Late night hosts crack Cyber Monday jokes, compare the Biden and Trump White House Christmas decorations
The Late Show celebrated Cyber Monday with a bittersweet trailer for an updated Miracle on 34th Street.
"I love shopping on Cyber Monday, because nothing beats spending the holiday season on hold with the Bank of America fraud department," Jimmy Fallon joked on The Tonight Show. In Washington, meanwhile, "first lady Jill Biden revealed this year's White House holiday decorations," he said. "The theme of this year's decorations is 'Gifts from the Heart' — as opposed to today's theme, 'Gifts I found online for 60 percent off.'" Somehow, "even former President Trump made it onto one of the ornaments — this is real," he said. "You know that's definitely on the side of the tree that faces the wall."
"Of course the big news that everyone is talking about is this new COVID variant," Fallon said. "Omicron — it sounds like a Transformer who can't smell or taste."
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.
"Omicron has been declared a 'variant of concern' by the World Health Organization," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. "Experts are hoping it ends up being like the second season of Tiger King, where everybody talks about it but nobody actually experiences it. But of course the right-wingnuts have a theory on this. Their theory is that this variant is some kind of ploy concocted by the Democrats to help them win elections."
Among the proponents of this ludicrous theory is former White House doctor and current Texas congressman Ronny Jackson. "All right, let me get this straight, Dr. Ronny," Kimmel sighed. "Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi developed this variant to encourage Democrats to vote by mail, is that how it goes? Seems like maybe you're giving them too much credit. You think Democrats are that organized? They can't even get Joe Manchin to support maternity leave, I don't think they're creating viruses."
This year's White House Christmas theme, "Gifts From the Heart," is "a significant departure from former first lady Melania Trump's theme, which was 'Dead on the Inside,'" Kimmel joked. But "the White House Christmas festivities inadvertently set off a rare moment of truth on the right-wing Fox wannabe Newsmax today, where the veil of anti-Biden BS lifted ever so slightly."
The Late Show's Stephen Colbert dubbed Cyber Monday "Buy Jeff Bezos a Second Penis Rocket Day," but he used the occasion to promote a handful of local small businesses. Nick Offerman helped create an ad for one of them, Redmon's Popcorn.
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.
-
Grokipedia: Elon Musk’s Wikipedia ‘rip-off’Talking Point AI-powered online encyclopaedia seeks to tell a ‘new version of the truth’
-
7 sweet experiences for chocolate loversThe Week Recommends Treat yourself with chocolate experiences, both internal and external
-
Scientists have developed a broad-spectrum snake bite antivenomUnder the radar It works on some of the most dangerous species
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Gaza ceasefire teeters as Netanyahu orders strikesSpeed Read Israel accused Hamas of firing on Israeli troops
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
-
Proposed Trump-Putin talks in Budapest on holdSpeed Read Trump apparently has no concrete plans to meet with Putin for Ukraine peace talks
-
Bolivia elects centrist over far-right presidential rivalSpeed Read Relative political unknown Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, was elected president
-
Madagascar president in hiding, refuses to resignSpeed Read Andry Rajoelina fled the country amid Gen Z protests and unrest
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
