Late night hosts are comically underwhelmed with the GOP's weak defenses of Trump's Ukraine actions


"The scandals are multiplying, the wheels are coming off the wagon — I would say the president is starting to unravel, but that would imply he was raveled in the first place," Jimmy Kimmel said on Monday's Kimmel Live. President "Trump tried to get the prime minister of Australia to dig up dirt on the Mueller investigation, so this thing is blooming like an onion right now. At this point, it might be easier just to list the names of foreign leaders he hasn't tried to extort."
Trump's threats against the whistleblower who flagged his Ukraine call are "clearly both illegal and unethical," and he also suggested Monday that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) be arrested for treason "for daring to look into all these stupid and illegal things he allegedly did," Kimmel said. But still, Trump's Republican defenders "were out in full force this weekend defending their boss baby," and it didn't go well.
"So what started as a scandal about a call to Ukraine is now snowballing bigly," Trevor Noah said at The Daily Show. "And I don't know for certain how Trump is dealing with this sh-t, but judging by the 87 tweets he released over the weekend, it doesn't seem like he's taking it well." Voters are coming around to impeaching Trump, he said, "but luckily for him there's a group of supporters who will never leave his side, and those are Republican lawmakers."
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"At this point, if you're defending Trump, you're either a complete lapdog or you're totally oblivious, and sometimes you're both," Stephen Colbert said at The Late Show. He started with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and ended with the ubiquitous Rudy Giuliani.
"Giuliani appeared on every talk show over the weekend, and he ranted about the Ukraine scandal, made false allegations, spoke in run-on sentences, and contradicted himself several times — Giuliani is basically like if Trump's Twitter account sprang to life," Jimmy Fallon joked at The Tonight Show.
"Reality is catching up with Trump," and "Trump is predictably losing his mind," Late Night's Seth Meyers said. "Sunday was filled with Republicans flailing in one interview after another because they have no convincing answers for the president's behavior," because "there's no defense. What happened here is very simple and obvious: The president asked for a quid pro quo, the White House tried to cover it up, and they got caught — that's it." 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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