Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers rip Donald Trump’s Venezuela operation: "This is all exhausting"

Late‑night hosts Jon Stewart and Seth Meyers took aim at President Donald Trump’s controversial military action in Venezuela, sharply criticizing the administration’s motives and messaging after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces.

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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.