Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel shudderingly picture the downsides of Trump's mandatory text alerts

Imaginary Trump text alerts — (Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

On Wednesday afternoon, FEMA sent out its first presidential alert to all cellphones in America. The idea of President Trump being able to text everyone simulateously whenever he wants may have merit, but The Late Show considered the downside.

Seriously, "is there really an emergency so big that everyone in America — people in Hawaii, Florida, Maine, New Mexico — have to hear about it at the exact same time?" Stephen Colbert asked. "What is that big? Is it the death astroid? Is it Thanos?" Apparently it's more along the lines of a nuclear attack or a tsunami, he noted, unpersuaded. "Look, if there's a tsunami, Trump is the last person I want to get a text from. 'Huge wave! Very wet in terms of water. I'll be there with paper towels soon.'"

"But here's the truly frightening thing about this system: Unlike Amber and weather alerts, the presidential alert cannot be turned off," Colbert said. He had a sort of workaround for the iPhone — but don't try it at home.

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Jimmy Kimmel Live was on the same page. "The idea of letting President Trump send a text message to every American whenever he wants to may sound like a bad idea, and it is a bad idea," Kimmel said on Wednesday's show. "But what do we do here in Hollywood when we have a bad idea? We make a major motion picture out of it." And you can watch the remarkably realistic trailer below. Peter Weber

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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.