As President Donald Trump continues to weigh his options when it comes to America’s current international relations, Tucker Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz went to war while discussing Israel and Iran.
For Jordan Klepper and “The Daily Show,” their public fallout was a welcome change of pace on Wednesday.
“The question has started a separate war inside his MAGA base, and today it exploded into a heated debate between the two most likable and charming voices on the right,” the host began. “On the one side is Ted Cruz, who wants war with Iran. And on the other is Tucker Carlson, who thinks Ted Cruz doesn’t know s–t about Iran.”
At that, Klepper played the viral moment of Carlson asking Cruz how many people live in Iran — a question the latter could not answer.
“Damn, Ted Cruz. Are you a pair of $800 Ferragamo boat shoes? Because Tucker Carlson owned you, buddy,” the comedian joked. “If you enjoyed seeing Ted Cruz get metaphorically punched in the face, how’d you like to see it again?”
Another clip from their sit-down then played, this time of the former Fox News host asking the Texas senator for the ethnic makeup of the Iranian population — again, with Cruz looking defeated.
“Look at poor Ted Cruz. He’s like, ‘Uh, uh, uh — I’d like to phone a friend, please. Oh, s–t, I don’t have any. I had a waiter last night at Outback and he called me Champ, can I phone him?’” Klepper mocked. “You know, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m starting to feel bad for Ted Cruz.”
“I don’t care about who wins the fight, I just like watching the fight. It’s like ‘Alien vs. Predator,’ but somehow more gross,” he continued. “But you could see how heated this was getting. Clearly, MAGA is much more divided about whether to overthrow Iran than they were about whether to overthrow America. Every little comment in this interview turned into a semantic battle.”
The rest of the segment was offset by Trump’s important work installing new flagpoles at The White House. Check it out for yourself in the video, above.
“The Daily Show” airs Monday-Thursday at 11 p.m. EST on Comedy Central before streaming next day on Paramount+.
