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.
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.
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
'It's our financialized economy in miniature'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
A long weekend in Zürich
The Week Recommends The vibrant Swiss city is far more than just a banking hub
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
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