'It's the end of an error': Late-night hosts say goodbye to Trump

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Donald Trump didn't like a lot of people, but late-night talk-show hosts were high on his list. Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert were often maligned by Trump and his supporters for trashing him on their programs, and the same happened to Jimmy Fallon after the hair-tussle fiasco. After four years — actually, more, if you count their commentary throughout Trump's presidential campaign — these comic personalities are not sad to see this guy leave the Oval Office.

"It's the end of an error," Kimmel said in kicking off a segment that marked Trump's last full day in office. "I'm not sure what to feel right now," he continued. "It feels like the night before my wedding and my divorce all rolled up into one."

It was also a time for many hosts to look back on Trump's presidency. Kimmel ran through how Trump failed to complete most of his campaign promises. Remember that time he promised to appeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with something better? What about that time he promised to build an impenetrable wall and have Mexico pay for it?

Colbert referred to Trump as "He Who Shall Remain Shameless" and, when showing press headlines and articles about the president, bleeped out Trump's name with asterisks as if it were a profane word.

"In the end, the takeaway from this presidency is take him away," he said. "We here at The Late Show have been counting down to this day for four long years — literally counting!" It turns out that, at the start of Trump's presidency, the crew projected a number up on the dome ceiling of the Late Show theater before the pandemic to represent how many days Trump had in office. Each episode since has been counting down to his last day. "We counted it down every night for four long, painful years," Colbert said. "And tonight, the number on the dome has counted down to one."

Seth Meyers dedicated his "Closer Look" segment to Trump's last day, beginning with his "absurd" departing speech, in which Trump claimed "we did what we came here to do and so much more."

"Are you insane?" Meyers responded. "You left the nation in ruins. What did you come here to do? Wreck the economy, spread disease, and take selfies with cans of beans where you smile like you just ate an ice cream with a cavity?"

Meyers looked back four years ago at Trump's "incredibly stupid lie" that "his inauguration crowd was the largest ever, even though we could all see that it had more white space than the back of a Hallmark card." This, he thought, was a good preamble for the rest of his presidency. "It's not just that Trump inhabits an unhinged fantasy world, which he does, or that he and his aides lie as easily as they breathe, which they do," Meyers said. "It's that the entire federal bureaucracy was dragged into defending a narcissistic president's delusion, and anyone who refused to support the lie was punished."

Fallon joked Trump leaving the White House will feel like "pulling the nasal swab out of your nose."

"At least Trump is leaving on top," he continued. "Washington, D.C. has never looked more beautiful." By beautiful, he means a barbed-wire fence surrounds the Capitol building, which is stocked with armed guards. "Actually, that has nothing to do with the riots. Those are just some of Melania's old Christmas decorations," Fallon joked.

James Corden channeled Les Miserables in a musical parody to celebrate "one day more" of Trump jokes.

"One day more, the final day of Trump as president," he sang. "The White House has a brand-new resident. It's been four years of endless crimes, but now he's finally out of time. One day more!"

His virtual ensemble cast also included Patti LuPone, who played Fantine in the original West End production of Les Miserables. Joining them were cast members from various other incarnations of the stage musical: Joshua Grosso, Jillian Butler, Emily Bautista, Kyle Scatliffe, Shuler Hensley, and Matt Lucas.

"One day more of Trump rallies," they sang. "Will he super-spread again?"

Related content: