'Egypt's Jon Stewart' Bassem Youssef tells Jon Stewart that America should quit the Middle East (sort of)

Egypt&#039;s Jon Stewart has some opinions on American foreign policy

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

published 10 February 2015

The Middle East is a mess, and to help untangle what's going on, Jon Stewart invited Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef — often called "Egypt's Jon Stewart" because of his now-banned TV program — onto Monday night's Daily Show. "What should America do about this?" Stewart asked Youssef. His reply — "Well, how about nothing?" — got a big cheer from the audience.

Youssef went on to explain a world in which the U.S. props up dictators in return for oil and bases, the dictators publicly blame America for all their woes, and everybody wins — except the people. He used a Best Buy analogy, sang "Let It Go" — "I thought drones were the worst thing we exported to that region," Stewart quipped about Frozen — and likened the U.S. to a dog who won't stop licking a sore. If that sounds like a big blame-America-fest, Stewart actually turned the tables on Youssef, and wrung out a concession: Egypt still wants U.S. aid, so ideally America would "f--k gradually off." Well, that's one foreign policy slogan you won't see very often. —Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

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.