'The Daily Show' Host Jon Stewart Confirms NBC Approached Him For ‘Meet The Press’ Before Chuck Todd [VIDEO]

Earlier this month, MStars News reported that following David Gregory's firing from NBC's Sunday morning political roundtable chat show Meet The Press, the network supposedly approached Daily Show lead Jon Stewart to fill the host seat before Chuck Todd. Adding to that, sources claimed the network was "ready to back the Brink's truck up." And now, Rolling Stone confirms that the network DID in fact do so.

"My guess is they were casting as wide and as weird a net as they could," Stewart claimed in a new interview with RS. He then added, "I'm sure part of them was thinking, 'Why don't we just make it a variety show?'"

So, was the comedian actually considering taking the job? Apparently not one bit. "I felt like that was one of those situations where someone says, 'We really like what you do. Why don't you come over here and do something different, maybe something you don't do as well, for us?'"

And with the fading seriousness that news has been introduced to over the years – with the rise of 24-hour programs and perhaps partially with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report delivering noteworthy reports – Stewart admits that he understands why they came to him. "News and entertainment have melded in a way. But they would be overcompensating on the entertainment side. That's certainly not an outlandish decision, although I don't necessarily think that's the best direction for it," he said in the RS interview.

Following his comments on Meet The Press, Stewart commented on Stephen Colbert's soon-to-be new gig, hosting CBS' The Late Show. "He's going to be tremendous. Untethered from his character, I think he'll actually have more room and really be able to deliver in a way that's going to surprise people."

Tune into The Daily Show on Comedy Central, Monday – Thursday at 11 p.m. Meet The Press airs Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. on NBC.