Late nights hosts mock Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News over Jan. 6 texts to Mark Meadows, real and fake
"Last night the Jan. 6 commission revealed that during the Capitol riots, the White House chief of staff got texts pleading for Trump to calm things down from Fox News anchors and Donald Trump Jr.," Jimmy Fallon said on Tuesday's Tonight Show. "Yeah, Trump ignored the advice of those closest to him and also Don Jr.," and now that advice is public, "today Fox News hosts lit their tree on fire again just to change the subject."
Fallon read some of the actual texts Mark Meadows received on Jan. 6, and some he (probably) did not.
The Late Show just showed fake texts, also picking on Eric Trump.
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"Meadows received urgent text messages from multiple Fox News hosts and the president's son Don Jr.," Stephen Colbert said on The Late Show, and one text in particular "reveals two things about Don Jr. — one, he knew his dad was responsible and failing to lead, and two, he does not have his father's cellphone number." But that makes sense, he added. "You cannot give Don that number, it's too risky — he might give it to Eric."
Also, "keep in mind, these Fox News hosts pushed the big election lie for months leading up to Jan. 6, and then when their obedient viewers stormed the Capitol, they acted all surprised," Colbert noted.
"It's crazy that CNN fired Chris Cuomo because he was caught giving secret advice to a politician, his brother, but now it turns out that basically everyone at Fox News was giving secret advice to President Trump and his people," Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show. Apparently, "if one person at your network has no integrity, that's a problem, but if nobody has integrity, that's a company policy."
Also, "seeing Don Jr. desperately trying to get a message to his own father, I mean that tells you a lot about their relationship," Noah said.
Yes, "Donald Trump Jr. texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows during January's Capitol attack urging him to make President Trump condemn the violence," Seth Meyers spelled out on Late Night. "Then he texted again, saying, 'Fine, I'll tell him myself, just give me his number!'"
Well, publicly, "Don Jr.'s spent the last 11 months praising his father's lack of action," Jimmy Kimmel noted on Kimmel Live. And you can see the same private panic, public praise from "the gang at Fox News," he said, so "if you're looking for some silver lining here, I don't think we give the Fox News gang enough credit for their acting. It's really good."
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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.
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