Jon Stewart calls BS on Vladimir Putin, wants Obama to be more hawkish on Russia

(Image credit: Daily Show)

last updated 8 January 2015

You may have noticed that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, Jon Stewart said on Wednesday night's Daily Show. ISIS is running rampant in the Middle East, Israel has brazenly grabbed 1,000 acres of land from the Palestinians, and Russia is making a "sneakier land grab" in Ukraine, Stewart noted, in a segment he called "Crisis in the Everywhere."

Stewart had some fun mocking Vladimir Putin's unconvincing denials that Russia is directly (or indirectly) involved in the pro-Moscow separatists' war for sovereignty in Eastern Ukraine. When NATO published detailed photos of Russian tanks and armored columns rumbling through Ukraine, Putin's foreign minister said they could be pictures of a computer game, Stewart quipped that yes, they could be, and the game is "Grand Theft Ukrainian Land As Seen By This Very Accurate Satellite Imagery."

So where is President Obama, Stewart asked? He found the answer, Estonia, amusing, then goaded Obama to "lay down the law" on Russia, and "let 'em have it." Obama did condemn Russia's actions, but not fast or strong enough for Stewart. "Can you pick up the pace, buddy? The world's blowing up," Stewart chided Obama, before suggesting that the president is "slow-talking" to "run out the rest of your term." By the time Obama was done with his speech in the Baltic states, Stewart quipped, "Putin annexed them." --Peter Weber

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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.