‘Daily Show’ Shreds 22-Year-Old Ex-Gardener Heading Up Trump’s Terrorism Prevention Efforts
The satirical late-night talk show lamented having to cut their segment on the baby-faced new anti-terrorism czar after the Trump-Musk feud took over the news cycle this week.
One of the nation’s best-loved satirical talk shows has lampooned a babyfaced former horticulturist for his woeful lack of experience as the Trump administration’s new anti-terrorism czar.
“Thomas Fugate is 22 years old, and most recently was the head of a school’s model United Nations,” Daily Show host Michael Kosta joked in a clip posted to X on Friday, from a segment the program had to cut from this week’s broadcasts “because the Trump-Elon feud took over the news cycle.”
“Set aside the lack of experience for a minute, what the f--- is up with this guy’s headshot?” Kosta went on. “Why is he raising his eyebrow like that, like the photographer said, ‘OK, we’ve done a serious one, now let’s do one where you’re a snooty maître de at a French restaurant’.”
We had to cut this story about America's new 22-year-old anti-terrorism czar because the Trump-Elon feud took over the news cycle, but we want to show you the version @michaelkosta rehearsed because you gotta see this guy pic.twitter.com/WqyLpNc5eB
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) June 6, 2025
Having only graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio a year ago, Fugate was hired as a “special assistant” at the Department of Homeland Security in February before being promoted to head up the body’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, ProPublic first reported Tuesday.
The Daily Beast has since revealed the former Trump campaign intern also previously worked as a self-employed “landscape business owner” (read: gardener) as recently as 2020.
“They say he’s 22, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was 14,” Kosta said in this week’s axed clip from the Daily Show on X. “I dunno… hey, as long as fighting terror doesn’t require knowing what a boob feels like we should be good.”
“Look I don’t wanna pick on this guy and assume he’s completely unqualified for this job,” he went on. “I’m sure he’s gonna develop a comprehensive plan to defeat ISIS right after his mom picks him up from karate practice.”
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