Watch The Daily Show remind America's NSA-wiretapped allies that they're jerks, too
The world is upset over revelations that the U.S. is spying on them and their leaders. Get over it, says Jon Stewart.


World leaders are pretty upset about revelations from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden suggesting that the U.S. spy agency has monitored their phone conversations. In a 2006 memo just unveiled by The Guardian, the NSA appears to admit to eavesdropping on 35 unidentified world leaders.
If you want to understand why the NSA monitors the communications of world leaders — even of allies like Germany and France — read Marc Ambinder's explanation. (Hint: It's the agency's job.) If you want a more entertaining take, watch Jon Stewart on Thursday night's Daily Show.
Stewart started out with Pakistan, and the allegations from human rights groups that U.S. drones are killing civilians. Things got pretty awkward when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited President Obama right after that report came out, Stewart said, and thornier still when Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting France, had to deal with allegations that the U.S. spied on millions of French citizens.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's not really spying, Stewart said, it's just that French phone calls are so sexy that the NSA can't resist listening in. To make his point, he broke out a French accent that sounded more like Speedy Gonzales.
The embarrassment for the White House reached its peak, though, in an uncomfortable phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who called Obama to complain about allegations that the NSA tapped her cellphone. Then there's Mexico, Brazil, and the other 30 or so nations upset about alleged U.S. monitoring of their internal communications. "Awkward," said Stewart.
But here's the thing: "Have you met us?" Stewart asked the world. "Meddling in your affairs for our self-interest is sort of our thing. What part of everything we've done since the Monroe Doctrine don't you get?" In fact, tapping phones is "pretty weak tea," he added — before telling the world that the U.S. is sorry… "sorry that you forgot that we are kind of dicks."
And then Stewart brought down the hammer: "Every nation acts in their own self-interest," and that includes all these whining allies and frenemies. He reminded France that it "handed off the Vietnam War" to America while it invaded Algeria, Pakistan that it requested some of the drone strikes and sheltered Osama bin Laden for years, and Germany… "Do I really have to justify myself to a country that invaded Poland because they thought Poland was looking at them funny?"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Don't think of the U.S. as "an overly aggressive, paranoid superpower," Stewart advised. "Think of us as what anyone's looking for in a partner: A good listener. A great listener. The best listener in the history of the world."
Foreign anger over NSA spying isn't Obama's only problem, Stewart noted. Nor is the glitchy rollout of ObamaCare's health-insurance exchange website. The president just fired a high-ranking national security adviser for tweeting rude things under the handle @NatSecWonk. At first Stewart feigned confusion about why Jofi Joseph was canned — "Oh, so it's less Deep Throat and more Gossip Girl," he quipped — but then, after reading some of his awful tweets, he saw the problem.
Still, how did it take the White House so long to figure out the identity of the mystery tweeter, Stewart asked, incredulously. "You can tap the German chancellor's phone, but Bitchy McSnarkeson was three cubicles away and no one knew what's going on?"
Still, Stewart wasn't convinced that kicking Joseph to the curb was the right move. Yes, he's a jerk, but he had a huge Twitter following among Washington's foreign policy elite. That means "someone at the White House knows how to used the internet and give people what they want," Stewart said. So maybe instead of firing the guy, "Maybe they put him in charge of running the ol' HealthCare.gov." Zing!
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Critics’ choice: Restaurants worthy of their buzz
feature A fun bistro, a reservation worth the wait, and a modern twist on Mexican dishes
By The Week US Published
-
Film reviews: Snow White, Death of a Unicorn, and The Alto Knights
Feature A makeover for Disney’s first animated feature, greedy humans earn nature’s wrath, and a feud between crime bosses rattles the mob
By The Week US Published
-
Bombs or talks: What’s next in the US-Iran showdown?
Talking Points US gives Tehran a two-month deadline to deal
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published