Jon Stewart recalls that Reagan signed an executive agreement with Iran, too


The invitation for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to trash Iran in a speech to Congress "was widely seen as a disrespectful gesture by House Republicans to a sitting president," Jon Stewart said on Tuesday night's Daily Show. "So naturally, Senate Republicans wanted in as well." He is referring, of course, to the letter from 47 GOP senators to Iran's leaders, warning them that a nuclear deal with Obama would be shaky and non-binding because it is an executive agreement not ratified by Congress.
Is that common? Stewart asked. Yes. In fact, he added, "Ronald Reagan, peace be upon him, signed over 1,500 executive agreements, including a nuclear deal with China and a hostage deal with — oh, how do I pronounce this? — Iran." But while "it's pretty clear the president is well within his constitutional prerogative" in these negotiations, Stewart sighed, "congressional subversion vis-à-vis foreign policy" isn't really all that new, either.
To make Stewart's point, The Daily Show crew but together a video roundup of liberals criticizing this new Senate GOP letter and, in 2007, praising then–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria against then–President George W. Bush's wishes — and conservatives criticizing Pelosi in 2007 and praising the Senate GOP now. Still, Stewart said, "the real takeaway from this seems to be: No matter how evil our president or our Congress believes Iran to be, they would each rather deal with the ayatollah than each other." Sure, something like that. —Peter Weber
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
How clean-air efforts may have exacerbated global warming
Under the Radar Air pollution artificially cooled the Earth, ‘masking’ extent of temperature increase
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle