The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Profiles in Tremendousness - National Security Adviser John Bolton | Sean Penn

Episode Date: March 28, 2018

A Pennsylvania school district arms kids with rocks, Trump picks the hawkish John Bolton as his national security adviser, and Sean Penn talks "Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. John Stewart here. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.

March 27, 2018. From Comedy Central's World News Headquarters in New York, this is the show. Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah, thank you so much. Welcome to it and thank you for tuning in. My guest tonight, actor and author, Sean Penn is joining us everybody. First off, for first, ever since Parkland, people have been asking, how can we protect kids in the classroom? And now one school district might have an answer.

As the nation continues to debate the prospect of arming teachers, one Pennsylvania school district has decided to arm its community for the most basic of weapons, rocks. Every classroom in the Blue Mountain School District is now equipped with a five-gallon bucket of river stones for students to stone an armed intruder. If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance to any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full of students armed with rocks, and they will be stoned. Yes, they will be stoned. That will stop these school shooters from committing adultery in medieval Europe. This is such a dumb idea. It's like bucket of rocks

is both the idea and the metaphor for how dumb the idea actually is. Like you realize with rocks all the shooter needs is a helmet and then he's back to being the most dangerous person in school. And besides even if the kids have rock, if the shooter whips out paper, that beats rock every time. So, still, I mean, let's figure it out. Can't do gun control, so let's figure it out. Let's move on. Recently, we saw another major personnel shakeup in the Trump administration.

H.R. Macmaster is out as national security advisor. And he then. And he then. And he th. And he th. And he th. And he th. And he's, thu. And he's, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thi, thu, thu, thi. So, thui. So, tho, tho, thu. So, tho, tho, tho, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so. So, so, so. So, so. So, so. So, so. So, so. So, so. So, thu. So, thu. So, thu. So, thu. So, thu. So, thu. So, thu. So, thu. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So, thi. So by Geppetto co-player John Bolton. So let's get to know the person who will advise President Trump on defense strategy in another installment of our recurring segment profiles in tremendousness. I have the most dedicated people. Meet John Bolton, Trump's third national security advisor in little over a year. The good news is one more national security advisor and Trump gets the fifth one for free! Now, if Bolton looks familiar to you, it may be because he's been on the Captain Crunchbox for over 40 years. Or, or it may be, because like most people Trump hires these days, you probably saw him on the TV.

Joining us with Reaction is former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Fox News contributor, John Bolton. Good evening, Ambassador. Here with Reaction, Fox News contributor, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton. John Bolton is being walked to the studio by Steve Decent. This is what you can. Yeah. Oh, you're going to do. that's the look of a man who's either scared out of his mind or having the greatest orgasm of his life. I can't tell which.

Maybe it's both. Now, as you heard in those introductions, Bolton is more than just another Fox pundit, right? He served in three Republican administrations, most recently as George W. Bush's ambassador to the United Nations. But not be thrown off by his title as diplomat, because while Bolton may look like a harmless model train enthusiast, he's developed a notorious rep as a guy who really wants to bomb everyone. The former UN ambassador recently calling a preemptive strike in North Korea perfectly legitimate.

I don't think there are any further diplomatic options in terms of trying to persuade North Korea to change its behavior. Our objective should be to overthrow the regime in Tehran. The Israelis should have struck about three and a half years ago. You've written an op-ed today in the New York Times, and here's the headline. It's an eye catcher. To stop Iran's bomb, bomb Iran. What do you mean? The earlier you strike, the more damage you can do. Damn.

The earlier you strike, the more damage you can do. I think that's a horrible strategy for tackling and all you can eat buffet, you know? It's like, come on, the earlier you strike, the more damage you can do, yeah. They put the good fish out first, yeah! Look, the point is, John Bolton is ready to throw down with anyone at any time. He's basically Shug Knight if Shug Knight looked the opposite of Shug Knight. That's whoton is. He's still defending the one war that everyone agrees was a terrible idea. Bolton to this day, a fierce defender of the U.S. military invasion of Iraq. I think the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, that military action was a resounding success.

I mean, it destroyed the Middle East and brought us ISIS, but other than that, nailed it, am I right? You know, something tells me that John Bolton would be a total nightmare agenda? And be like, what do you mean I lost? I got the block out perfect. It's like, yeah, but the tower fell down. I failed to see how these two are related. I don't get it. Oh, and if you think them thke thke them game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game game that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, to that, to to to to to to to to to to to that, that that that that that that that that that th. be bad? Try working with the man. Mr. Bolton also came under fire for his his temperament and more specifically his temper. Carl Ford testified that he'd never seen anyone behave as badly in all his days

at the State Department. He got in trouble because he got in a fight in a hotel one night and chase some woman. He's been described as somebody who chases subordinates around hotel rooms and throw staplers at them. God damn. Yo, this guy sounds dangerous. I hope that they arm all his stuff with River Rocks. I really hope they do. Really hope they do. So, congratulations, John Bolton, on your new position as National Security Advisor.

Although if you think about it, you would have probably had a better chance of Trump listening to you if you had just stayed on Fox News. That's it for the latest Trump administration's staff shakeup, so tune in as soon as maybe tomorrow for another profiles in tremendousness. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly

Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient-to-bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the show. My guest tonight is a two-time Oscar-winning actor, writer and director who's written his first novel.

It's called Bob Honey, who Just Do Stuff. Please welcome, Sean Pan. Welcome to the show. Thanks very much. This is a book that I would fail to describe with the amount of words. Thanks very much. Um, this is a book that I, I, I, I, I, I would fail to describe with the amount of words I have in my vocabulary. It's, it's, it's a, it's a strong. It's a story. It's, it's a strong. It's a novel. It's a, it's a, it's a the, it's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It's a story. It. It. It. It's a story. It's a the, it. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It's a. It's a. It's a. It's a. It's a. It's a. It's a. It's a the. It's a the. It's a the. It's a the. It's a the. It's a the. It'sto the show. Thanks very much. This is a book that I would fail to describe with the amount of words I have in my vocabulary. It's a strange story that seems like a metaphor for real life. Bob Honey is a character in the book who goes around murdering people. He's a divorce septic tank worker and he's an assassin who kills old people with the mallets. And yet when I was reading parts of the book I was like, but the the the the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount the amount. the amount. the amount. the amount. the amount. the amount. the amount. the amount. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. amount. The. The. The. the. amount. The. The. The. The. The the. The the who kills old people with the mallets. And yet when I was reading parts of the book I was like, but this also feels like real life because it seems like what's happening in the world today.

Is it a metaphor? Well, you know, there was a Norman Mailer many years ago wrote a book about why we were at war in Iraq. And he talked about democracy being very fragile because it was such a noble idea. And that our darkest nature is such that we would be very infatuated with a fascism if we didn't hold on to this democracy with everything we had. He also suggested that the paradox, and it was when we try to export democracy, we tend to create fascism in other places and start to lean that way ourselves.

So as I saw and felt the world vulnerable to that, and our world is Americans, I thought, well, the way not to join what I, a kind of common madness would be to laugh. I understand that. I thought you might. And so I thought of this character Bob Honey, and I thought, here's an American man and put him a guy compelled to service. Right. And a country that doesn't actually demand mandatory service, which is something that I've always felt I missed out on, and that's something

that would be very important in the sense that a young person, whether the service is forestry or taking care of the elderly or military, whatever it was, that once one had a significant experience of having been able to make a real contribution themselves, that that never leaves them. And therefore, they engage. And by engaging, they're not ignorant. And by not being ignorant, they're not fooled. And they know who to hold accountable in government.

So I thought I would take somebody who couldn't find direction of service, but was compelled to service anyway, and put them in the kind of quicksand of this current climate in our country, and see how he danced over it. And I mean, it is quite a dance that takes us through the book. There's a threatening letter that Bob Honey sends to to to to to to to to the the to thu. to to thuuuuillapapap-a to to th. thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu tho tho tho tho thu-so thu tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho thu. So I thu. So I I thu. So I I thu. So I thu. So thu. So thu. So thu thu thu th. Soe thu thu thu thu thu tho thu tho thinininnni thoooooooooooooooooooooooooooanananann. Soee an thoooooooo. Soe takes us through the book. There's a threatening letter that Bob Honey sends to a fictional president named Mr. Landlord. I don't know who that could be. And it says, yeah, though the office will remain real, you will never were, nor will be. You are not simply a president in need of impeachment.

You are a man in need of an intervention. We are not simply people in need of an in in we are in a nation in need of an assassin. So I challenge you to a duel. Tweet me, bitch, I dare you. This is a very, very dangerous approach for Bob Honey to take in this book. Do you feel like in many ways when you were writing this was your catharsis for what you're experiencing in the world right now? You know, writing for me is like, is much more, it starts as melody before lyrics and it was really being taken. In fact, you know, this whole idea that is not a new idea that a writer or a musician or whatever has a muse or this, this is some part of thus thus thus thus this this this th this thus this th this th th thus th this this this thus this this thus this this this this thus this this this this this this thus this this this this this this this is your this is your cathis, this this this this this this this is your this this is your this is your this was your this was your this was your this was your this was your this was this was this was this was this was this was this was this was this was this was th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus. was thus. was thus. was thus. was thus. thus. was thus. thus. thi. this is this is this is this isthis whole idea that is not a new idea that a writer or musician or whatever has a muse or there's a, there's some part of you that, or maybe it's

not part of us. Right. That becomes surprising. And when you hear something like that, you go with it. And so in this case, I stumbled upon these characters. And the first character of it, really, is the character that is in essence the author of the book. So instead of just saying, well, I have a muse or I have a, I gave it a name. And I make him a character in the book, who's really kind of the storyteller's voice, and the name is Pappy Pariah. So I think that I didn't declare the mission, I just accepted it, and the mission was to follow the music. Right, you are a man on a mission in many ways because after the real life president had the issue with shit-hole countries, the statement that people reported him saying, you actually wrote a piece about the President's comments and about Haiti.

And I guess this really affected you personally because you've been credited as being one of the people who has done something on the ground in Haiti. You've gone in and you've helped people after the earthquake. You've mobilized efforts to assist. Why do you think his comment about Haiti got you in the way that it did? I immediately flashed on the faces of these beautifully spirited, resilient men, women, and in particular children that I know in Haiti who so loved the idea that is the United States of America. And before I thought anybody might get angry about what he'd said, I knew they'd be heartbroken. And it was like a, uh, it was like a, uh, it was like a, uh, it was like a, uh, it, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the angry about what he'd said, I knew they'd be heartbroken. And it was like, it was bullying, really cruelly bullying, so insensitive.

I mean, when we start talking about the character of leadership, the character of people in leadership, I don't really care who they sleep with. That's a problem between them and their wife, perhaps, whatever. It's really, that's not the character I'm interested in. I'm interested in the sensitivity to humanity and the earth first. And... That's something that you've displayed over and over again. You haven't been afraid to go out into the world and to engage in, you know, some hairy situations. Dealing with Haiti is one thing.

Well, I mean, I remember I was shocked that you wanted to go out and meet with Al Chappo. That was a huge story. What did you hope to Ghana from that moment in meeting him? Yeah, it was interesting. You know, it's a story. Maybe I'll tell another forum at some point because most of the criticism, then there was a lot about that article and so on. They had not most most had not actually read the article right were regurgitations of other people's uh... which is the internet today yes

and and so i'll never know if the article when red would have had the effect i would have hoped that it would have had which is that i always felt that we need to just to focus on the demand side more than the supply side, if only because we've been spending trillions of dollars for so many decades in trying to deal with the supply side. Right, off the drug epidemic, yes. Yeah, and there have been more people slaughtered in Mexico since the arrest of Chappo than anybody anywhere else in the world that people in Florida other than Syria. In the last year, half of whatever it is. I, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since, since the thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. So, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thii. So, thi. So, thi. We thi. We's thi. Wea, thi, thi. We've thi, thi, thi. We've thi. We've thi. We've thi. We've thi. We've thai. Wea. We're thi. We're thi. We've thi. We've thi, thi. We've the world that people in Florida other than Syria right in the last year and half of whatever it is

I'd sometimes 30,000 people in a year So I was interested in talking to that man to try to understand what that psychology was I You know it's often talked about as an interview, but again, they didn't read the article. It was a meeting to discuss having an interview. Oh wow. And later I sent questions because then they came, they were raided and between the Mexican Marines and the DEA, they went after him and they went into hiding and I couldn't get back to him. I was supposed to have a second visit. Because I wasn't able to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to discuss to discuss with to discuss with to discuss with a to discuss to discuss with a to discuss with to discuss with to discuss with a to discuss with a to discuss with a their their their their their their their their their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. the the the the. the. the. toe. toe. the. the. the. the. the. the. their. the get back to him. I was supposed to have a second visit,

because I wasn't able to get in toucest with him. And that's when the interview would have happened. But that was the idea. Before I let you go, you are admired by many people for being someone who genuinely cares for human beings in parts of the world that a lot of people don't care about. Recently, in Venezuela, we've seen some of the biggest flip from a country that was successful and thriving to people thrust into abject poverty and people being in many ways oppressed by a leader who some regarded as a revolutionary, yourself included at that time.

When you look at what's happening now in Venezuela, how do you deal with the fact that you supported a leader who at the time, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, who, the the the th th th th th thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the thi, the thi, the the the thi, their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thii, thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, their, their, their, their, their look at what's happening now in Venezuela, how do you deal with the fact that you supported a leader who at the time seemed like the right leader to support and has now turned? Is there disappointment? Is there where you contact him? How do you process that information and how do you think people can help with what's happening in Venezuela? I don't mind saying that Hugo Javez was my friend. He was a man whose initial mission was noble in that the poor people of that country did, for all intents and purposes, did not exist. They had no identification at all.

Within his initial time as president of the country, they often called him dictator, but he went through more elections that were worldwide observers, than anybody has to go through here. And what his mission was to give was to give identity to the poor and the oligarchs had not done that before him. They had not looked out for their poor. Now, he had a lot of oil and where there oil, there's going to be a lot of interventionary politics from other places, including the United States. I think that you become very protectionist at that point. You start to live in a bit of a bubble.

But his charisma was such that Elvis could keep it going. When Elvis left the building, the institutions were not sound. Corruption was one of the things that he himself was looking to fight in many ways and died before he had a chance to succeed or fail. And Maduro, who then became president and was his designee, is somebody that I had worked with in a situation related to some hostages in another country where he was very pleasant, very smart, and that's what I knew about him.

I'd never, I don't think I'd ever written anything or publicly stood with him in support of anything, but I'd worked with him. I think that what can certainly be said is that to be in a situation where Elvis left the building and you had, he and Chavez had he had created it was a great flaw, a power of personality. Right. So the smoke and mirrors of holding that country up left and then you had somebody who's really not a competent manager to begin with, with Maduro.

And with a country so ready to go wrong, oh boy did it. And now it's certainly, certainly time for a very diplomatic change as designated by the Venezuelan people. Before I let you go, one thing I would love to know from you, and the very few people I would ask this question and expect a candid response. Meeting with the people you've met in the world, do you think that we get the full story

of what America's doing in the world and how they are shaping what direction the world is going in, having spoken to some of the people who deal with America from the other side? Yes, I mean, there's a, I think we're at about 28% of the country that has passports. And then there are various economic reasons why people aren't able to travel. And without that context, I think we do suffer. And I think that news organizations, including some very well-intended ones

in the competition of commercial news, are so forced to focus on those sensational stories that even that which they might be able to transport us to be able to share with us the context from the other side. It's just no room for it in this kind of dog-eat-dog of it. So we have a very monocultural sensationalist news cycle. There's the, generally speaking, and I've seen a big change, there, you know, when the Berlin Wall came down, I think it had a lot more to do with Levi's 501s and the dream of wearing

them, and the Beatles, wearing them and the Beatles black market records than it did with Gorbachev or Reagan. Right. It's just human dreaming having a power to make a change. The human dreaming so much of it was in the to to take the American model, the dream that is that. And increasingly now I think that what we are is the most armed of existing democracies and beyond that I don't think that I would say that the respect and the aspiration that we modeled is no longer on our country. That's not a political comment. That's a touristic comment.

Where I've traveled, it's changed. And I think we owe it to ourselves to get it back. And the only way we do that is show that we know how to stop fighting with each other. And really demand that our politicians how to stop fighting with each other and really listen to each other and really demand that our politicians do the job. And in this case, the job includes by any historical parallel, the impeachment of this president. You're a fascinating man.

I appreciate the word. Thank you for him to show. Bob Honey, who just do stuff is available now. Show-in-Tan, everybody. Thank you so much. The Daily Show with Trevor No. Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11. 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content and more.

This has been a Comedy Central podcast. This has been a comedy central podcast. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, the Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting, you'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election.

Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative.

Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.