Late night hosts joke about Ted Cruz napping through Biden's surprisingly popular speech to Congress
More than 12 million people tuned in to watch President Biden's first address to Congress, and "as soon as the Academy heard, Biden was immediately asked to host next year's Oscars," Jimmy Fallon joked on Thursday's Tonight Show. "And get this, 85 percent of people who watched Biden's speech approved of it. That's amazing. The only other things Americans like that much are Dolly Parton and cheese fries."
A day after Biden's speech, "the nation is still basking in warm afterglow of basic competence — we're all high off that low bar," Stephen Colbert said at The Late Show. But while 85 percent of Americans approved of Biden's speech, "Republicans enjoyed the speech a little less." He singled out Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who "went viral last night when, during the speech, he fell asleep. I can relate to Ted Cruz," he said. "Now that Joe's president, I find it much easier to sleep, too. Cruz was roundly mocked online, and Bernie Sanders drew a penis on his forehead."
"President Biden called on Congress last night to create a new agency to develop breakthrough treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and cancer — and who knows? Maybe even narcolepsy," Seth Meyer said at Late Night, showing Cruz nap.
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Honestly, falling asleep during Biden's speech "was the most relatable thing that Ted Cruz has ever done," Trevor Noah said at The Daily Show. "Because that speech was boring. And when you consider that almost none of Biden's goals are actually gonna get past Congress, I mean we basically just listened to an old man talk for an hour about his dreams."
"An amazing thing happened after the speech: Every Black Republican senator got together to let the American people know the Republican Party isn't racist," Jimmy Kimmel said at Kimmel Live. That lone senator, Tim Scott (R-S.C.), "accused Democrats, in his rebuttal, of using race as a weapon — when the truth is, we're more concerned about people using weapons as a weapon," he said.
"Joe Biden today took a little stroll with the first lady on the way to Marine One, the helicopter, and he stopped and picked up a flower for her," Kimmel said. "I mean, that was like straight out of a Cialis commercial. ... The only thing Trump picked up and gave Melania required a shot of penicillin." 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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