"This is our last show of 2021," and "if I could sum up the year in one sentence, CBS would bleep it," Stephen Colbert said on Thursday's Late Show. "It's been a rough year, starting with the attempt to overthrow our democracy," and the House Jan. 6 committee has just released numerous damning text messages from former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows — who, according to a new report, helped lead "a months-long campaign of subversion by half a dozen Republican lawmakers."
"If they had succeeded, the Oval Office would still be occupied by former President Schmuck à l'orange," Donald Trump, who just "claimed victory in the totally made-up War on Christmas" on Newsmax, Colbert said. Trump claimed even Jews and Muslims love Christmas, and "it's true," he deadpanned. "That's why traditionally on Christmas Eve you leave Santa a warm glass of Manischewitz and a chicken shawarma. He is — what's the word? — insane."
"If you're of the mind, as I am, that the Republican Party's been captured by authoritarian cult of goons, weirdos, and asymmetrical crime goblins" that will overturn democracy the first chance they get," Seth Meyers said on Late Night, "then the logical — and somewhat sobering — conclusion of that belief is that our only hope is the Democratic Party, which is not a comforting thought."
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.
"Anyway, this is our last 'Closer Look' of 2021, and we have tried, to the best of our ability, to spend this year documenting all of the evidence that Trump and his cronies were very much staging a coup," Meyers said. And thanks to Meadows' texts, we know "they're in the process of doing it again if they get the chance."
Trump is "really upset" with Meadows "for writing in his book that Trump's hair looked awful when he had COVID," Jimmy Fallon said on The Tonight Show. "It must have looked really bad, because that's how most people describe Trump's hair when he's healthy. Meanwhile I read that this holiday season Melania Trump is releasing her first NFT, called 'Melania's Vision,' which is a watercolor of her eyes," he added. "Yep, Trump is excited about it, he thinks NFT stands for Not Filing Taxes. The cool thing about Melania's NFT: Just like she does with her husband, as soon as you turn away, the eyes roll."
Jimmy Kimmel ran through the best viral clips of 2021 on Kimmel Live.
-
Navy jet, helicopter crash half-hour apart off carrierSpeed Read A US Navy helicopter and a fighter jet both crashed in the same half-hour during separate operations
-
Hurricane Melissa slams Jamaica as Category 5 stormSpeed Read The year’s most powerful storm is also expected to be the strongest ever recorded in Jamaica
-
Protesters fight to topple one of Africa’s longstanding authoritarian nationsIn the Spotlight Cameroon’s president has been in office 1982
-
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
-
Israel intercepts 2nd Gaza aid flotilla in a weekSpeed Read The Israeli military intercepted a flotilla of nine boats with 145 activists aboard along with medical and food aid
-
Japan poised to get first woman prime ministerSpeed Read The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
