Late night hosts find creative ways to show just how badly Trump's impeachment trial is going for the GOP
Wednesday was Day 2 of former President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial "and between Trump's many speeches, interviews, and tweets, the prosecutors had a mountain of evidence at their disposal," Trevor Noah said on Wednesday's Daily Show. "It's basically a slam-dunk case."
Now, "we all expected the Democrats to present a competent, compelling case, but what nobody expected was that Trump's lawyers would be so terrible," Noah said. "It was going so badly for the Republicans, I thought Ted Cruz was gonna start another insurrection just to change the subject." Of course, "nobody was more upset by Trump's sh-tty lawyers than the man who was never going to pay them anyway, Donald J. Trump," he said. Thanks to a tainted jury, Trump will get off anyway, and that makes a mockery of accountability, he added. "But on the other hand, it's going to make for a very inspiring movie."
The Daily Show envisioned a dark buddy comedy. The Late Show put Bruce Castor in a classic.
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.
Trump has "always had very bad lawyers," Seth Meyers noted at Late Night. "Such is the price of being an impossible client who ignores the advice of counsel and also doesn't pay his bills."
Day 2 of Trump's impeachment trial "went a lot better for Trump than Day 1, mostly because his lawyers didn't have to speak today," Jimmy Fallon said at The Tonight Show. "Trump's lawyer was so bad, he actually flashed the Rudy Signal over Mar-a-Lago." Meanwhile, he added, "Republicans were like, 'Wow, that defense was terrible. He couldn't have made a worse case. Anyway, not guilty.'"
"As boring and pointless as most of yesterday was, what the House managers presented today was absolutely gripping," Jimmy Kimmel said at Kimmel Live. "It was a very powerful presentation, much more than anything I'd seen before. I have no idea how you could watch that and vote for anything other than guilty as charged." You can tell just "how damning this was" by Fox News deciding to cut away from the trial, he added. But Trump's terrible lawyers "will be back tomorrow to try to counter what the House presented today. Good luck to them. Their argument is basically telling Republican senators, 'Nice jobs you got there, be a shame if something were to happen to them.'" 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.
-
Today's political cartoons - January 31, 2025
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - tragedy by gaslight, mental health, and more
By The Week US Published
-
What's the future for foreign aid?
Today's Big Question President Trump's US aid freeze could change the humanitarian landscape for good
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published
-
Emilia Pérez: the most hated film at the Oscars
Talking Point Why is Hollywood fêting a 'garish' movie critics call 'an abomination'?
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
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