Late night hosts joke darkly about gun-toting Santa, secret superspreader Trump
COVID-19's Omicron variant appears to be more transmissible but less severe than the Delta variant, and that may be because "it shares genetic code with the common cold," Stephen Colbert said on Monday's Late Show. "This pandemic has gone on for so long, we're officially in the remix stage." Oh, and we're also "back at cruise ship COVID," he sighed. "What's next, a new season of Tiger King? There's what!?"
"The only thing spreading faster than Omicron is misinformation from conservatives," Colbert said, citing a tweet from Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-Wis.) claim that Dr. Anthony Fauci "overhyped" both COVID-19 and AIDS. He told Johnson where he could stick that comment.
Meanwhile, a Colorado sheriff's office raised eyebrows with a photo of Santa applying for a concealed-carry permit. "Wow, Santa's taking the War on Christmas very seriously," Colbert joked. "Now, Santa with a gun is an upsetting idea, but do not worry, kids. There's nothing to be nervous about. Santa is just an old loner who lives off the grid, keeps lists of your bad deeds, knows where you live, and can get into your house without waking your parents up."
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 Late Show also turned the gun-packing Santa story into song.
"In other toxic masculinity news, we're getting more details about the number of people who may have been infected by our former superspreader-in-chief," Donald Trump, Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. "Between the day he tested positive and the day he was hospitalized for COVID, Trump came into close contact with more than 500 people." Trump "took no precautions after testing positive, he didn't cancel events, he was maskless inside the White House and on Air Force One," Kimmel said. "You know, if you didn't know him better, it's almost like he doesn't care about others."
Seriously, Trump was "like the Johnny Appleseed of COVID," but we only know how wide his potential circle of contagion was because of a tell-all book by Trump loyalist Mark Meadows, Seth Meyers said on Late Night. "I like that Trump's aides won't talk to Congress, but if they get a book deal they'll tell the entire world the worst s--t they can possibly think of." Among a long series of asides, Meyers also recapped how "Republicans and Fox News are suggesting a new variant of the coronavirus is a liberal hoax," and you can watch that below.
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.
-
People of the year 2024
In the Spotlight Remember the people who hit the headlines this year?
By The Week UK Published
-
The Christmas quiz 2024
From the magazine Test your grasp of current affairs and general knowledge with our quiz
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: December 25, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Speed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against Russia
Speed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
South Korea roiled by short-lived martial law
Speed Read President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law was a 'clear violation of the constitution,' said the opposition parties who have moved to impeach him
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensive
Speed Read The rebels made gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published