Late night hosts wrap together Biden's Russian oil ban, McDonald's Russian 'no-fry zone,' gas prices

"Normally I'm against electing comedians to political office, and keep in mind, I ran for president twice," Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday's Late Show. But his new "comedy idol," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "is inspiring the world with his courage in the face of the Russian invasion, and last night he took his bravery to a whole new level of badassery," declaring from his office he is not going anywhere and isn't afraid of anyone, despite several assassination attempts. Colbert tried a similarly courageous declaration, kind of.
"Zelensky has begged the Western powers to ramp up the economic pain on Russia, and this morning, Joe Biden dished out the biggest dose yet," Colbert said. "Take that, Vlad! America doesn't need your klepto-crude. America is perfectly happy to stay home and frack ourselves blind." Meanwhile, "more and more companies are saying nyet to doing business in Russia — the latest is McDonald's," he said. "Yes, Russia just became a no-fry zone."

"Today, McDonald's announced that it was closing all 850 of its restaurants in Russia," Jimmy Fallon said on The Tonight Show. "Yeah, we don't want their oil, and they can't have our grease. Not to be outdone, Arby's announced that they're punishing Russia by staying open." The U.S. oil embargo, though, "is devastating for Russia — now their biggest export is bad guys in John Wick movies," he joked. "Of course, we've got to get oil from somewhere else, which is why today Biden looked at Rudy Giuliani and was like, 'Let's get you in the sauna, buddy.'"
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 explained the Russian oil ban with an homage to the Beverley Hillbillies theme.
"Honestly, I'm surprised Russia sends us any fuel, since they can't even get it to their tanks," Seth Meyers deadpanned on Late Night. As a result of the ban on importing Russian oil, gas, and coal, "the average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline yesterday hit an all-time high, but good news: Dollar General has a great deal on irregular gasoline."
"Yeah, if you thought gas prices were already high, Russia invading Ukraine has only made things worse," Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show. That "sucks for everybody," because "the price of gas affects the price of everything. Like, if this keeps up, the next Fast and Furious movie is gonna take place on public transportation."
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.
-
The marvelous powers of mucus
The Explainer It's snot just a pesky cold symptom
-
What to know about the 'no tax on tips' policy
The Explainer The new bill would make tip income exempt from federal income taxes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
South Korea elects liberal Lee as president
speed read Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, was elected president following months of political instability in the wake of Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
Nationalist wins tight Polish presidential election
speed read Karol Nawrocki beat Rafal Trzaskowski in Poland's presidential runoff election
-
Ukraine hits Russia's bomber fleet in stealth drone attack
speed read The operation, which destroyed dozens of warplanes, is the 'biggest blow of the war against Moscow's long-range bomber fleet'
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Is Trump giving up on Ukraine-Russia peace?
Today's Big Question White House says president is 'weary and frustrated' with conflict