Jon Stewart crudely explains why Jeb Bush shouldn't embrace brother's Iraq legacy


On Tuesday's Daily Show, Jon Stewart checked in with the 2016 presidential race, poking fun at various things the candidates said over the weekend — Mike Huckabee on hawking diet pills, Ben Carson on his various outrageous analogies, Ted Cruz's... well, interviewer Mark Halperin's terrible, patronizing questions for Cruz. Then he turned to the frontrunners, each tied closely to a previous occupant of the Oval Office.
In many ways, Hillary Clinton appears to be running against her husband's legacy. "Trouble in paradise, if you know what I mean," Stewart said, immediately clarifying: "By paradise, I mean a politically symbiotic partnership based on mutual ambition for global domination."
Jeb Bush, not so much. Stewart shook his head in disbelief at Bush's recent apparent embrace of George W. Bush's foreign policy baggage. "I think that at this point, most of America agrees that when it comes to foreign policy, George W. Bush is an excellent painter," he said, politely, before turning to Jeb's statement that he would still have invaded Iraq in 2003. "When an Iraq War question starts with 'Knowing what we know now,'" Stewart sighed, "'Hell yes, I'd still do it' is not an acceptable response." Short term, hugging W.'s Iraq legacy "might be appealing to a small fringe of dead-enders," he added, finishing the thought with a crude analogy, then ending with a weird aside about President Warren G. Harding and beastiality. So. Watch below. —Peter Weber
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.
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
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.
-
The fertility crisis: can Trump make America breed again?
Talking Point The self-styled 'fertilisation president', has been soliciting ideas on how to get Americans to have more babies
-
The fall of Saigon
The Explainer Fifty years ago the US made its final, humiliating exit from Vietnam
-
Crossword: May 11, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia