Late night hosts find an orange circle of mirth amid Trump's retaliatory post-impeachment purge
President Trump is done with impeachment and "ready for revenge on anyone he believes wronged him," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "On Friday, Donald Trump proved that he's more spite than man when he fired impeachment witnesses Gordon Sondland and Alexander Vindman in a post-acquittal purge. Yes, Trump has gone full strongman — he's making a list of enemies, and he's changed the name of his resort to Mar-a-Gulago."
"At times like these, some people might get depressed, but not me, because this weekend there was one bright orange spot: this actual photo of Donald Trump's face," Colbert said, showing the photo in full color and then black and white, cringing, and reading Trump's angry "Fake News" response.
The Late Show had another explanation for Trump's bad makeup job, too.
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.
Jimmy Kimmel eased into Trump's face by discussing Sunday night's Oscars, notably surprise winner Parasite, "a South Korean film that tells the story of a family who cons their way into a house they have no business living in, and things go very wrong from there. The American version of it is called The Trumps. It's also known as Hairasite. He's now tanning with just a bucket."
Meanwhile, "Attorney General William Barr has confirmed that the Justice Department is conducting a review of whatever nonsense Rudy Giuliani dug up or digs up on the Bidens in Ukraine," Kimmel said. And "Trump is shaking those tiny fists at his enemies, he's acting to punish those who testified against him" he said. "I guess Susan Collins was right — he definitely learned his lesson after the trial. But both men who were fired testified under subpoena, which means Trump is now firing people for obeying the law. ... He's firing the people who testified against him, and no one seems to — well, I guess some people have a problem with it, but not enough people."
Late Night's Seth Meyers, for one, had a problem with Trump "retaliating against impeachment witnesses as his attorney general works with his personal lawyer to continue digging up dirt on his political rivals," including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who voted to convict him. "By acquitting Trump, Republicans explicitly gave Trump license to cheat again in the 2020 election, something he will absolutely do if he has the chance," Meyers said. But he, too, found humor in Trump's bad spray-tan job. Watch his roast below. Peter Weber
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.
-
Political cartoons for January 26Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include an ICE storm, the TikTok takeover, and Iranian-style reform
-
Winter storm lashes much of US South, East CoastSpeed Read The storm spread across 2,000 miles of the country
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
A peek inside Europe’s luxury new sleeper busThe Week Recommends Overnight service with stops across Switzerland and the Netherlands promises a comfortable no-fly adventure
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
