Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah rip apart Trump's arguments for killing the Iran nuclear deal

Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah pick apart Trump on Iran deal

(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show, The Daily Show)

"After years of saying he will do it, he did it," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. President Trump announced he's withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, claiming he always keeps his promises. "What are you talking about?" Colbert asked. "You literally just backed out of an American promise!"

"Nobody wants Iran to have nuclear weapons — that's what the treaty was supposed to stop," Colbert said, but Trump is apparently upset the deal sunsets. "So with these restrictions, Iran could possibly, eventually develop a nuke, and the solution is to lift the restrictions so they can start immediately? ... It's like saying, 'Well, Billy, this hamster is eventually going to die in a couple years, so we might as well flush Mr. Fluffers don't the toilet now.'"

In explaining why he's scrapping the Iran deal, Trump "raises some good points, except for the fact that they're all bulls--t," Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show. "Yeah it is true that the deal didn't address every single problem with Iran, but it did address the main problem, nuclear weapons. You can't get rid of the entire thing because it didn't fix everything. It's like saying, 'This detergent got the stains out of my shirt but it didn't save my crumbling marriage!'"

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.

"This could lead to a horrible, destabilizing war, and even worse, we'll pay slightly more for gas," Noah deadpanned. "So that means when you're trying to flee the nuclear apocalypse, you'll have to look at your gas tank the whole time." And to hit home why this is so terrible for "America's credibility," he had a certain famous deal artist explain what happens to your reputation when you blow off deals.

Iran's president had a similar take, in The Late Show's imagined response: "In the past, we have called America 'The Great Satan,' but even Satan keeps his deals. Just ask Charlie Daniels." Watch below. Peter Weber

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.