Stewart, Seinfeld, Springsteen headline benefit

NEW YORK – Somewhat incredulously, Jon Stewart on Tuesday recalled getting into a Twitter war three years ago with the man who could be elected president of the United States next week.

The former host of “The Daily Show” talked Donald Trump and betrayed some nervousness about the election during an appearance at a benefit for veterans. The 10th annual event run by the Bob Woodruff Foundation, held at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, featured a who’s who of comics including Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Louis C.K. and Jim Gaffigan, and four songs by Bruce Springsteen.

Getting insulted online by Trump is old hat now, but Stewart recalled being surprised to see the now-Republican presidential nominee call him overrated three years ago. Their Twitter battle lasted for a few days.

Stewart said he didn’t think Trump would be able to recover from the “Access Hollywood” tape where he was caught making crude remarks about women, but instead the race seems to be tightening.

“What is happening?” he said. “I thought we were done three weeks ago.”

He said the only way things can get any weirder is if the election ends in a tie, “and suddenly, there’s a white Bronco going down the highway,” with JonBenet Ramsey stepping out to cast the deciding vote.

The other comics steered clear of politics with their routines. Woodruff, the ABC News reporter who was nearly killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006, started the foundation with his wife, Lee, to raise money to help veterans severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Springsteen toted an acoustic guitar to sing four songs and tell a few off-colour jokes, ending with “Dancing in the Dark.” With the help of an auctioneer, the foundation then sold one of his electric guitars for $280,000. Springsteen threw in a ride in his 1967 Cadillac for the winner and three friends.