Former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver’s new HBO show debuted on Sunday with a get: General Keith Alexander, the former head of the NSA.

While Alexander stuck to generalized, uncontroversial answers in the face of Oliver’s many zings (“That’s what you haven’t seen as head of the NSA: Pinterest”; “You do understand that ‘Collect Everything’ is also the motto of a hoarder?”), he did crack a joke when asked about rebranding the agency.

The Last Week Tonight host suggested the NSA take the racist name of Washington’s football team (“It’s a slightly less tainted brand than yours”) or rebrand as Mr. Tiggles, with a kitten in a boot as a mascot (“Oh, you’ve massively overstepped your bounds, Mr. Tiggles, but I can’t stay mad at you”).

Alexander wasn’t crazy about those ideas, but did seem to like the thought of rebranding the NSA as a great listener. “The only agency in government that really listens,” he offered.