NEWSJon Stewart Spots 'Backup Trump' Look-alike in Air Force One Clip After World Cup
Jon Stewart spotted a Donald Trump look-alike in Air Force One footage.
July 24 2026, Published 8:33 a.m. ET
Jon Stewart was supposed to be talking about President Donald Trump’s appearance after the World Cup final, but had to do a double-take at a figure walking behind him.
On the July 20 episode of The Daily Show, Stewart played footage of Trump speaking with reporters near Air Force One after Spain defeated Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. But as the clip rolled, the host’s attention shifted to a man in a navy suit and blue tie who appeared near the president on the tarmac.
A Mystery Man Near Air Force One
He joked that a ‘back-up Trump’ appeared behind the president.
“What’s up with the guy behind Trump? Can we see that again? Can you bring that out?” Stewart said after showing the clip.
The man, seen from a distance, appeared to have a similar build, age range and movement to Trump, which was enough for Stewart to stop the segment cold.
“Who the f**k is this guy?” Stewart asked. “Who in the world is it? Oh my God! Is that a back-up Trump?”
A Body Double Bit
The mystery man sparked body-double jokes during the segment.
Stewart kept pushing the joke as the footage replayed, suggesting the mystery man looked enough like the president to raise his own absurd late-night question.
“Wait, what? Wait, who? What? Is that a back-up Trump or is that Trump?” he said. “Wait, is the one we’ve been dealing with back-up Trump or is that Trump?”
The man has not been officially identified in the clips. The New York Post reported the man appears to be Viktor Knavs, Melania Trump’s father, who attended the World Cup final with the president and first lady. Knavs is older than Trump, shorter and has grayer hair, but the camera angle made the resemblance stand out.
The moment also nodded, intentionally or not, to a long-running baseless internet theory that Melania Trump used a body double at public appearances during the president’s first term.
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Donald-Trump's World Cup Moment Stays in Late Night’s Sights
Jon Stewart also mocked Donald Trump's World Cup stage appearance.
The tarmac bit was not Stewart’s only World Cup joke at Trump’s expense. He also mocked the president for staying onstage during Spain’s trophy celebration, a moment that drew criticism after Trump appeared alongside the winning team before leaving the stage.
“It's for the players,” Stewart said. “Why must everything be tainted by the overinflated ego of Cankles Muldoon?”
The White House fired back at Jon Stewart's remarks afterward.
White House spokesperson Davis Ingle later fired back at Stewart in a statement to The Independent.
“Jon Stewart is a talentless hack who clearly suffers from a severe and debilitating disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain and ruined his life to the point he has to compensate for his embarrassing inadequacies,” Ingle told the outlet.
