The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Trump Thanks Qatar for Their Generous Jet Bribe & Accidentally Does a Socialism | General Stanley McChrystal
Tue, 13 May 2025
After Trump teased an upcoming "big announcement" last week, Jon Stewart contemplates what news Americans are supposed to be so psyched for: the possible suspension of d]cess, Trump's appointment of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as D.C. district attorney, Qatar's $400 million luxury jet "gift" for Trump, or lower prices on the "fat shot drug"? Retired four-star general who served 34 years in the U.S. Army, General Stanley McChrystal, sits down with Jon to discuss his book "On Character: Choices that Define a Life." They talk about leading a national conversation on character, employing empathy in war to negotiate with ideological warriors and mercenaries, what upset him most about Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth’s Signal chat leak, and how his wife taught him to live “with no use for the rear view mirror.” In 2024, 70% of nationwide elections went uncontested. The Daily Show knows that when we don’t have choices, democracy suffers, so we’re partnering with HeadCount for “InDecision: Take a Seat,” to shine a light on vital offices and encourage you to throw your hat in the ring. Learn more at TheDailyShow.com/TakeASeat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Chapter 1: What was President Trump's 'big announcement' tease about?
Respect his authority. Honestly, so much comes at us every day with him. I can't even sleep, organize, thoughts, eat. I just... And he knows. He knows he's toying with us. Here he is on Tuesday of last week.
We're going to have a very, very big announcement to make. Like, as big as it gets. And I won't tell you on what.
Oh, good. So we won't know how to prepare. Should we wear our good pants? or the ones we piss in. But fine. Don't tell us this big announcement.
Just tell us when. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave.
Why are you mentioning it? Is it sweeps week? Is that what this is? But fine. We will keep our eyes out for any announcement bombshells. And on Friday, I think we got one.
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Chapter 2: Is the suspension of habeas corpus a possibility under Trump?
The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion. So I would say that's an option we're actively looking at. The government, the United States government,
is actively looking at suspending due process and the rule of law. That's a big announcement. Big enough for Stephen Miller to risk bursting into flames because of the touch of God's sunlight.
The only time a president has done it unilaterally without the authorization of Congress was Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. That was the last.
Really? So back when slavery was legal and the treatment for diarrhea was amputation. But that being said, this is a big announcement.
As you know, you know, ability of somebody to challenge their rights in courts is a pretty essential part of the rule of law. So certainly raising a lot of eyebrows with that comment.
Just, just eyebrows. The Trump administration is thinking of tearing up the Constitution. So here in Washington, we're hearing a lot of, huh. One legal scholar even said, that's weird. So maybe that's the announcement. Suspension of habeas corpus, unless there's something else.
President Trump is appointing former New York prosecutor Jeanine Pirro as interim U.S. attorney.
You may say to yourself, well, that can't be the announcement. Because that's just not that big a deal. Yet in this new world that we live in, this announcement registers the same as suspending habeas corpus on the eyebrow-o-meter.
Jeanine Pirro, a lot of eyebrows are being raised at this pick so far.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of appointing Jeanine Pirro as D.C. U.S. Attorney?
It raises many, many eyebrows to have this sort of deal at all.
Actually, that's how the plane flies. It overcomes Earth's gravity through the power of the raised eyebrows. Obviously, the president would understand that a gift of this magnitude from a government with questionable ties to terror organizations, combined with Article 1, Section 9, constitutional prohibition against the president accepting a foreign flying palace.
He would understand that that's a legitimate. I'm just kidding. He was appalled that you'd even ask.
They're giving us a free jet. I could say, no, no, no, don't give us. I want to pay you a billion or 400 million or whatever it is. Or I could say, thank you very much.
It's not a free jet. That's the point. You know the expression, there's no such thing as a free lunch? That's about being skeptical of the motives of somebody who gives you a sandwich. A sandwich, a BLT. Now, imagine that that BLT has an engine Nine bathrooms. and funds proxy wars.
So in the dizzying run-up to this big announcement of the possible suspension of habeas corpus or maybe the appointment of another Fox News star or the naked bribery of our highest elected officials, none of those were Trump's big announcement.
President Trump just announced that prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be reduced by 30% to 80% almost immediately. This appears to be the major announcement that the president has been teasing for days.
I am having wanted that for years. Pharma has exploited the American consumer while we have in turn subsidized their whole industry with tax incentives and direct funds. I like this. But without getting into the weeds, explain this thing that I've wanted for a very long time like I'm incredibly dumb.
Drug prices will come down. We're getting them down 60, 70, 80, 90%. But actually more than that, if you think about it in the way mathematically.
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Chapter 4: Why is Qatar gifting Trump a $400 million luxury jet, and what does it mean?
If you think about it mathematically. I don't want to brag, but I often think about numbers mathematically. How is this going to work?
The rest of the world's gonna have to pay a little bit more, and America's gonna pay a lot less. Basically, what we're doing is equalizing. There's a new word that I came up with, which I think is probably the best word. We're gonna equalize.
Europe, Eureka, Euclid. Yeah, here it is. Equalize. I thought it sounded familiar. Look. He's trying to kill us all. Look, I would like to think that the tenacious pleadings of progressive leaders like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders helped make this possible.
We are sick and tired of paying by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.
I'm going to attack the prices on commonly used drugs. Put a cap on the cost of insulin, a cap on the cost of prescription drugs. And not one of those child caps.
that you can't. I have diarrhea. What's happening? Unfortunately, it turns out, credit for the biggest, most important announcement in the history of this presidency goes to someone else.
I mean, I'll tell you a story. A friend of mine who's a businessman, very, very, very top guy. Most of you would have heard of him. Highly neurotic, brilliant businessman, seriously overweight.
That took a turn. Top guy, brilliant, you know him, famous, bit of a chubs. Anyway, I'm sure public press coverage is a rough way for this guy to find out that he is saved in Trump's phone as neurotic fat friend. But what else can you tell us about this friend who's a very famous, successful businessman?
Highly neurotic, brilliant businessman, seriously overweight. And he takes the fat, the fat shot drug.
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Chapter 5: How will Trump's drug pricing announcement affect Americans and the world?
The word on the street then was, he's too country for pop. But then once I got to country, it was, he's too pop for country. So I kind of never really had a place to fit in, but that's exactly how and why I fit. I just embraced that. Like, yeah, I don't fit into one specific hole. I think that is what endeared me to listeners.
That's why I'm here now, because I talk to people that grew up like me, have sensibilities like me, and have loyalties like me.
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Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight, he is a retired four-star general, served 34 years in the United States Army. His latest book is called On Character, Choices That Define a Life. Please welcome to the program General Stanley McChrystal. Sir! Nice to see you again.
It's great to see you.
Thank you for joining us. The book is called On Character. Tell me about this idea, character. What is that? And how do we get that in public life?
Well, I'm just going to break out of this and start with what I want from you. From me? I want you to start a national conversation on character. Yes. I think we could begin it tonight with this group. It's a fine group. I think we... What's the framing of the conversation? I think we turn the lights up, we bring some beer in.
Guys, a question. What kind of character are we looking for? Well, how would you what is the framing of the national conversation on character in your mind?
Yeah, I think first is character is our choice. That's the great thing about it. We have agency over who we as individuals are. And Heraclitus said an individual's character is their fate. Character is destiny. I think that's true. Yeah. I also think it's true of a nation. And so we get to choose what our character is. Not somebody else. We get to choose. And it's the answer.
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Chapter 6: What is the story behind the 'fat shot' drug and its price issues?
Do we live to them? You know, you can have a lot of convictions you tell people about, but if you don't live them... They're zero. Right. And so I think our character is the essential identity of us as people and us as a nation. And we've led it a road.
Do you view this? So here's what I see with the audience a little bit now. And I come out usually in the beginning, and I have a little conversation with them, generally beerless, unfortunately. Yeah. That's a mistake. It really is. It's okay, though, because they'll all get high as soon as they leave. I'm noticing a thirst, like an anxiety about this idea of control.
I think people feel they've lost that agency by living in a country. And look, people win elections, people lose elections. Sometimes you live with a president that doesn't necessarily reflect you. This feels... different so how does this conversation around character, I've always thought action is the antidote to anxiety what action then within this. can bring some relief.
There's a thirst out there for conviction, leadership, discipline that they're not getting.
Yeah, I think it's got three steps. I think the first is we need to think about character more. That's largely individual, but you can share it with people. Then we need to talk about it. We need to talk about it in small groups, not just on TV, but we need to talk about it in our schools and our families.
We need to have those kinds of... What are the parameters when you say we need to think about character? Yeah. What are the parameters that come to your mind when you think about that? Is it Boy Scout pledge stuff, like be courteous, kind, and forgiving, all that sort of thing? Or is it something different?
There are certain norms that I think almost all of us would agree on. But as you talked about faith earlier, There are parts of faith that we vary on. But I think that if we talk about what are the things that sort of bound America together, what are the things that we all believe, how we treat people, be fair to people, have empathy, give an opportunity to people.
So how do you square that? It brings up such an interesting conversation because the worlds that we might inhabit would have a very different view. I might look at the January Sixers and go, that was a lack of character. You know, one man's terrorist, another man's freedom fighter. How do you square that? And what do you do with people that you think stepped over a red line?
But in their mind was almost a heroic action.
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Chapter 7: What does the Trump administration's refugee policy change involve?
Well it is but if we try to say they're incontrovertible truths you know many of them what are they. You know, we start to say he courteous, kind and forgiving. Yeah, I mean, that's pretty good. And those are the things that are common denominator sort of things.
And that's where we have to connect, because the reality is we're not going to have the same view from different parts of the world, different parts of the country, different zip codes, different economic backgrounds, because your life journey is just enough different.
Tell me in practice, so you have to negotiate. You're in war. I'll refer to either the counterinsurgency in Iraq or in Afghanistan. You are dealing with, on one level, ideological warriors, maybe in Afghanistan. On another level, mercenary to some extent. You go in there with a bunch of money and go, what are they paying you? I'll pay you this. How did you negotiate? Find common ground with them.
Did you have to? Where does the wisdom of this come from for you?
Chapter 8: What insights does General Stanley McChrystal share about character and leadership?
Yeah. I think from experience, one of the things you learn is you have to try to find common ground, and you have to start by having enough empathy. And remember, empathy is not sympathy. Doesn't mean you're rubbing somebody's belly and you agree with them. It means that you can... Would that have ended the Afghanistan war? Probably pretty quickly. Bring in the governor.
You have to be able to put yourself on the other side of the table. You know, I would talk to Pashtun elders, and they had big turbans and beards and craggy faces and different lives in mind, spoke a different language, had a different religion. But in reality, they were actually pretty good people. And if you had their loyalty and their respect... They were as good as we are.
In fact, they are very similar to us. So if you stop assuming that anyone who doesn't share those attributes is different and therefore less than you, you have a different approach to it.
And you have to be, of course, hard on yourself as well because... So is that, you know, the book starts, you famously, you did an interview for Rolling Stone during the Obama administration and where you were critical of maybe some of the tax that we had taken in the war, the way it was being prosecuted, not enough supply, things like that. And you resigned because of that.
That's how you open this book. Right. Is that where you're reflecting on yourself?
Very much so. Of course, I canceled my Rolling Stone subscription right after that. But the reality, yeah. Don't worry. Everyone else did, too. Don't even worry about it. It's funny now because, you know, we've got a little time and space. But, no, we had an article that came out that I didn't think was accurate, but I accepted responsibility for it.
And the reality was, in that moment, I had been born in an army hospital. I'd lived in an army family. I'd gone to West Point at age 17. I was now 55, almost 56. And suddenly, in an instant, when I offered my resignation to President Obama, I'm not a soldier anymore. I'm not a commander. I'm not a soldier. What am I? You could say, I'm a failure. I go home. Is that how you felt?
I felt exactly that way. I felt as though a bolt of lightning had... I'd always thought I could be fired for incompetence or killed in combat. I never thought I'd be accused of something like that. And so I offer my resignation to President Obama, who was very gracious, but he accepted it. I had flown home all night from Afghanistan for this meeting.
I drive across the city to where my wife was living in a set of military quarters. And I tell Annie, it's over. Because she and I had been married for 34 years. And I said, our career's over. I'm out. And she looked at me and she said, good. Good. We've always been happy, and we'll always be happy.
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