Late-night hosts reacted to yet another call by Donald Trump for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired, more US floundering in Iran and the supreme court effectively dismantling the Voting Rights Act.
Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel woke up on Thursday morning to, somehow, yet another call from the president for his show to be cancelled. As Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: “When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!! President DJT”
“Or what?” Kimmel laughed on Thursday evening. “If incompetently presiding over not just one of but the lowest rating in history is the reason I should be fired, we should both be out of a job. Because you’re not doing too good, either.”
“Isn’t there a war dragging on?” he continued. “Imagine if FDR had taken to the airwaves during the Battle of the Bulge to complain about a little orphan Annie comic strip that he didn’t like.”
“Trump has three wars going on right now – Iranians, Ukrainians and comedians.”
Kimmel also commended the “small handful of Republicans who have spoken out to defend our first amendment rights,” including Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. “Every one of these guys I’ve made fun of repeatedly and viciously on this show, and you know what not one of them has done? Pressured ABC to fire me for it.”
Kimmel then played numerous clips of Trump on the campaign trail, decrying “cancel culture” and defending the US freedom of speech. “I hate to say this and I hope it doesn’t get me in trouble, I’m starting to think Donald Trump might be a hypocrite,” he quipped.
And on a more serious note: “All of this is meant to distract from the prices he didn’t lower on day one, or the Trump-Epstein files that his attorney general refuses to release, and to distract us from the illegal war he started and can’t figure out how to get out of.”
Seth Meyers
On Late Night, Seth Meyers reacted to a different Trump post on Truth Social: an AI-generated image of him with a machine gun in Iran, with the caption “No More Mr Nice Guy”.
“I’m sorry, is this supposed to make you look cool?” Meyers mocked. “I’m sorry man, but you’re not John Wick.”
“But the craziest part of this meme is when Trump posted it,” at 4.05am eastern time. “That is the craziest time to post anything, let alone a meme of yourself as some sort of super soldier blowing up an entire country.”
But “if it worries you that this is the man in charge of our military at the time of war, let me put you at ease,” Meyers said with facetious calm. “There are plenty of adults in the room – experienced military leaders, tacticians, who have studied the history of armed conflict, and they know how to get us out of this.”
That would be Kid Rock, who joined defense secretary Pete Hegseth for a ride-along in Army helicopters this week. “We’re so fucked,” Meyers noted. “Why is Kid Rock going for a joyride in an army helicopter and addressing members of the military?!”
Nevertheless, Trump continues to claim that the US has “a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe”. Meyers, in fact, did not believe. “You just threatened Iran with a meme of yourself starring in the Bourne Stupidity. That’s not what makes a good relationship!” he fumed. “Here’s what makes a good relationship: consistency. You are all over the place. You’re like a husband walking in at the end of the day saying ‘hey honey, it’s good to be home. But it’s better to be at work because you’re not there and I can’t stand your guts. But I love your face, and I love it most when you’re crying, because I’m happy when you’re sad.’”
“Trump keeps waffling between dealmaker and madman because he doesn’t know which one will work and he’s just grasping at straws,” he added. “He started a war he reportedly thought would be quick and now he can’t figure out how to end it.”
The Daily Show
And on the Daily Show, Josh Johnson delved into the supreme court ruling that Louisiana will have to redraw its congressional map, in a landmark decision that effectively guts a major section of the Voting Rights Act.
“The supreme court saw that Louisiana had two whole Black congressmen, and they were like ‘whoa, what is this, showtime at the Apollo? Let’s dial this back,’” Johnson joked. “Now, thanks to the supreme court, Black districts are going to get erased all across the South, which is horrible for civil rights.”
“And obviously, the supreme court didn’t come right out and say that states can be racist,” he continued. “Justice Palpatine isn’t that dumb, alright? He played it much smoother.”
As the conservative justice Samuel Alito wrote: “Race can only be taken into account when there is evidence … the state intentionally drew its districts to afford minority voters less opportunity because of their race.”
“That’s crazy,” said Johnson. “Just to be clear: for Alito, the map is not racist, unless the guy drawing it finishes it and goes, ‘Man, I’m racist!’”
“Now, if you’re watching this whole thing unfold and you’re thinking to yourself, ‘this seems pretty racist,’ Republicans have great news for you.” Johnson then played several clips of conservatives claiming that race no longer needed to be a factor in redistricting because, to quote one white, male, rightwing commentator: “It’s the end of pretending that this is a racist country.”
“Racism is over!” Johnson cheered facetiously. “I just thought when racism was over, we’d hear about it from like a civil rights leader, or something. Not a guy who looks like the racist version of the dad from Modern Family.”
“What these people don’t get is that to the extent that there’s less discrimination now, it’s partly because we have the VRA,” he concluded. “So this is like my uncle who threw away his medication because he said his heart wasn’t bothering him anymore. And to be fair, he did stop having heart problems – because he’s dead.”
