Their commentary reflects growing fatigue and skepticism over the operation, which has stirred intense public debate.
On The Daily Show, Stewart opened his monologue by recounting the dramatic news that “President Trump and an elite team of Delta Force special operators removed a dangerous foreign dictator from power,” before joking about the surreal nature of the situation.
He mocked the idea of Maduro being “reverse‑ICE’d” and “imported,” highlighting the bizarre optics of the US snatching a sitting leader and flying him to a Brooklyn jail.
Stewart didn’t mince words when it came to Trump’s blunt admission about the reasons for the operation, quoting the president’s focus on oil and questioning the moral framing.
“Oil, precious commodity, certainly, but not the reason a country, formed 250 years ago on the ideas of liberty and self-determination would go into a country and snatch a man at night. There must be a slightly more noble pretense,” Stewart said, later exclaiming, “Is this your first war? I mean, what…” as he drew laughs and serious critique from his audience.
Stewart also pointed to the broader implications of the intervention, lamenting how the narrative around US military involvement has shifted from anti-war rhetoric to more overt resource interests.
“Look, no one knows how this operation is going to work out,” he said, adding that historically such actions might be praised initially but lead to longer-term consequences. “Based on the United States’ track record… we’re going to be really happy about this for a couple of weeks,” he joked before predicting future blowback.
Meyers brought his own brand of satire to the situation on Late Night with Seth Meyers, framing some of the coverage in absurd terms while still questioning the rationale behind the conflict.
He joked about a theory that the administration attacked Venezuela partly because of Maduro’s “wicked dance moves,” declaring, “I don’t actually think the president of the United States started a war over a foreign leader’s dance moves… That is absurd,” then quipping, “We invaded Iraq because of WMDs, and now we invaded Venezuela because of WDMs — wicked dance moves!” Meyers used the segment to juxtapose Trump’s past claims of anti?war intentions with the reality of sending US forces abroad, saying, “I still can’t actually believe anyone thought Trump was telling the truth about being anti-war.”
Their commentary reflects a broader wave of late-night criticism over the Venezuela operation, with both hosts emphasizing the irony and exhaustion felt by many observers, from the bluntness of Trump’s stated reasons to the contrast between past rhetoric and current action, suggesting that the episode will continue to fuel debate across media and political circles.
Stewart started as a stand-up comedian but branched into television as host of Short Attention Span Theater for Comedy Central.
He went on to host You Wrote It, You Watch It (1992-1993) and then The Jon Stewart Show (1993-1995), both on MTV, until The Jon Stewart Show was retooled, dropped by the network and moved to syndication. He has also appeared in several films, including Big Daddy (1999) and Death to Smoochy (2002). Stewart became host of The Daily Show in 1999, where he also was a writer and co-executive producer. After he joined, The Daily Show steadily gained popularity and critical acclaim, and during his tenure won numerous Emmy Awards and was nominated for news and journalism awards.
Stewart hosted the 78th and 80th Academy Awards. He is the co-author of the best-selling satirical books America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction in 2004, and Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race in 2010. He executive produced The Colbert Report (2005-2014), The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore (2015-2016), and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015-present). In February 2024, he returned to The Daily Show for Monday episodes, as well as in the role of an executive producer.
Meyers joined the Saturday Night Live cast in 2001. In 2005, he was promoted to writing supervisor and, in January 2006, became a co-head writer, sharing the role with Tina Fey and Harper Steele.
In 2004, Meyers auditioned to co-anchor Weekend Update with Fey, but Amy Poehler was selected.
With Fey’s departure, Meyers became head writer for the 2006-2007 season and assumed the role of Weekend Update co-anchor with Amy Poehler, although his cast contract was up around this time.
He was asked to sign a contract agreeing to be just the head writer if he didn’t get Weekend Update, but he declined to sign the contract, and waited to see what the plans for Update were. He considered leaving SNL altogether if he wasn’t added to Update.