Late night hosts find the comedic upside in Biden's inflation woes and Trump's Jan. 6 beatdown

The Labor Department just revealed that consumer prices rose the most in 30 years last month, Seth Meyers said on Wednesday's Late Night. "Okay, how much more bad news is Biden gonna get? At the end of the month we're gonna find out the turkey he pardoned was at the Capitol on Jan. 6." Meanwhile, he added, "it was announced today that actor Paul Rudd is People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, reclaiming the title he first received in 1938."
The Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon news-smashed Rudd's new title, Adele's new song, the supply chain problems, and Arby's bizarre new vodka product. "Well, the holidays are coming up," and because of labor shortages, "malls are desperate to find Santas," he said. "Today, in fact, Macy's put out a bowl of whiskey outside the store like they were trying to lure a stray cat."
"Speaking of old fat men in red hats," former President Donald Trump's latest effort to escape accountability for the Jan. 6 riot was dashed when "a federal judge denied his attempt to withhold records from the Jan. 6 committee," Stephen Colbert said on The Late Show. "That is the worst denial for the former president since anytime he tried to hold his wife's hand," but "then the judge delivered the knock-out blow, writing 'Presidents are not kings, and plaintiff is not president," he added. "Damn, I have not seen such a brutal attack on an elected official since Jan. 6."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The last time Trump got a spanking like that was with a copy of Forbes magazine by Stormy Daniels," Jimmy Kimmel joked on Kimmel Live. "At this point Trump's lawyers are like the losingest team in history of any team ever." He brought out the Silver Lining Singers to look on the bright side of inflation, COVID-19, and other glum topics.
"Some critics are saying that America's inflation problems are President Biden's fault," but "almost every country in the world is dealing with this issue," Trevor Noah noted on The Daily Show. Whatever the cause, "this is a big danger to Biden politically, because inflation is one of the economic concepts that normal people actually care about." Roy Wood Jr. illustrated that point.
"It's rare that I celebrate happy things on this show," Samantha Bee said on Full Frontal. But "Biden's infrastructure bill is a major victory — it's the largest public works bill since Eisenhower created the interstate system. Incredibly, he built it all on his own. That man could not delegate."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Is Apple breaking up with Google?
Today's Big Question Google is the default search engine in the Safari browser. The emergence of artificial intelligence could change that.
-
Music reviews: Eric Church, Blondshell, and Model/Actriz
Feature "Evangeline vs. the Machine," "If You Asked for a Picture," and "Pirouette"
-
What is the Federal Reserve and what does it do?
The explainer The decisions made by the United States' central banking system have very real economic effects
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
'Haiti's crisis is a complex problem that defies solution'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Why are white South Africans emigrating?
The Explainer As the US welcomes Afrikaner refugees, the general exodus of South Africa's white population continues to grow
-
Democrats: How to rebuild a damaged brand
Feature Trump's approval rating is sinking, but so is the Democratic brand
-
'Two dolls': Can Trump sell Americans on austerity?
Feature Trump's tariffs may be threatening holiday shelves but they've handed Democrats a 'huge gift'