more than qualified to tackle the moderating job. Mr. Stewart has interviewed 15 heads of state, 22 members of the United States Cabinet, 32 members of the United States Senate, 7 members of the United States House of Representatives, and scores of other political leaders from this country and around the world while establishing himself as the most trusted person in (satirical) news."

The signature count stood at 211,130 as WENN went to press.