Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Trevor Noah unhappily recap the chaotic Trump-Biden debate
Tuesday night "was the main event, Sleepy vs. Sleazy, the first — and hopefully last — debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump," Jimmy Kimmel said on Tuesday's Kimmel Live. " It got off to an interesting start: you know, they flipped a coin to determine who would get the first question, but when Trump saw the quarter in the air, he said, 'Hey, that's how much I paid in taxes last year,' and it went downhill from there."
"It was a terrible debate — I'd call it a nightmare, but at least during a nightmare, you get some sleep," Kimmel said. "Trump treated Chris Wallace like he was Eric asking for more allowance money."
"Before the debate, Chris Wallace said that if he does his job right, it will be like he's not there," Jimmy Fallon said on The Tonight Show. "Well, mission accomplished." Seriously, "what the hell was that debate?" he asked. "Was that helpful to any American? The only person who enjoyed that was Vladimir Putin while he was stroking a cat."
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.
"Tonight's debate was presented without commercials," so "the only interruptions were Trump cutting off Biden and Chris Wallace every 8 seconds," Fallon said. "You know it was a rough debate when the guy who told the president to 'shut up' was seen as the classy candidate" — though after telling Trump to shush for the umpteenth time, "Biden got a standing ovation from Melania."
"Trump would not shut up!" Trevor Noah agreed at The Daily Show. He had some suggestions for the next debate moderator, including spray bottles — "I promise you, Trump will be quiet, because his hair turns into a gremlin if it gets wet" — and a new fact-checking feature where for every lie a candidate tells, "a brick should come down on their side of the screen, you know, like Tetris. ... I mean the best part for Trump is that 5 minutes into the debate, he'll finally have his wall."
"What is my takeaway? I don't actually know. I mean, I don't know how Biden did, because Trump did more interrupting than Kanye West in a room full of Taylor Swifts," Noah said. "And as for Trump's performance, two things: One, now we finally know what it would be like if he read his Twitter feed out loud, and two, I can't believe how hard his brain malfunctioned when they asked him to denounce white supremacists." Peter Weber
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in 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.
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published