TDS Time Machine | Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Moscow Tools

Summary

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The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: TDS Time Machine | Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Moscow Tools
Date: March 9, 2026
Host: Jordan Klepper
Guests: John Bolton (Former National Security Advisor), Julia Ioffe (Journalist), Kaja Kallas (Prime Minister of Estonia), Klein Preston (Attorney & Election Observer)

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Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Jordan Klepper, dives into the increasingly sympathetic view of Russia—especially Vladimir Putin—among segments of the American right, exploring the spread and impact of pro-Putin narratives in U.S. political discourse ahead of the 2026 election. Through field interviews, expert analysis, and Klepper’s signature satire, the episode investigates how the GOP’s attitude toward Russia has shifted, the effectiveness of Russian disinformation, and the real-life stakes for allies like Estonia.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. American Right’s Admiration for Russia and Putin

• Field interviews at Trump rallies reveal startling levels of admiration for Russia, with participants idealizing Putin’s perceived strength and leadership and minimizing his authoritarian actions.

  • Notable Quotes:
    • “I would like to see America be more in that. Like Russia. It’s clean, everybody looks healthy.” — Rally Attendee, Julia Yoffe attribute [03:36]
    • “Putin is a valid leader… He’s a respectful person for his country.” — Rally Attendee [03:45]

• Klepper highlights the historical context, noting how the GOP’s rhetoric on Russia has radically changed from past decades.

  • “This ain’t your daddy’s GOP. It’s Vladdy’s GOP.” — Klepper [05:51]

• John Bolton (former National Security Advisor), once a pillar of traditional Republican foreign policy, expresses astonishment:

  • “Certainly the Trump wing of it he [Reagan] would be appalled by. It’s just antithetical… to the positive attitude about America and its prospects.” [07:08]
  • “I think Trump would like to be a big guy, but I don’t think he’s smart enough to be a dictator.” [07:41]
  • “Rex Tillerson had the iconic two-word description of Trump…the second of which was ‘moron.’” [07:54]

2. Disinformation and the "Useful Idiots"

• Julia Ioffe (journalist and Russia expert) explains how Russian influence operations intentionally mirror and amplify the American right’s rhetoric:

  • “You can seed information in their head and they will parrot the information that is useful to you.” [10:17]
  • She details how Kremlin documents targeted Republican voters with culture war talking points—echoed in American debates about “criminality, colored people, and immigrants.” [10:43–11:21]

• The spread of fake news: Ioffe recounts how a fake story about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky buying yachts with US aid spread from a Russian-controlled website, DC Weekly, to US mainstream discourse via figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene.

  • “The story is completely false…but then researchers were like, where did this come from? …It was shared by Marjorie Taylor Greene and J.D. Vance.” [13:02–13:42]
  • On impact: “In that time, Ukraine suffered tremendous battlefield losses. So people are actually dying because members of Congress are parroting fake Russian bullshit.” [13:57]

• Mechanisms of spread: Truth Social and similar platforms are cited as fertile ground for Russian disinformation.

  • “The most useful of the idiots can be found on Truth Social or owning it.” — Ioffe [12:43]

3. The Stakes for NATO and Eastern Europe

• John Bolton underlines the existential stakes:

  • “I think NATO is the most successful political military alliance in human history...before we give that up, people ought to think about it a little more seriously than Trump does.” [09:04]
  • “I think Trump will withdraw from NATO. I think that’s his intention.” [18:03]

• Kaja Kallas (Estonian Prime Minister), dubbed “the Iron Lady of the Baltic,” provides a frontline view:

  • “Apparently, I’m the only leader that is on Russia’s most wanted list.” [19:17]
  • “We shouldn’t dismantle NATO. NATO is the strongest military alliance. We don’t have war here because we are in NATO.” [19:41]
  • On defense spending and alliances: “Estonia… is spending 3.2% of our GDP on defense. It’s more than the United States is spending in terms of percentage.” [20:00]

• Fear of abandonment: Klepper and Kallas talk through what happens if the U.S. pulls out of NATO, with Kallas expressing concern over Russia’s growing appetite if aggression is rewarded in Ukraine.

  • “If Russia will succeed in Ukraine, then their appetite will grow…every next step they’re bolder.” — Kallas [20:40]
  • “Everybody is for peace. But we understand what peace under Soviet or Russian occupation means… My own mother was deported to Siberia as a six-month-old baby… This is what peace under occupation means.” — Kallas [22:46]

4. Everyday Estonians' Response: Civil Defense

• Klepper visits the Estonian Defense League, a volunteer force preparing for possible invasion. The gravity is underscored by personal stories:
  • “How do you go from studying to be a choir conductor to in the middle of the Estonian woods holding an AR of some sort? The Russian Ukraine war changed everything for us.” — Estonian volunteer [21:18]
  • “We understand that all Estonians have to stop Putin.” — John Bolton paraphrased by an Estonian [22:19]

5. The “Appeal” of Russian Authoritarianism

• Ioffe contrasts MAGA world’s fantasies about Russia with harsh realities:

  • “I love Moscow… but it’s now become the center of totalitarian repression. It’s almost total police surveillance… what I would tell these MAGA voters is that a great metro is not worth your personal liberty.” — Ioffe [23:39]

• Kallas further points out that those closest to Russia in Estonia know the “truth” about life there isn’t as romantic as distant admirers in the U.S. imagine.

  • “Those that are living closer to the border…can see the life on the Russian side, and they can see that it's not better than on the European side.” — Kallas [24:04]

6. Satirical & Memorable Moments

• On Trump and alliances:

  • “He’s like a cat. Get a laser pointer into the White House, right. Jesus Christ. It’s the only way to save nuclear apocalypse.” — Klepper [18:16]

• On American disconnection:

  • “Turns out we’re so close [to Russia] that Estonian civilians are training in the woods… When Americans gather like this, they’re usually training to keep a barber shop open during COVID. You guys are training to repel Russians?” — Klepper [21:18]

• On novelty diplomacy:

  • “It says ride for tits. It’s a traditional American license plate… It’s illegal here? For recruitment, you put this thing on a military truck, these numbers are going to go up 20%.” — Klepper [24:43]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “America is heading into an election nobody wants, and the world has serious problems that demand serious conversations.” — Jordan Klepper [02:15]
• “Putin is well mannered. Right. He knows where the fork goes, where the knife goes, which window the journalist goes out of.” — Klepper [04:17]
• “I think he has a fascination with authoritarian leaders generally. I think Trump would like to be a big guy, but I don’t think he’s smart enough to be a dictator.” — John Bolton [07:41]
• “The most useful of the idiots can be found on Truth Social or owning it.” — Julia Ioffe [12:43]
• “If Trump wins a second term, what happens to NATO?” “I think Trump will withdraw from NATO. I think that's his intention.”— Klepper/John Bolton [18:03]
• “Peace under occupation means… mass atrocities, mass deportations. My own mother was deported to Siberia as a six-month-old baby.” — Kaja Kallas [22:46]
• “What I would tell these MAGA voters is that a great metro is not worth your personal liberty.” — Julia Ioffe [23:39]

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• Admiration of Putin at Trump Rallies – [03:25 - 05:50]
• Bolton Interview: History and Trump’s Russia Fascination – [06:35 - 09:53]
• Russian Disinformation Campaigns (feat. Ioffe) – [10:17 - 13:57]
• Ukraine Aid and Disinformation Impact – [13:42 - 14:09]
• Interview with Klein Preston: US-Russia Connections – [14:42 - 17:31]
• Consequences of US Withdrawal from NATO – [18:03 - 18:42]
• Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on NATO and Russian Threat – [19:17 - 21:06]
• Estonian Defense League & Historical Memory – [21:18 - 22:46]
• Ioffe on Living Under Russian Authoritarianism – [23:39 - 24:00]
• Kallas on Perceptions of Russia – [24:04 - 24:40]

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Conclusion

Jordan Klepper, with satirical flair, lays bare the irony and danger of growing right-wing infatuation with Putin’s Russia. He exposes the machinery of Russian disinformation, the real military and humanitarian stakes in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, and the risk of American “useful idiocy.” Firsthand voices from Estonia serve as a warning of the past—and a plea not to dismiss the lessons of history in an age of propaganda and geopolitical brinksmanship.

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Transcript

[Kenya Barris]

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[Host/Interviewer]

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[John Bolton]

Without a fact it would.

[Host/Interviewer]

Without a fact, it would be a safer world. But as the MAGA faithful wait for Trump to return us to safety, they found a surprising model for their perfect society.

[Julia Yaffe]

I would like to see America be more in that. Like Russia.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yes, Russia.

[Julia Yaffe]

It's clean, everybody looks healthy. I mean, it looks like they, you know, take care of their people.

[Host/Interviewer]

You see the streets in Russia. People are walking around, they all seem to be happy. Their country really looks like they've got things together a little bit. Putin is a valid leader, runs this country. He's a respectful person for his country. What do you like about Vladimir Putin? The way he's leaning? His country sought for freedom.

[Kaja Kallas]

I used to watch his videos. Fishing, horseback riding.

[Host/Interviewer]

Back in the day, you would do

[Klein Preston]

it just for fun.

[Host/Interviewer]

You'd watch Putin horseback riding videos? Yeah. Who's a better leader, Vladimir Putin or Joe Biden? Putin. This guy. The one with a terrifying track record littering the landscape with violent deaths, mystery illnesses and dubious suicide. The one who meddled in our election in 2016. The one who is meddling in Ukraine. What do they see in a guy who creates so much chaos? He's strong, he's well mannered, he speaks well. Putin is well mannered. Right. He knows where the fork goes, where the knife goes, which window the journalist goes out of.

[Julia Yaffe]

I think he's a calm person. I think he's methodical. I think he thinks about things beyond today, and I think he sees into the future for his country.

[Host/Interviewer]

It looks like he's thinking two steps ahead. Right. It's almost like he knows what the next territory that he wants to infiltrate with his own perspective. Who do you think started the war in Ukraine?

[John Bolton]

Joe Biden and his son.

[Host/Interviewer]

This war was started so that Biden could remain president. That is what's happened. Wartime president. So how did Biden manufacture Putin sending tanks into Ukraine? That's a good question. But you. Do you think it was manufactured by Biden? Yes. Yes. Well, yes. Yeah, obviously, yeah. But how he did it,

[Kenya Barris]

how does

[Host/Interviewer]

he do a lot of things that he does? That's a way to evade it for sure. Wait, people are giving Putin a pass here? At a Trump rally in a field in rural Pennsylvania, next to the most American vehicle in history, a monster truck with a tits license plate. The Republican Party used to talk about Russia like this.

[John Bolton]

Mr. Khrushchev understands only strength and firmness.

[Host/Interviewer]

They are the focus of evil in the modern world. Russia, I indicated, is a geopolitical foe. But this ain't your daddy's gop. It's Vladdy's gop. Nowadays, more than half of Republicans think Vladimir Putin is a better president than Joe Biden. And it's not just out here, it's everywhere. Tucker Carlson recently went to Moscow to marvel at ciabatta loaves and mass transit. How does Russia have a subway station that's nicer than anything in our country? And the Russian fandom goes all the way to the very brain trust of the gop. The Ukrainian government is attacking Christians. Russia is not doing that. Putin is smart. Our leaders are dumb. How did the Republican Party become Moscow tools?

[John Bolton]

The explanation for that stems largely from Donald Trump.

[Host/Interviewer]

This is John Bolton, the most Republican of Republicans. He served under three Republican presidents, including Trump, sold the invasion of Iraq, and did some light geopolitical meddling.

[John Bolton]

As somebody who has helped plan coup d', etat, it takes a lot of work.

[Host/Interviewer]

Imagine Ronald Reagan is caught in amber in 1988 and using Jurassic park technology, he wakes up now unthawed. What does he think of the modern gop?

[John Bolton]

Well, certainly the Trump wing of it he would be appalled by. It's just antithetical. Not just to the philosophical beliefs of Ronald Reagan, but to the positive attitude about America and its prospects.

[Host/Interviewer]

So Reagan wakes up and he's shocked, right? And he's also like, what is this Internet thing? Maybe we should send Steven Seagal over there to kick Putin's ass. Wait a minute. Steven Seagal already lives there? This is all too confusing. Let's just go back to ignoring aids.

[John Bolton]

I think he'd be stunned that the Republican Party had anything to do with Donald Trump.

[Host/Interviewer]

What is Trump's infatuation with Putin?

[John Bolton]

Well, I think he has a fascination with authoritarian leaders generally. I think Trump would like to be a big guy, but I don't think he's smart enough to be a dictator.

[Host/Interviewer]

So is Trump. What's the term? An idiot?

[John Bolton]

Well, I think Rex Tillerson had the iconic two word description of Trump. The first word I won't repeat even on your show, the second of which was moron.

[Host/Interviewer]

Okay, I'll throw it in there.

[John Bolton]

That's pretty much on point.

[Host/Interviewer]

That's right. Yes, a moron. Can a moron still be a useful idiot?

[John Bolton]

I think the answer to that's yes. And I think Vladimir Putin understands it.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yes. For Putin, Trump is like one of those dogs that the Russians shot into space. Obedient, useful, and utterly disposable. But if Putin's puppy actually wins, what does that mean for things like NATO, an alliance of Western nations which has been a thorn in Putin's side?

[John Bolton]

Well, I think there are two main points that Putin will be concerned about if Trump wins in November. One, the most immediate point will be the war in Ukraine. And second, related to it, but broader, the future of NATO.

[Host/Interviewer]

Does Trump know what NATO does?

[John Bolton]

He doesn't understand alliances.

[Host/Interviewer]

How important is having an alliance with perhaps somebody you don't agree with, but connect with so that you can push together a common goal for geopolitical safety?

[John Bolton]

Well, I think NATO is the most successful political military alliance in human history. So before we give that up, people ought to think about it a little bit more seriously than Trump does.

[Host/Interviewer]

So the stakes of this election couldn't be higher. The only way to stop an existential threat is through alliances, a unified front for the common good. So picking between Trump and Biden must be a no brainer.

[John Bolton]

I'm not going to vote for either one. I wrote in a name in 2020. I'll do that again this year.

[Host/Interviewer]

A wise man once told me that sometimes it's important to make alliances with people that you may not agree fully with in order to have some sort of global stability. But maybe tell me more about writing an unnamed candidate for president with zero percent chance of winning.

[John Bolton]

I don't think either prospect is very appealing, frankly.

[Host/Interviewer]

Great. So in the race between a current president and a former president, it looks like the winner will be the Russian president. The GOP's softer stance on Russia was giving me flashbacks to 2016, when Putin tried to influence our election. I mean, it could be Russia. It could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds, okay? But Russia would have to think we're fools to fall for that.

[Julia Yaffe]

Again, this is the traditional image of Americans that Russians have in their minds that we're stupid, that we're gullible, that we smile at everyone like total idiots. You can seed information in their head and they will parrot the information that is useful to you.

[Host/Interviewer]

This is Russian born American journalist Julia Yafe. As a correspondent in Moscow, Yaffe covered Putin and the Kremlin. So I wanted her to help me parse through what I'd been hearing at rallies.

[Julia Yaffe]

There was an amazing Washington Post report by Katherine Belton, an investigative reporter who got her hands on some secret Kremlin documents. So this is a pitch for a partisan media campaign in the U.S. the targets of this campaign are Republican Party voters. We want to echo what they're saying, which is that I'm just reading from the document here. Colored perverts and invalids get all the privileges.

[Host/Interviewer]

Sounds like a Toby Keith lyric.

[Julia Yaffe]

This will sound familiar to you. The danger of criminality, of colored People and immigrants.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yeah, I've heard a thing or two there. I used to live in Milwaukee and there's places in Milwaukee that you can't go to. Because me as a little white guy, I wouldn't feel safe being there. You see the streets in Russia? It looks like their infrastructure in their country looks a whole lot nicer than ours does here. The murder rate is twice as high in Russia as it is in the United States. I didn't know that, guys. I mean, well, thank you for informing me.

[Julia Yaffe]

The best political influence campaigns are the ones where you don't invent anything. You just take the facts on the ground and you amplify them. Right. And so what you see these fake accounts amplifying are arguments that I'm sure you've heard on the trail and at these rallies, which is that Democrats are globalists who care more about Ukraine than about the southern border. It's Russia's good and Ukraine is corrupt.

[Host/Interviewer]

It is corruption.

[Kaja Kallas]

They're taking advantage of the situation. What they created, it's by design.

[John Bolton]

They're pumping money over there and we know it's coming back to politicians pockets here.

[Julia Yaffe]

Now it goes into the means of spreading this information.

[Host/Interviewer]

How are they gonna do it?

[Julia Yaffe]

Well, you're gonna use social media. But it says the only place where they can spread this information without any censorship is. I'm gonna let you guess.

[Host/Interviewer]

Where can they get the vitamins? Where are you selling T shirts? I'm Red Pill Ken on True Socials. Red Pill Ken. Truth Social.

[Julia Yaffe]

Yes, the most useful of the idiots can be found on Truth Social or owning it.

[Host/Interviewer]

Connect these dots. How Zelensky is benefiting from this. Where's the cost? Because he has yachts, he has plenty of money. And guess what Zelensky does? He sniffs cocaine right in front of y'. All.

[Julia Yaffe]

So the yacht story is that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, took money that the US sent him for weapons, siphoned it off and bought two luxury yachts. The story is completely false. But then researchers were like, where did this come from?

[Host/Interviewer]

It came from a little website called DC Weekly, which is from not actually here in Washington, D.C. dC Weekly has allegedly run out of here. Moscow. Then the story spreads across the Internet and makes its way to there. To there. Yep. It was shared by Marjorie Taylor Greene and J.D. vance. There are people who would cut Social Security, throw our grandparents into poverty.

[John Bolton]

Why?

[Host/Interviewer]

So that one of Zelenskyy's ministers can

[John Bolton]

buy a bigger yacht.

[Host/Interviewer]

Meanwhile, military aid for Ukraine hung in the balance. Not another penny will go to Ukraine. Congress eventually gave Ukraine a whole lot of pennies, but aid was stalled for seven months.

[Julia Yaffe]

In that time, Ukraine suffered tremendous battlefield losses. So people are actually dying because members of Congress are parroting fake Russian bullshit.

[Host/Interviewer]

So is that a win for Putin?

[Julia Yaffe]

1,000%.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yes. Putin was winning, but it wasn't just because of disinformation.

[Julia Yaffe]

What's happening in Russia is basically a Republican wet dream. They have banned the international LGBT movement. They're restricting abortion. Vladimir Putin invokes a lot of what Republicans call wokeness. It just seems that MAGA heads, they're much more comfortable with that authoritarian Persona, especially when the guy is white, male, Christian, shirtless, hairless.

[Host/Interviewer]

Clearly a big Putin fan. Well, I mean, I.

[Klein Preston]

It's like a souvenir.

[Host/Interviewer]

Meet Klein Preston. That's the founder of the KGB.

[Klein Preston]

Yes.

[Host/Interviewer]

He was a lawyer for future GOP Senator Marsha Blackburn. He attended the NRA convention in 2015 with a convicted Russian agent. And in 2020, he fought to overturn Biden's election results in Michigan to help Trump. And he knows all about election integrity because he's been an official observer of seven Russian elections.

[Klein Preston]

So in Russia, they have legislation that allows for foreign observers.

[Host/Interviewer]

What do you say to the critics who might say maybe they're choosing outside observers who are biased to be a little pro Russia?

[Klein Preston]

Well, I wouldn't say that I'm pro Russia.

[Host/Interviewer]

From a decorating perspective, perhaps?

[Klein Preston]

Well, I mean, I could see how someone would make such a comment based on, you know, knowing my background.

[Host/Interviewer]

Or your furnishings.

[Klein Preston]

My furnishings and, you know.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yeah. Or your knick knacks.

[Klein Preston]

Yeah.

[Host/Interviewer]

Your oil paintings, long interest, weaponry on the wall.

[Klein Preston]

Yeah. The bus.

[Host/Interviewer]

Who do you point the finger at for that Russian invasion?

[Klein Preston]

The West. When Russia invaded in 2022, in February, you know, it was a defensive move.

[Host/Interviewer]

Putin's a victim here.

[Klein Preston]

Well, I mean, to some degree, Russia is. The fact is. And American politicians hate this. Vladimir Putin's done a very good job for his country, and he's really popular.

[Host/Interviewer]

Some people claim that he controls the media. He controls and. Or executes his enemies.

[Klein Preston]

I mean, who?

[Host/Interviewer]

Well, Navalny.

[Klein Preston]

But there's no proof that he killed me.

[Host/Interviewer]

Right. Okay. Yevgeny Prigozhin.

[Klein Preston]

Prigozhin. Okay. His plane blew up or whatever.

[Host/Interviewer]

What about somebody like Nikolay Glushkov, Putin critic? Is that suspicious to you, his death?

[Klein Preston]

Yeah, suspicious, absolutely.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Klein Preston]

But can I say that Vladimir Putin did it?

[Host/Interviewer]

No.

[Klein Preston]

Litvinenko. Remember him?

[Host/Interviewer]

I don't.

[Klein Preston]

Well, let's just say he had a penchant for polonium.

[Host/Interviewer]

Right.

[Klein Preston]

Especially in his teeth. He died a horrible death.

[Host/Interviewer]

It seems like the Oscars style in memoriam for all the opposition leaders and journalists who have died under Putin's watch. It's just like, I don't know if John Legend has the stamina to complete that. As we were talking, Klein got an unexpected call.

[Klein Preston]

Oh, man, I gotta do it.

[Host/Interviewer]

Gotta call.

[Klein Preston]

Yeah, RT thing.

[Host/Interviewer]

That's Russian television. That's calling.

[Klein Preston]

Yeah.

[Host/Interviewer]

I mean, I have to ask, are you a Russian asset?

[Klein Preston]

Well, if I am, I'm a bad one.

[Host/Interviewer]

Wait, was Klein about to feed the propaganda from the Kremlin back to Russian state television?

[Klein Preston]

There's nothing democratic today about Ukraine.

[Host/Interviewer]

Oh, no, Was I the biscuit in a propaganda circle jerk? Putin has a clear set of goals beyond decorating his US assets offices. He also wants to stop funding for Ukraine and weaken NATO so he can expand Russian territory. And Donald Trump is playing right into Putin's hands by threatening to leave our allies to fend for themselves. You didn't pay your delinquent. I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. If Trump wins a second term, what happens to NATO?

[John Bolton]

I think Trump will withdraw from NATO. I think that's his intention.

[Host/Interviewer]

How do you stop something like that from happening?

[John Bolton]

The best advice I can offer for people in a second term, since I won't be part of it, is keep distracting Trump.

[Host/Interviewer]

He's like a cat. Get a laser pointer into the White House. Right. Jesus Christ. It's the only way to save nuclear apocalypse.

[John Bolton]

Well, I hadn't thought of that, but that might do the trick.

[Host/Interviewer]

If we do pull out of NATO, who is the most screwed?

[John Bolton]

Well, I think any country that borders on Russia or a former part of the Soviet Union.

[Host/Interviewer]

So if I were booking travel into the Eastern Bloc to, say, Estonia, maybe slow down or at least get the trip protection.

[John Bolton]

I was gonna say go now.

[Host/Interviewer]

If you say so, John. When is following John Bolton's advice on foreign affairs ever gone wrong? This is Estonia, a NATO member country of just over a million people that sits on the border of Russia. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Estonians have been wondering, are we next? To see how people here are feeling about being in Putin's crosshairs, I sat down with Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallis, who has been described as the Iron lady of the Baltic, for standing up to Russia.

[Kaja Kallas]

Apparently, I'm the only leader that is on Russia's most wanted list.

[Host/Interviewer]

Oh, yeah, you're on the most wanted list?

[Kaja Kallas]

I am.

[Host/Interviewer]

I'm not in danger Right?

[Kaja Kallas]

No.

[Host/Interviewer]

I'm a brave fake journalist, but I'm only so brave and mostly fake. As Putin has gotten bolder, Kallas has become one of NATO's most vocal supporters.

[Kaja Kallas]

We shouldn't dismantle NATO. NATO is the strongest military alliance. We don't have war here because we are in NATO.

[Host/Interviewer]

In America, presidential candidate is arguing that if everybody's not paying their fair share in NATO, then why should we be facing the brunt of it?

[Kaja Kallas]

First, we are paying more for defense. I mean, Estonia, you guys are. Yes. We are spending 3.2% of our GDP on defense. It's more than United States is spending in terms of percentage.

[Host/Interviewer]

Nice flag.

[Kaja Kallas]

How I explain NATO to school children? I always say that, you know, if you have a school bully and you are weaker physically, the bully doesn't bully you when you have big friends. And this is how NATO works.

[Host/Interviewer]

So what happens if one of your big friends also happens to be a bully who's talking about just becoming friends with the other, bullying, and then bullying all the little people?

[Kaja Kallas]

Well, that is definitely going to be more complicated. If Russia will succeed in Ukraine, then their appetite will grow because they have expanded their empire and colonized the country. Aggression pays off every next time, every next step. They're bolder. Okay, nothing happened to us. We can do this. They have built up their military to colonize another country.

[Host/Interviewer]

Just and for clarification, how close is Russia to us right now?

[Kaja Kallas]

It's 320km or something.

[Host/Interviewer]

I'm from New York. How many city blocks is that?

[Kaja Kallas]

It's three hour drive.

[Host/Interviewer]

Three hour drive. Okay, so that's a good seven city blocks in New York. That's congestion. New York is intense that way. Turns out we're so close that Estonian civilians are training in the woods in case of a Russian invasion. These are our guys. Okay. If Russia were to attack along with you guys, I gotta be honest, I'm not really the fighting kind. This is the Estonian Defense League. They're an all volunteer army of about 30,000 regular Estonians. What do you do? What's your day job? I'm a choir conductor. Studying for that. You were a choir conductor? I was studying for it, yeah. How do you go from studying to be a choir conductor to in the middle of the Estonian woods holding an AR of some sort? The Russian Ukraine war changed everything for us. When Americans gather like this, they're usually training to keep a barber shop open during COVID You guys are training to repel Russians? Simple. We don't have any illusions. Even today when we See what's happening in Ukraine.

[John Bolton]

We understand that all Estonians have to stop Putin.

[Host/Interviewer]

And there's a reason these soldiers are concerned. I got your 6 or whatever it is in metric 12. Russia brutally occupied Estonia until 1991. So while Maga world turns a blind eye to Putin's plan to expand Russia, people who lived under that occupation have a different view of it.

[Kaja Kallas]

Everybody is for peace. But we understand what peace under Soviet or Russian occupation means. You had mass atrocities, mass deportations. My own mother was deported to Siberia as a six month old baby. There were mass killings. There were suppressing our culture, trying to erase our language. This is what peace under occupation means. That doesn't mean that the human suffering will stop.

[Host/Interviewer]

If only we could get that information to go viral on Truth Social. For the past few months, I've been wrestling with my country's susceptibility to propaganda. Are we just useful idiots? Or is the harder truth that some of us might actually want autocracy? And if it's Russian autocracy, do Americans really even know what that looks like?

[Julia Yaffe]

I love Moscow. It's the place I was born. It was one of my favorite cities in the world, but it's now become the center of totalitarian repression. It's almost total police surveillance. People are being sent to jail for what they say in private phone conversations. And what I would tell these MAGA voters is that a great metro is not worth your personal liberty.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yeah, it's quite the price to pay for a fancy subway ride.

[Kaja Kallas]

We have a Russian minority in Estonia. It is interesting, those that are living closer to the border, they can see the life on the Russian side, and they can see that it's not better than on the European side. Whereas, you know, people that are further away from the border, they may also believe what the Russians are telling.

[Host/Interviewer]

That makes sense. I was in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and I heard about how great life in Moscow is. And I think that's 5 billion kilometers away. I have to learn this metric system eventually. I gotta get into this.

[Kaja Kallas]

Yeah, yeah. We all have to. It's complicated.

[Host/Interviewer]

It is. So if we want folks in Pennsylvania to pay closer attention to the realities halfway across the world, maybe I could help make the rest of the world look a little more like Pennsylvania. It says ride for tits. It's a traditional American license plate. Everybody has them in America. If you have a giant monster truck and want to flex in America, you got to throw ride for tits on it. It's illegal here. Is that illegal here? For recruitment, you put this thing on a military truck, these numbers are going to go up 20%.

[Klein Preston]

Yeah.

[Host/Interviewer]

Can put it to car, though. Yeah, my failure at novelty license plate diplomacy made me feel like an idiot. Well, at least I'm not a Moscow tool. Explore more shows from the Daily Show Podcast universe by searching the Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on

[Klein Preston]

Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount.

[John Bolton]

Plus,

[Host/Interviewer]

this has been a Comedy Central podcast. Quieres mejor Internet Cox Internet the Tresintas megas tiene las velocidades rapidas e com fiable es que buscas perfecto para streaming e gaming y TRA bajar des de casa todo por solo cuerntaic Dolores Almes

[Klein Preston]

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[Host/Interviewer]

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[Kenya Barris]

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[Host/Interviewer]

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