The video: "I know why you're here. And let me just deflate the tension right off the bat: Apology accepted." That's how Jon Stewart began his wide-ranging, confrontational interview with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — a favorite target for the Comedy Central star during President George W. Bush's years in the White House. Stewart grilled Rumsfeld on the build-up to the Iraq War, and accused him of selling the cause to America with "a certainty bordering on arrogance." Who came out top in this extended, 30-minute interview?
The reaction: Stewart "swung mightily" at Rumsfeld, says Colby Hall at Mediaite, but didn't "land a knockout." Still, give him credit — he dove right in by accusing Rumsfeld of selling us the war on a faulty basis. Alas, says Meredith Blake at the Los Angeles Times, this wasn't exactly "Frost versus Nixon." Rumsfeld remained his "verbally agile and cantankerous" self throughout Stewart's persistent questioning. That's because Rumsfeld is "so exceedingly slippery," says Glynnis MacNicol at Business Insider, it's impossible to nail him on anything. That, in the end, may be "as revealing as anything Stewart was trying to get Rumsfeld to admit to." Watch Stewart lock horns with Rumsfeld:
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.
