Late night hosts are mostly confused by Trump's closing message


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
"Folks, the presidential election is only five days away," Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show. "COVID-19 is the biggest issue in this election, next to daddy issues, and COVID cases exploding all over the country," he said. "As the campaign draws to a close, [President] Trump and [Joe] Biden are pushing opposing pandemic strategies. Biden is pushing viral containment while Trump is pushing your grandma into traffic."
"Strangely, Trump's blatant disregard for human life seems to be hurting him with a key demographic, humans," Colbert said. It's so bad for Trump, "Joe could get Texas," he said, but more likely, "the electoral map could come down to Pennsylvania, which is why Trump is making a huge effort to get out the vote there — I'm sorry, I misread that — throw out the vote there."
"Trump is busy on the campaign trail," and "at one of his rallies, he tried to describe what would happen if Joe Biden wins," Jimmy Fallon said at The Tonight Show. It was ... implausible. "No Christmas? Does Trump think he's running against Biden or the Grinch?" he asked. "According to Trump, electing Biden will lead to riots in the streets, an economy in the tank, and no holidays — but also he's a sleepy politician who can't get anything done."
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.
"The Trump campaign knows they can't campaign against Joe Biden, so they've decided instead to campaign against reality," Seth Meyers said at Late Night. "In their warped minds," Trump and his allies think "whining about mean tweets and trying to get people fired" is "more important than the deadly pandemic that's killed 227,000 Americans," he added. "Of course, none of this is working with voters, which is why Trump is way down in the polls."
"That's right, Joe Biden wants to murder Santa Claus, kids," Jimmy Kimmel deadpanned at Kimmel Live. "This is the message Team Trump seems to be going with down the stretch." You know, he added, "Trump used to love doing these rallies. He would go and people would cheer, but now that he's losing and still has to go to these towns he hates, he's not doing a very good job of hiding his disdain."
The Daily Show's Jordan Klepper visited perhaps his last Trump rally ever, in Pennsylvania, and he found the audience oddly "subdued" — and not quite clear on the Hunter Biden laptop story. Watch his dispatch below. Peter Weber
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
-
All about Zealandia, the Earth’s potential 8th continent
The Explainer The secret continent went undiscovered for over 300 years
By Devika Rao Published
-
A reckoning over looted art
The Explainer Thousands of artifacts in U.S. and European collections were stolen from their countries of origin. Should they be sent back?
By The Week Staff Published
-
A surge in surge pricing
Feature And more of the week's best financial insight
By The Week Staff Published
-
Exodus begins from Burning Man after desert mud trapped tens of thousands
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
'Margaritaville' singer Jimmy Buffett dies at 76
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
American Airlines suing website that offers tickets via price loopholes
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Federal agencies investigating near miss between Southwest jet and private plane
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies at 70
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Trader Joe's recalls 4 products in a week amid reports of rocks and insects inside food
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Emmys to be postponed for first time since after 9/11 due to strikes
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published