Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and George Clooney roast Mike Pompeo's rose-tinted hot take on climate change

Jimmy Kimmel, George Clooney, and Seth Meyers roast Mike Pompeo

(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/Late Night, Jimmy Kimmel Live)

published 8 May 2019

"A U.N. report this week warned that one million species are threatened with extinction because of human activity, most notably climate change," Seth Meyers said on Tuesday's Late Night. "But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sees an upside," saying in a speech that the melting of Arctic sea ice presents "new opportunities for trade" and faster travel. "That's like being excited that your house burned down because now you can see your pool from the driveway," Meyers said.

Besides, "aren't trade routes more of an issue for the secretary of commerce? But Wilbur Ross looks so old he probably misses the days when the fastest way from Asia to North America was by land bridge," Meyers joked. "And hey! Hoping for a disaster so you can make money off it isn't a plan for climate change, it's literally the plot of The Producers."

Melting Arctic ice "will be very good for the kayak industry, but everyone else is screwed," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. "The Trump administration has done everything they can to do nothing about climate change. They just don't listen to the scientists — a lot of people don't, not just when it comes to climate change. Scientific fact is suddenly seen as some kind of partisan scare tactic, and it endangers all of us. So one major celebrity is spearheading a new initiative to raise awareness of this foray into ignorance." That celebrity would be George Clooney — and ABC bleeped out all his expletives in his PSA.

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"One million species are in danger of going extinct," Trevor Noah marveled at The Daily Show. "That's so many deaths, you know? Even the creators of Game of Thrones would be like, 'Gees, guys, pump the brakes.'" He tried to find some upsides to the likely mass extinction, and later lauded Chance the Rapper for championing a cause that's actually attainable — sorry, Clooney. Watch 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.

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