Late-night hosts discussed the fallout from the explosive devices sent to Donald Trump’s critics and his lie-filled campaign to attract voters before the midterms.
Seth Meyers
On Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host played footage from a rally that saw Trump brag about being nice to Democrats after the recent bomb scares. “It’s like seeing that neighbourhood dog who’d always digging through everyone’s trash suddenly moping around with a cone on his head,” he joked.
Meyers continued: “Hey, maybe don’t make it clear that being nice wasn’t your first choice. You’re like a cannibal that wants credit for just licking people’s faces,” before adding: “You’re an adult, you don’t get credit for doing something adults are supposed to do.”
Trump has also been rambling about a proposed tax cut that would help the middle class but refuses to give much information about it. “I’ll give Trump credit for one thing: he doesn’t overwhelm you with the details,” Meyers said.
In a bizarre interview this week, he found himself unable to confirm just how the tax cut would be implemented before the midterms since congress won’t be convening until after 6 November.
“If you’re ever asking yourself is Trump lying or is Trump stupid then the answer is most likely C: all of the above,” he said.
Meyers then criticised him for “lying brazenly about healthcare and a made-up tax cut”.
Stephen Colbert
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert opened by talking about the explosive devices. “Right now pipe bombs are ending up in more mail boxes than J Crew catalogues,” he said.
One of the latest targets is Joe Biden. “You think a couple of pipe bombs are gonna rattle Joe Biden?” Colbert asked. “The man has seen worse. For God’s sake the man stood there and watch Donald Trump being sworn in as president.”
Another target is Robert De Niro, who has been critical of Trump’s policies. “We’re getting pretty far down the list of Trump’s enemies at this point,” Colbert said. “Watch your back, vegetables.”
He also spoke about the reported presentation of the bombs which came with parody Islamic State flags and Larry the Cable Guy’s catchphrase “Get ‘Er Done”. “Say what you want about the Unabomber but at least that guy had a manifesto,” he said.
At a rally, Trump has called for an end to hostility when discussing political opponents. “So, you’re deleting your Twitter account?” Colbert asked.
Trump also bragged about how nice he was being now and asked the audience whether they’d ever seen anything like it before. “Yes, I used to see presidents doing it all the time before we elected a guy who’s more afraid of Jake Tapper than Kim Jong-un,” he countered.
Jimmy Kimmel
On Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host spoke about the explosive device sent to Robert De Niro. “You think Robert De Niro’s going to be scared of a pipe bomb?” he said. “This is a man who made Dirty Grandpa.”
The right has been kicking around a number of conspiracy theories that claim the bombs are either a hoax or the result of a false flag attempt by the Democrats. One of the pundits behind this is the “geriatrically unhinged” Lou Dobbs of Fox News.
“Is it possible that these people ordered pipe bombs on Amazon and just forgot?” Kimmel joked.
He then spoke about Trump pointing “a little orange finger at the media” during a recent rally.
“Blaming the media for bombs that were sent to the media is like blaming skyscrapers for 9/11. It’s mind-boggling,” Kimmel said.
