Egypt’s Jon Stewart Appears on “The Daily Show”
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KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — He earned fame in Egypt for his scathing satire of those in power — and on Monday night, “Egypt’s Jon Stewart,” became “America’s Bassem Youssef,” in the words of The Daily Show.
And America was into it.
“I feel the love,” Dr. Bassem Youssef looked back at the roaring audience at the start of his fourth appearance on The Daily Show.
Before Youssef was yanked off air for political reasons in Egypt, 40 million people tuned in on a regular basis. Now, he’s bringing his 3.89 million Twitter followers to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he’ll spend a semester as a resident fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
On Monday night, Stewart dove right into Youssef’s sweet spot: What should America do about the Middle East?
“Well, how about nothing?” Youssef grinned into the camera; the crowd cheered.
“How do you think our region got this way in the first place?” Youssef continued, citing America’s long-standing tastes for oil, airfields, security arrangements — and mostly, more oil.
But really, Stewart asks, what should America do?
“We want you to f— off and leave us alone,” Youssef deadpans.
Well, kind of.
“We could still use the aid money. And a few weapons. And some investments,” he quips. “So what I’m saying, if you could f— gradually off, that would work well for us.”
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