Jon Stewart slams #pointergate story on 'Daily Show'

By Kelly Smith

Staff Writer

Comedian Jon Stewart weighed in on the #pointergate controversy Wednesday night.

"The Daily Show" host mocked KSTP-TV's report that Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges posed for a photo flashing an alleged gang symbol with a canvasser despite a city spokesperson saying that Hodges and the man were merely pointing at each other.

"That's a gang sign? All this time, I've been the lead-in for a notorious gang member," Stewart said on his show, with the audience laughing at a photo of comedian Stephen Colbert pointing.

"So how does this get painted as a gang thing?" asked Stewart, showing a clip about Hodges' open letter to residents saying that the police department had some officers who "abuse the trust" of the public. "Oh I get what this is about. … The cops are mad because the mayor criticized their conduct."

The widely criticized KSTP television story prompted a social-media sensation with the hashtag #pointergate and brought into the open an intense disagreement between the police union and the mayor that some say stretches back to her tenure on the Minneapolis City Council.

KSTP continues to stand by its report.

To see the clip of Stewart, go to here.