Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won a second term in office last week, which came as a surprise to no one. For one thing, he didn’t have much competition: His only opponent even said he planned to vote for Sisi.
The electioneering made great material for one of Egypt’s most popular comedians, Bassem Youssef.
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Youssef, known as Egypt’s Jon Stewart, had a show called El-Barnameg watched by millions back home in Cairo, but he was forced off the air and eventually out of the country. He fled after he was ordered to pay a $10 million fine after lampooning the military command. Now he lives in self-imposed exile in California.
And as for how he feels about past Egyptian president-elects?
“There is no president in Egypt that wants to stay there forever,” Youssef told VICE News. “Somehow they have to say, ‘Well you know what, the Egyptian people want me and I’m going to stay.’ This is our version of democracy.”
This segment originally aired April 5, 2018, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.
