Late night hosts debate why Democrats lost big on Tuesday, lean toward Terry McAuliffe's dancing

"Earlier today, President Biden returned to Washington, D.C., after a six-day trip to Europe — then he saw last night's election results and went right back to Europe," Jimmy Fallon joked on Wednesday's Tonight Show. "It was a tough night for Democrats, starting with their loss in the Virginia governor's race," and now "Republicans haven't been this excited since they realized that you can print fake vaccine cards off of Google Images."
Democrats "barely eked out a victory in the race for governor of New Jersey, and that state is more blue than an orgy of Smurfs," Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show. "But the bigger loss was in Virginia." He suggested Democrat Terry McAuliffe's dance moves may have tipped the gubernatorial race to Republican Glenn Youngkin: "You know what they say, 'Dance like nobody's voting for you.'"
Seriously, "why did Democrats do so badly in Virginia last night?" he said. "Well, it depends on who you ask." He ran through the likely factors.
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.
"A lot of factors go into every victory and every election, but I believe the deciding factor here was that Youngkin had the one quality that Virginia voters wanted most: not being Terry McAuliffe," Stephen Colbert said on The Late Show, also cringing at McAuliffe's dancing. "Maybe I'm alone, but I'm not that upset — I've already endured the worst election in American history" in 2016, he said. "This one just seems like another election. 'Oh, no, Terry McAuliffe didn't win? Will the Republic survive our post-Terry future?'"
Look, "people tend to vote more when they're upset with the person in power, and right now that person is Joe Biden," Colbert said. "Voting is like democracy's Yelp review. You never leave a comment when the soup was tasty, but if you bring me still water when I asked for sparkling, I will burn your bistro to the ground!"

"It's just a tough political environment for Democrats right now," Seth Meyers said on Late Night, and instead of "ludicrously blaming progressives" for Tuesday's losses, Beltway pundits should finger "the Manchins and Sinemas of the world" for dragging out passage of popular legislation "so it's longer and more painful than Terry McAuliffe dancing on stage." Seriously, he told McAuliffe, "I never thought I would say this, but have you thought about taking dancing lessons from Donald Trump?"
"Things aren't great, but they could definitely be worse," Jimmy Kimmel shrugged on Kimmel Live. In fact, on this one-year anniversary of the the 2020 election, "let's look back at the many times Donald Trump warned us of what would happen under a Biden presidency." And so he did.

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.
-
Why does the U.S. need China's rare earth metals?
Today's Big Question Beijing has a 'near monopoly' on tech's raw materials
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
When did divorce begin?
The Explaine Couples have always split up, but the institution has undergone major changes over the years
By David Faris
-
What are your retirement savings account options?
The explainer The two main types of accounts are 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
Israel blames 'failures' for killing of medics
speed read 14 Gaza medics and 1 U.N. employee were killed by IDF special forces
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacks
speed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Russian strike kills dozens in Ukraine
Speed Read The Sumy ballistic missile strike was Russia's deadliest attack on civilians this year
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
South Korea court removes impeached president
Speed Read The Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law in December
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson