“It was a terrible night”: late-night TV reaction to Trump’s second coming

At the start of Wednesday’s release Late Show Stephen Colbert he gloomily admitted that he had done “not very well.” After a Republican candidate and a convicted felon Donald Trump to be elected president for the second timeEvery late-night television show addressed the outcome of events and tried to find humor during a difficult time for millions of Americans.

“Some people told me, ‘Sorry, you’ll have to perform tonight,’ which was very nice of them. But I don’t have to do a show. I have a show tonight,” Colbert continued during his monologue. “I’m so grateful to be with all these talented people.” He also noted that no one gets into the comedy business “because they have a great life,” adding, “We’re built for rough roads.”

His sentiment echoes that of Colbert’s former boss: John Stewart who organized live broadcast Daily Show on election night, which Vanity Fair was present. “This No it’s over,” he told his viewers. “And we have to regroup, and we have to keep fighting and keep working every day to create the best society—for our children, for this world, for this country—that we know is possible. It’s possible.”

Here’s what other late-night TV hosts had to say about Trump’s second term.

Stephen Colbert

“Well, man, it happened again,” Colbert said during Wednesday’s episode. “After a bizarre and vicious campaign fueled by a desperate desire to stay out of jail, Donald Trump won the 2024 election.”

Late Show The presenter acknowledged that while “the deep shock and sense of loss is enormous,” there was a silver lining in the fact that “there will be a peaceful transfer of power.” Colbert continued: “I proudly walked around with an ‘I Voted’ sticker all day yesterday. Today I wore a sticker that said “I am questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of humanity.”

He also dismissed the notion that comedians are eager to make Trump jokes for another four years. “Now that I’m a late-night host, people often tell me, ‘Come on, part of you must want Trump to win because he gives you so much material to work with,'” Colbert said. “No no. Nobody says to the guy cleaning the bathroom, “Wow, you must love it when someone gets explosive diarrhea.” You have so much material to work with.”

Desi Lydic