While some late comedians have attacked the GOP’s spending bill as an attack on poor people, Comedy Central’s Ronny Chieng decided to be different and take a swing at the national security portions, mainly President Trump’s call for a “Golden Dome” missile defense system. On Thursday’s episode of The Daily Show, Chieng quipped that the argument for the system sounds “like a us problem” and displayed none of the subtlety or nuance the topic deserved as he ended up citing a pro-Golden Dome expert as evidence the idea is dumb.
Chieng introduced a clip of ABC’s Good Morning America by wondering, “Good news, everybody, Congress is cutting food stamps, but we're getting a Golden Dome! If you're hungry, maybe you can try eating it! Quick question, though, where did Trump come up with ‘Golden Dome?’”
In the video, White House correspondent Mary Bruce recalled how, “The president has long praised Israel's Iron Dome, which can intercept and destroy short-range rockets, missiles, and drones.”
That was followed by a clip of Trump claiming, “Golden Dome sounds better to me.”
Despite the similar name, Trump’s system would protect the country from ballistic and cruise missiles, so it would be fundamentally different than the Iron Dome. However, one can still see a common thread of air defense present in Trump's remarks, but Chieng only wanted to take a shot at Israel, ‘“You know, it takes a special leader to look at what's going on in Israel and be like, ‘Hey, we need to copy those guys, because it is going great.’”
Shifting back to the U.S., Chieng then focused on some of the artwork that accompanied Trump in his recent Oval Office announcement of the program, “And by the way, the poster board he put up just raises even more questions. Like, why is every country launching missiles at us? This is starting to look like a us problem.”
First of all, the curvature of the earth and the physical locations of Russia, China, and North Korea has a lot to do with that. Second, it is amazing how The Daily Show reverts back to standard Blame America leftism whenever the issue is something other than Ukraine. Third, it’s just a poster designed to look cool and convey a basic idea that lay people can understand, not be a doctoral thesis on the subject.
Chieng, however, was not done; he then teed up another clip of GMA, “But you know what, I guess the money is worth it, if it's capable of defending all of America.”
In the clip, Nicole D’Antonio reported how the word “dome” is actually a misnomer, “A missile shield in the U.S. will not be capable of defending all of America.”
Missile defense expert Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International Studies then added, “I'm a missile defense guy, but it's never going to be possible to defend against everything, and so we are going to have to be selective.”
What Karako was referring to was basic physics. Space-based interceptors do not currently exist, and air defense systems have a certain radius, and the United States and Canada are simply too big to cover every square inch, so defense planners have to make unpleasant but necessary decisions to prioritize certain locations.
However, what Chieng did not care to add was that Karako does not view this as an argument against the Golden Dome. In fact, Karako actually supports the plan, “The initiative to elevate and prioritize air and missile defense … that’s long overdue and it’s entirely appropriate.”
Karako has also said, “The truth is, we're pretty vulnerable.”
Instead, Chieng used Karako to claim Trump was throwing money at something that was destined to fail, “We're going to have to be selective? Like, what are we going to do, just save, like, what, New York and LA and, what, the states with good barbecue? Actually, yeah, that works. Let's go with that. The bottom line is, it's incredibly expensive, and it doesn't work.”
There is no doubt that the Golden Dome’s technical aspects will take time and money to figure out, and they will be more complicated than a simple Oval Office poster or references to the Iron Dome, but if it protects America and deters our enemies, than it will be worth it because it is a fact that a peacetime military is less expensive than a wartime military.
Here is a transcript for the May 21 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
5/21/2025
11:05 PM ET
RONNY CHIENG: Good news, everybody, Congress is cutting food stamps, but we're getting a Golden Dome! If you're hungry, maybe you can try eating it! Quick question, though, where did Trump come up with "Golden Dome?"
MARY BRUCE: The president has long praised Israel's Iron Dome, which can intercept and destroy short-range rockets, missiles, and drones.
DONALD TRUMP: We're going to call it the Golden Dome. We had the Iron Dome, but somehow [jump cut] Golden Dome sounds better to me.
CHIENG: You know, it takes a special leader to look at what's going on in Israel and be like, "Hey, we need to copy those guys, because it is going great." Second of all, I don't think missile defense shields work like frequent flier programs, alright? "Hey, check it out, our dome earned gold status! I hope China doesn't get a Platinum Dome, then they get lounge access."
And by the way, the poster board he put up just raises even more questions. Like, why is every country launching missiles at us? This is starting to look like a us problem. But you know what, I guess the money is worth it, if it's capable of defending all of America.
NICOLE D'ANTONIO: A missile shield in the U.S. will not be capable of defending all of America.
TOM KARAKO: I'm a missile defense guy, but it's never going to be possible to defend against everything, and so we are going to have to be selective.
CHIENG: We're going to have to be selective? Like, what are we going to do, just save, like, what, New York and LA and, what, the states with good barbecue? Actually, yeah, that works. Let's go with that. The bottom line is, it's incredibly expensive, and it doesn't work. But at least we'll have a Golden Dome that says Trump on it--- ah, [bleep].
