On this week’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart went after President Donald Trump for keeping the press in the dark about his goal with America’s newly started war with Iran.
“Now, the interesting thing about this war, which just started, was that it was clearly a long time in the planning, and yet the American people have heard very little that is consistent about the war’s justification, or ultimate aims,” Stewart said. “In fact, the normally loquacious president had an opportunity with the national press on Sunday night after flying back from Mar-a-Lago to the White House, where I’m sure he’d want to clarify the public’s uncertainty and reassure us.”
Stewart then cut to a clip from CNN, in which an anchor claimed that Trump “completely ignored” the press on Sunday night, hours before the U.S. and Israel began their joint attack on Iran.
“Come on, that is fake news!” Stewart joked. “He’s not a doddering Mr. Magoo having full-on conversations with inanimate sculpted bronze.”
The show then cut to a clip from Sunday night. An off-camera reporter asks Trump, “Who do you want to lead Iran?” Trump, standing in front of a rose garden statue, replies, “Unbelievable statues, you’ll see.”
Later in the show, Stewart covered Pete Hegseth’s press conference on the war, during which Hegseth repeatedly said that he was “not going to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do” because that would be “foolish.” When asked if there was any “concern of this spiraling into a long war,” he snapped back, “Did you not hear my remarks?”
“I know you’re the defense secretary, but you don’t need to get so defensive,” Stewart joked.
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Stewart then zeroed in on another quote from Hegeth about the President: “There’s no better communicator than our president. He has shown an ability to do that other presidents can’t quite seem to have the aperture to do.”
“Laser focused,” Stewart said of Trump. “You’re not some three-year-old that gets easily distracted by something shiny on the wall.”
The show then cut to the President talking at a Medal of Honor ceremony.
“We’re improving the building. See that nice drape? I picked those drapes in my first term,” Trump said. “I always liked gold. But I think we can save a lot of money. I just saved — I just saved curtains. But it will be, it will be spectacular. It’ll be the most beautiful. I believe it because I have built many a ballroom. I believe it’s going to be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world.”
“I can’t believe that our bombs are now smarter than our president,” Stewart said.
Watch the entire monologue below.
From Variety US