The Daily Show: Ears Edition - War in Ukraine: Vlad Gone Mad | Samantha Power

Episode Date: March 1, 2022

Trevor examines the global resistance to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Michael Kosta reacts to heroism from Ukrainians, and USAID administrator Samantha Power weighs in on the crisis. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Would you fight? Nobody. Nobody here. I don't know what I would do. I think everyone thinks they know what they do, but I don't know what I would do. If they said the war is coming and then I have to fight. I think I would be pretty good in war, though. Not like fighting.

There's other parts of war that you can also participate in. I would be good at shouting that the people are coming. I think that would be my job if I was fighting in a war. I would be the person who rides a horse from one place to the next telling people the people are coming. Then they'd be like, are we going to fight? I'm like, yeah, you guys you guys should fight. I'm going to go go go go go go go go go go go the next the next the next the next the next the next the next the next the next. the next. the next. the next. the next. the next. the next. the next. the next. the next. the next. the next the next the next the next the next to 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 th. th. th. th. th. theat. theat. teat. teat. teat. toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I. I th. I th. Itown that the war is coming. And then I just keep writing, telling everyone that I told everyone. Then I'm as far away from the war as possible, but I'm also like a hero because they go, he rode and he told us. Very important part of the job. Everyone takes that for granted. So if you guys need someone to warn you the heart of Times Square in New York City, the only city in America. It's The Daily Show, Ears Edition.

Tonight, insane in Ukraine. The world unfriends Russia. And Samantha Power. This is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Hey, what's going on everybody. Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Trevor Noah. Let's jump straight into the big news, which is the only one that anybody's talking about. It's Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

And so on today's episode, that's all we're gonna be covering. The invasion, the international resistance, Ukraine's resistance, which has been amazing, and then our guest on the show actually serves on President Biden's Security Council and has dealt with Russia directly. So everything on the show today is all about Russia's invasion. In many ways, Russia has invaded our show. So let's do this. It has been four days since Russian troops rolled into neighboring Ukraine, touching off the largest European conflict since World War II, or when Harry and and Megan left the Royals. So let's th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, and th, th, and th, the, the, th, and the, and thooma, and tho, and tho, and tho, and tho, and the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, th, and, th, and th, and th, and th, th, th, and th, th, th, and th, th. And, th. And, th. And, tha, tha, tha, the.ea, thea.ea.eauuuuuauauauauauauauaua.ea, thea, thea, the. And, tha, touching off the largest European conflict since World War II, or when Harry

and Megan left the Royals. So let's do it, people. Let's catch up on all the latest developments in our newest segment, the war in Ukraine. As the pandemic started winding down, people all across the world have been thinking about what they're going to do as the world opens up, you know, spend more time with family, find a better work-life balance, stitch all your old masks together into a giant mask and then use that as a comfort blanket. But Vladimir Putin clearly had very different post-pandemic plans, invading a sovereign country. And you know for years, people have said that Russia might invade Ukraine,

because it's always been Putin's wet dream to reunite the Soviet Union. You know, sort of the same way Disney wants to tie all of its franchises together. And now Mickey is fighting Thanos. I mean, it's weird, but profitable. So yeah, Putin has done the unthinkable. And in response, almost every nation around the world has gone, yo, my man, that is not cool. Much of the world is trying to tighten its grip around Russia

to get Vladimir Putin to back off Ukraine. For the first time ever, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons to Ukraine. Similarly, the United States for the first time, has to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th., to thiiii., thiolian, thioliolioliolk, thiolk, thoomk, thoomk, thoomk, thoomorrow, thiol-a, the the the the the the the the the the the the the thoomoomomom, the thoom, thoom, the thoom, thoom, the the thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom, thoom, thoombea, thoomoomoomoomoomoomorrow, thoomorrow, thoomorrow, thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom.... the to Ukraine. Similarly, the United States for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House. That decision came on the heels of Germany's announcement that it will send 500 Stinger missiles and other weapons and supplies to Ukraine. This was a historic break from Germany's post-World War II foreign policy.

The President is joining forces with European allies by kicking most Russian banks out of SWIFT, an international banking messaging system that makes global transactions easier. New sanctions will also target Russia's central bank, and allies are beginning to target Russian oligarchs with ties to Putin who shield his wealth in offshore accounts. Russian planes and private jets from oligarchs can no longer fly over dozens of countries. The European Union and Canada are banning the flights from their airspace. Air France also just announced that it has suspended service from Russia. Yeah, that's right. They're cutting off, banking.

They're arming their enemies. and on top of that, airlines are stopping flights to and from Russia, which in my opinion might be one of the worst things. Because I mean the best part about going to Russia is that you can fly out of Russia. Now they don't even have that. And if there's one thing that tells you how big these sanctions are, it's that the Swiss have gotten involved. Like you understand how big that is, right? The Swiss don't get involved in anything, anything. The Swiss don't get involved in war, they don't get involved in alliances, my dad didn't get involved in my life. I would ask him to hug me and he'd tell me that his official policy was to stay neutral. I mean, think about it. think about this for a moment.

Putin's move is so crazy that Germany is like, It's time for us as Germany to rebuild our military. And the world is like, yeah, I hope. Now, beyond all the blocking flights and arming Ukraine, one of the biggest moves that Europe and America are taking right now is cutting Russia off of SWIFT, right? Which is huge, which is huge. Like we're talking no folklore, no 1989, not even the short version of all too well, which, I'm sorry, what?

Oh, it's a different Swift. What it, oh, it's an international banking system that verifies transactions across the globe. Oh, well, I mean, I they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they should, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, I mean, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, th. th, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, th. thi, thi, thi, th. th. th. th. th. th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, that, that, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that that that that that that, th verifies transactions across the globe. Oh, well, I mean, they should probably change their name, because that's confusing, you know? Anyway, what Russia has done has gotten the world so riled up that it's not just the governments that are responding to this war. No, everyone around the world is finding their own way to show Putin that he's an asshole. Major news from the sports world. World Soccer organization FIFA is banning Russian teams from all of their games. The organization issuing a statement today banning Russian clubs and national teams from all competition until further noticed.

FIFA says it stands in quote, full solidarity with all of the people affected in Ukraine. The European Broadcasting Union has banned Russia from participating in this year's Eurovision song contest. And back here at home several governors around the United States are asking stores to pull Russian products off their shelves. A restaurant in Las Vegas went out on the street and poured all of their bottles of Russian vodka out onto the street. They'll be offering Ukrainian vodka instead. Formula One dropped the Russian Grand Prix from the season's racing calendar and the International Olympic Committee also urging sports federations to move or cancel their events in Russia and

Belarus. And the International Judo Federation suspending Putin as honorary president and ambassador of the Federation. Yeah, no World Cup for Putin, no Eurovision song contest for Putin, no more being president of the International Judo Federation, and in case you're wondering, yes, he will no longer be allowed to host this year's Oscars. Which I was kind of looking forward to. It's going to be interesting. Now I know a lot of people out there are wondering, they're like, oh man, who cares?

I mean, they're having their economy destroyed, who cares if people are pouring out vodka, who cares if people, this actually makes a difference, right? South Africa had sanctions on it, which was really bad back in the day during apartheid, but it was the collective idea around the world that people were not for what was happening that sort of spurred a lot of the change. And don't forget, oftentimes in life, it's the little things that hurt the most. You think th th think th think th think th think th think thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. theeeean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. thean. their, their, their, their their their You think they're small but they get to you. You know, like think of it this way. Would you rather be shot or blocked by your ex? Hmm? Oh and just by the way, now that Russia is not going to be playing in the World Cup, I mean that means there's going to be an open spot, right? I'm just saying FIFA, if you want to hook South Africa up with that spot, you know, we've never invaded another country, you know,

we barely even have a military. So if you're interested, shoot me a DM. I see you FIFA. So practically every democracy in the world right now is coming down hard against Russia. And it actually might be having an effect because just this morning, the two countries held five hours of peace talks, which is good. Although Russia did continue bombing Ukrainian cities the whole time that the peace talks were happening, which is not a good sign. I mean, bombing a country during your peace talks is like bringing your side chick to

couples therapy. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Yeah, she's the problem. But don't get it twisted. Russia is feeling the effects of the world clamping down, especially the economic effects. The value of the Russian ruble hitting an all-time low this morning. The first business day since harsh sanctions were imposed against Moscow for waging war on Ukraine. Now European operations for one state-owned Russian bank are already facing bankruptcy, saying in a

press release, they're failing or likely to fail. Long lines of Russians waiting at ATMs. After days of punishing sanctions levied on Moscow by the West, many Russians are worried their bank cards will stop working or that banks will limit cash withdrawals. Well, damn, if Putin's goal is to bring back the glory days of the Soviet Union, people waiting hours and long lines is definitely a start. And please, don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong. I don't like the fact that ordinary Russians are suffering for what Putin is doing.

I don't like that. But then again, if they didn't want him as president, I mean, they shouldn't have re-elected him with 107% of the vote. But the big question now is, what will Putin do in the face of a cratering economy and a war that is not as easy as he probably wanted? Well, apparently his plan is to make things a whole lot worse. Ukraine, and a dramatic escalation in the crisis there, Russia's military confirms this morning that the country's nuclear forces have indeed been put on high alert. President Vladimir Putin calls it a response to, quote, aggressive statements by NATO leaders.

Mr. Putin is becoming even more desperate. It's showing that his military progress is failing on the ground that he has to resort to this kind of threat. He is pushing his inner circle away. We saw him publicly humiliating his closest the closest the closest the closest the closest the closest the closest thiiiiiiiuiuiuiuiuiui. th. th. th. th. th. th. thui, thui, thui, thui, thu thu thu thu thu thu the nuclear nuclear nuclear nuclear nuclear nuclear nuclear thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu their n n n their n n their n n their n n their their their their their their their n n n n nc. their their their their nc. He's nuclear. He's nuclear. He's nc. He. He's, their nc. He's, thu-c. He's nuclear. He's theu-cu-cu-cu-cluclueu-clucluclueu-clucluclucluc. to-clueu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nui has to resort to this kind of threat. He is pushing his inner circle away. We saw him publicly humiliating his closest advisors. That's what's most concerning. Nobody there to prevent a catastrophic misstep. Oh man this is not good. Putin. Putin is threatening by activating his nuclear, what what was it even mean? He's like getting my nuclear team ready. For what? For what, Putin? You realize this is not a good thing.

Putin is going nuclear and there's no one there to stop him? You see people? This is why every crazy world leader needs a pasty son-in-law by his side. Yeah, keeps them in check. Because no father-in-law wants to act the fool in front the man who's banging his daughter, you know? Now before you panic, before you panic, I know they said nuclear and I know they said Putin, but please take a breath. Yes, the threat of nuclear annihilation may have increased.

Yes, we may be on the brink of World War III. And yes, Europe is once again at the mercy of one when was the last time you thought about COVID? Huh? Yeah? But still, man, this invasion of Ukraine has put the world on edge and it has amounted to one of the most dramatic weeks in a really long time. Like, I don't know about you, but I have been glued to the TV all weekend watching all the news, everything. And beyond the war itself, I will say this, I will say this, beyond the war, there's a

really interesting thing that I learned. And that is, a lot of people on TV didn't expect a war like this to happen in, let's say, certain neighborhoods. This is not a developing third world nation. This is Europe. These are prosperous middle-class people. These are not people trying to get away from areas in North Africa. They look like any European family that you would live next door to. What could be a difference here from other conflicts you know that could seem very far away you know in Africa or

Middle East or whatever I mean these are Europeans that we're seeing being killed. This isn't a place, with all due respect, you know, like Iraq or Afghanistan. You know, this is a relatively civilized, relatively European, I have to choose those words carefully too, a city where you wouldn't expect that or hope that it's going to happen. Wow. That was you choosing your words carefully? That was the careful version? So what were you going to say if you weren't choosing your words carefully? I just hope the next time this happens, it happens back in the Middle East where it belongs.

Here's the thing, here's the thing, here's the thing. Be on the racism, like let's ths th let let's then, let's then, let's then, let's then, let's thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thus, thus, thus, thus th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, tho, thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi Beyond the racism, right? Like let's forget the racism. Wow, I wish we could forget about the racism. You do realize that until very recently, fighting crazy wars was Europe's thing. That was Europe's entire thing. That's all of European history. They even had something called the Hundred Years War.

You understand how long that is? That is like a decade. They got a Nobel Prize because they stopped fighting. Imagine that. Now people are going to be like, oh, to see this in Europe, to see this. Like, I'll tell you now, I don't know about you, but I was shocked to see how many reporters around the world, by the way, seems to think that it's more of a tragedy when white people have to flee their countries. Because I guess what, the darkies were built for it? I mean, you see how they run in the Olympics, Peter.

Clearly God has given them this talent for a reason. I totally agree. I mean, even if this wasn't a war, these people will probably be fleeing their homes for fun. It's just who they are. Back to you guys, to the the studio. All right, we have to take a quick break, but please don't go away, because we've talked about the Russians, but when we come back, we're going to be talking about the Ukrainian heroes who are inspiring the world.

So don't go away, because if you do go away, it means you support Russia because you stayed for the Russian part, but not the Ukrainian part. You should be ashamed of yourself. We'll be right back back back back. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We th. We'll th. We'll th. We'll th. We'll th. We'll th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to be to be to be to be to be thi. th. to be to to to to to to to to to to to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be th. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. We. th. We. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. to the. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the. the. theto the Daily Show. Earlier on, we were talking about the global fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But obviously the people facing the greatest impact from the war are the Ukrainian people themselves. Half a million people have been forced to leave their homes and they fled to neighboring countries. Hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed, and countless others are huddled in basements, bomb shelters, and subway stations to avoid Russian missiles that are raining down on their neighborhoods.

In fact, one woman even gave birth while she was hiding out in the subway. Which is terrible. I mean, the only silver lining I could think was that at least it wasn't a New York subway. Because that newborn would have been kicked by a subway dancer and then arrested for not paying their fare. But still, there is no doubt that this war has been devastating for Ukraine. But at the same time, it's also clear that Putin has failed miserably in his attempt to break the country's spirit. Because I don't know about you man, but I've been on Twitter basically basically basically basically this war started, just refreshing, refreshing, refreshing, you know, doing my part.

So I've seen all the videos coming out of this war. And trust me, Ukrainians are not messing around. The troops defending Ukraine's snake island, as it's called in the Black Sea, instantly became the country's first heroes of the resistance, thanks to an anti-tank mine. He did this while managing to keep his cigarette in his mouth. This is the sort of extraordinary resistance Russia is facing here. One hundred miles northeast of Kiev, a man tries to block a Russian tank. He kneels in front of it, determined to stop it in its tracks.

U.S. officials believe this will be a Pyrrhic victory for Vladimir Putin, symbolized by that Ukrainian grandmother who confronted the Russian soldier. After berating him, she handed him some sunflower seeds to put in his pocket and then said she looks forward to seeing sunflowers grow when his dead body lies down on Ukrainian soil. Okay, I'm not a military strategist at all. But if a grandmother hands me seeds and tells me that sunflowers will bloom from my corpse, I think it's time to retreat. And I also love how her aggression was still on brand for a grandma.

Like, she's wishing him death, yes, but she's also doing gardening at the same time. You know? The only way it could have been more grandma is if she used his blood to spell out a message asking why her grandson isn't married yet. And you know, just by the way, one of the strangest experiences of the modern world is following a war on social media. Because all the other stuff on social stuff thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thia thuuuuuuu. thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thus thi, thoome, tho-a tho-a, thus, thi, thi, tho-a, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thou thi, thi, thou thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, is go away, it just gets mixed in together. Like my whole timeline this week was Ukrainian civilians picking up weapon,

rocket hitting a building, uncut jams, tanks rolling into Kiev, uncut jams, uncut jams, un-cut jams. But those people that we're seeing in Ukraine, those are the ones who've just gone viral. One of the reasons Ukraine has been able to put up such a fierce resistance to Russia is because everybody, and I mean everybody is stepping up and joining the fight. Across this country, we've seen volunteers who've taken up arms, while others are making Molotov cocktails, including this group of women who've set up an assembly line.

Painter Natasha Tachchenko says she's put down her brush, now mastering the art of making a Molotov cocktail, hunkering down with her neighbors in the parking garage of their apartment building turned bomb shelter and makeshift factory. Similar scenes across the country. With how-to instructions broadcast on state TV. Even the former Prime Minister now going viral with his demonstration. The government encouraging all Ukrainians to take up arms and fight. This man leaves with two AK-47s, even though he's never fired a gun.

Do you know how to use that? To tell the truth, I am not good at it, but I understand. I just need to have some, uh, to find, to have to have to have to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the 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 their their their their their, their, their their their to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, to to their to their their their their their their their the truth, I am not good at it, but I understand. I just need to find some quiet place and figure out how it works. Wow. Can you believe it? That guy was just given two assault rifles, even though he has never fired a gun. I mean, if you're American, you can believe it, of course, but for everyone else in the world, this is crazy.

And how insane is it that Ukrainian public television is actually teaching people, teaching people how to make Molotov cocktails. You understand how insane that is, right? Like, imagine if during the Cuban missile crisis, Mr. Rogers had come out like, all all the cuddling to kill your communist neighbor. Now, when you talk about Ukrainians stepping up to this moment, one big part of this resistance movement is Ukraine's president himself, Vladimir Zelensky, who, by the way, nobody thought would be able to lead his country,

like even less so in a war against Russia. And the reason people had their doubts is because just four years ago, Zelensky wasn't even in politics. He was a comedian. Yeah. He was acting in TV shows, busting moves on dancing with the stars. And this is completely real. This is completely real.

He even showed up on a TV show where he pretended wipe down the piano with Lysol before I play. Yeah, I don't want my penis touching the same keys as someone else. But you see that guy? You see that guy? You watch that clip, you're like, huh, that's ridiculous. He's the president of Ukraine right now. Yeah, he's the guy who has to rally his country against an overwhelming Russian invasion. And despite everyone's doubts and everything that they thought he would be, this man has more than stepped up to the occasion. With his country in crisis.

Ukraine's president, Blodomir Zelensky, is the very definition of leading from the front, sharing videos of himself on the street to reassure his people that he's still in the country. I tut, no thu any thuoe, we no o'clock. He's braving Russian missiles and air strikes and telling Ukrainians, you are strong, you are unbroken. He reportedly turned down a US offer to help him evacuate, saying I need ammunition, not a ride. Damn, that's hell a gangster. I need

ammunition not a ride. That's some action movie shit right there. Meanwhile Trump was hiding underground when people came with placards to the White House. There's so many words out there, hide me. And you've got to give Zelensky credit for refusing to flee the country, because that's not just brave for a comedian. That's brave for any leader. Any leader. I mean, when was the last time you saw something like this, right? Most of the time, when leaders are in danger of gettingthis country to the death. Your death, though, I'm going to Switzerland.

But Zelensky, no, he's standing his ground and maybe even going down with the ship, which has turned him into an international hero. So, for more on this, let's go out now to another hero, our very own Michael Costa, who is reporting live from the center of the conflict in Ukraine. Michael, can you hear me right now and most importantly, are you safe? Yes, Trevor, I'm safe. Thanks for asking. War is hell, but I am doing the best that I can. Well, I'm sorry, Michael, is that the Eiffel Tower behind you? Are you, are you in Paris? Aren't you supposed to be in Kiev? No way, man. There's a there's there's the there's there's the the there's the there's 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 th. th. th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi the the the the the the the the the the thi the the the thi thi th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. thin. 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 theananananeaa. thea. Michael, is that the Eiffel Tower behind you? Are you in Paris? Aren't you supposed to be in Kiev?

Oh, no way, man. There's a war over there, haven't you heard? Paris is as close as I'm gonna get to all that. It's not like it's so easy here either. The waiters are so rude. Michael, I'm disappointed in you President Zelensky has been, you should be as brave. You're a fellow comedian.

You should be proud of the example that he's setting. Proud? This Zelensky thing is a disaster for us, Trevor. People are gonna see this comedian being brave, and they're gonna think we're all brave. I did not become a comedian to be brave. I became a comedian to be comedian comedian comedian comedian to be comedian to be a comedian to eat free chicken fingers at comedy clubs. If a Russian ever threatened me, I would not be standing my ground. I'd be learning how

to make Borsch the way that he likes it. Another one, but this time a white one. You're mine. Well you know what, Costa? I'm disappointed and that is just you, my friend, because I'm a comedian and I'm inspired by Zelensky stepping up to fight. the the the the the the the the thk. thk. the thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, I'm thin' thin' thin' thin' thi's, I'm thiol-I thi, I'm thi, I'm thi, I'm thin, I'm thin, I'm thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' th. I'm th. I'm thin' thin' thin' thi, I's, I's, I'm thin' thin' thin' the, I'm the, the. I'm to to to to theeean, to to to to thean, thean, to thean, thean,train ticket to Keynes so you can fight on the front lines? Well, I mean, I think I have more value here at the show, you know, getting the word out to the people, informing them about- Blah, blah, blah, admit it. You're a coward. There's no world leader inside of you, Okay, fine, I'm not brave either. But I still think it's inspiring to see one of our own be brave, you know?

Yeah, Trevor, you're not really grasping what's at stake here. It's not just about fighting in wars. After seeing Zelensky, people are going to expect comedians to do all sorts of selfless acts now, stopping crime, responding to amber alerts. Just this morning, someone asked me to hold the elevator. I'm still shaking from that. Just imagine if I'd actually held it for her. Well, you know something, Costa? I think that in your own way, you actually are brave. Yeah, I mean, not many people would have the guts to sound like that much of an

asshole on TV. I'm actually really inspired, man. Thank you, Trevor. I appreciate it, you know, and when you put it that way, I am sort of a hero. So, if you excuse me, I just saw an old woman fall and I got to get out of here before she asked me for help. So. Inspiring, Michael. Thank you so much. All right, when we come back, we're going to be talking more about the war in Ukraine with foreign policy expert Samantha Powell, so don't go away. Did he pay his bill before he left? Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is Samantha Power,

administrator of USAID and a member of President Biden's National Security Council. She joins us from Brussels to talk about the war in Ukraine. Administrator Power. Thank you so much for joining us on the show. Thank you for having me. You know, it's really crazy how the last time I spoke to you was actually on the Daily Show. This was pre, you know, all of this happening. I think it was even pre-pandemic. And one of the questions I asked you was about Russia. You responded saying that Russia is a constant threathea threathapapapapapapap and it threath. threath. threat. threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat threat. threat. threat. threat. thuu. thrushe. to thi. to to thi. thi. to to to to to to to to to to to 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 their. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. the. the. thean. thean. thean. toooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. to to the. the their their that has come true. If that's the case, my first question to you is,

how did you see it coming and how did the US seem to not do what it could have done, or was this something that was inevitable? It's a great question, and I will say that I was UN ambassador under Barack Obama in his second term, and we could find pockets of cooperation. But for me, what really made clear that Russia was heading in a different direction and it had great consequences for humanity

was the Syria crisis, and particularly you might remember the bombing of Aleppo, which was like before it, the bombing of Grozny in Chechnya internal to Russia. So suddenly, Russia outside of its borders was backing, yes, a regime, a government, that was also a member state of the United Nations, pulverizing civilians. First time I ever heard the phrase, Trevor, fake news, which has now become a staple, was the Russian ambassador at the United Nations, talking about making a set of false claims about what was happening in Syria and about how all they were doing is neutralizing terrorists. And it was the first time

they were asking us not to believe what we saw with our own with our own eyes. And then of course we had the interference in the 2016 election which was so systematic. So when you ask where are things going? I mean they have have obviously tuard now in the darkest direction, imaginable, galvanizing the democratic world, but well beyond that. I mean, galvanizing statements also from, for example, the African countries, the Latin American countries and others in the world who are just saying enough. You know, you cannot pulverize civilians in this way. You can't try to take over a country just because you want to make your own country bigger.

Like, that's not okay. And, but it's been a reality check, I think, for a lot of countries and publics around the world who didn't realize it had gotten this bad. From a layman's perspective, it feels like the world is in a place where either countries are afraid of Russia or, you know, let's say for instance, Germany or many countries around Europe, they're so dependent on Russia for its energy, they're so dependent on Russia for wheat, etc. It feels like the world is in a position where they can chastise Russia, but they can't actually do anything to Russia. Is there something the world could do? When we were warning about the true buildup on the other side of Ukraine, there were, you know, some countries within Europe that were questioning, you know, is that really true? We couldn't really do it, and it was kind of a little bit of wishful thinking in the sense of you don't want to have to impose those costs. You don't want to do them also to the Russian economy.

I mean, nobody wants to goes into, wakes up in the morning and says, you know, I want to inflict severe economic pain on another country. Right. Well, the invasion itself has produced a degree of unity and a willingness to go and a willingness to go further than we have seen Europe ever be willing to go. And to bear those costs potentially to their own economies, at least in the short term. Certainly major questions now about their energy sources and energy prices, are those going to be up. But they basically said what he is doing is intolerable. And we are going to bear some of those spillover effects

because we have to inflict a degree of punishment here in the hopes of getting him right now at the beginning. It's only been going for less than a week, but to get him to step away from this reckless, devastating course of action. And the kinds of steps that have been taken just in the last 48 hours go so far beyond what most observers thought was conceivable for just the reason you say this kind of mutually assured destruction, interconnectedness of the energy market and of our economic system at large. But the swift sanction is the most severe sanction

that one can impose, you know, cutting off US citizens, European citizens' ability to do business with the Russian Central Bank. That was something that until 48 hours ago, I think President Putin still thought he was going to be able to draw upon. Now, again, what needs to happen is then the elites around Putin who also have an awful lot to lose from the severity of these unprecedented sanctions with so many countries behind them is that those elites, you know, need to chime in and

do everything in their power to affect a calculus that so far on Putin's part hasn't shown a lot of regard for the welfare of the Russian people. This is Putin's MO. And so that's the question of the people around him and when his cost benefit calculus is going to be affected by all of this. And the sanctions that have been brought online and the unity, you know, make it the cost much more evident to him than I think anybody expected, including perhaps him. It doesn't seem like China has condemned Russia.

They put out vague statements that sort of say, we just believe that everyone should be able to determine their borders, which you could almost read both ways, funny enough. Is there a possibility that unless Russia stands up, you know, I mean, unless China stands up, is that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, th. th. thi. th. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the world, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their thi, I I I I I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, I their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi.ee is thi.ei.ei.ei.ei.ea.a.a.a.a.a.ea.a.a.a. I thi. I thi. I thi stands up, you know, I mean, unless China stands up, is there a possibility that the world could almost push Russia to China and then trade in Asia just becomes Russia's way out? Or do you think the sanctions are going to be enough to get Russia to come to the table? Well, first of all, Russia's economy is massively dependent on Europe and the United States, as is Russian manufacturing and so many of the industries that keep the economy afloat. And so the dollar economy is still the animating force of the global economy. I think when it comes to China's reaction,

first of all, because of the relationship that President Putin and President Xi have built a relationship predicated on not wanting any country to question what they are doing to their own people. Yeah. You know, wanting to be able to crack down and repress and round people up. I mean, that is something they have in common and that has brought them together among other dynamics.

But given the increasing closeness of that relationship, many people expected that China would join Russia in vetoing a recent UN Security Council resolution condemning what is happening. And instead, to your point, China just said, actually we're going to abstain. And we're going to say all parties should have cooler heads or whatever.

And so I actually think that it doesn't look like isolation. Of course, we think it's outrageous that any country would miss an opportunity to condemn a full-on invasion of its neighbor. So an abstention is not the desired posture that we would wish China or any member state of the United Nations to take. At the same time, it is a signal to Putin that China is not attaching its mast to this sale. Right. It is putting some distance in there. And that, Trevor, I think, is, thi thii, and that, that, thrific, I thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, their their their their their their their their their their their their their thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. teeeei. teei. teei. thea. thei. thea. theee. thi. thi. thi. thi. th to this sale. You know, that it is putting some distance in there. And that Trevor, I think, is partly also because China has its own global project that it has embarked upon. China sees that the rest of the world is horrified and that the rest of the world really has brought a degree of empathy and outrage to what Russia has done. And so China is a self-interested actor in that world as well and is looking out for its own standing.

Well, Administrator Powell, thank you so much for taking the time. I know you're dealing with the crisis on the ground talking to many of these people. Hopefully it'll be resolved sooner than later. I appreciate you for joining me on the show. Thank you, Trevor. Okay, we're th. to th. to th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tha. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. the. thi. the. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. thea. the. the. thi. thi. thi. thi. the thi. the the to take a quick break, but we'll be right back after this. Well, that's our show for tonight, but before we go, as you've seen, families in Ukraine are fleeing violence and urgently need emergency aid. CARE's immediate crisis response aims to reach 4 million people, prioritizing women and girls, and families and the elderly. So if you can, please donate at the link below to rush urgently needed water, food, hygiene kits and ongoing support in Ukraine. Until tomorrow, stay safe out there, get your vaccine, and remember

be the Zalinsky in your group of friends, not the Putin. Watch the Daily Show, weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.