Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers recap Election 2017's big winners: hope, karma, and Democrats


The 2017 elections on Tuesday ushered in big wins for Democrats, with the biggest story being Virginia, where Democrat Ralph Northam trounced Ed Gillespie, a Republican running a campaign echoing President Trump's talking points. And Trump dumped Gillespie 20 minutes after his loss, Trevor Noah noted on Wednesday's Daily Show. "Trump does not play games with how fast he will abandon you," he said. "I bet you one day when the U.S. economy crashes, Trump's gonna be like, 'What a loser economy, I've never even heard of America. I'm from Sweden, guten tag."
"When you look at the bigger picture, you know who really won big in last night's election? Karma," Noah said. On Tuesday night across America, "incumbents were defeated by the very thing they were being dicks about." He illustrated this with three races. "And when you put it all together — the Democratic landslides, the victories for refugees, trans people, people of color — it was a horrible night for people like Sean Hannity, which you can tell by how much time he spent covering all of the results on his hour-long show." (Spoiler: 5 seconds.)
On Late Night, Seth Meyers noted the Democratic victories, but poked fun at the party, too. "Even before the results came in last night, Democrats were certain they didn't have a chance — which, of course, is how you know they actually had a chance," he said. "They won, but at least the Democrats were wrong again." He ran through several races, but ended with Gillespie's loss, focusing on his promise to save Confederate monuments. "The good news is in Virginia, when you lose, 150 years later you get a statue," Meyers said. "Of course, this is just one election night, and there's still a long way to go, but last night's results were promising for a Democratic Party in desperate need of something to give them hope." Peter Weber
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
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.
-
Tuberculosis is seeing a resurgence, and it's only going to get worse
Under the radar The spread of the deadly infection is buoyed by global unrest
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Sudoku hard: April 03, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Codeword: April 3, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published