Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers react to Trump’s election victory

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert And Seth Meyers offer their options after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the 2024 elections.

Leading Jimmy Kimmel Live! began his monologue by telling his audience, “Let me tell you, this was the worst Taco Tuesday of my life. We had a choice between a prosecutor and a criminal, and we chose the criminal as President of the United States. More than half of the people in this country voted for a criminal who plans to forgive himself for his crimes. I don’t think this election was rigged.”

Later, during his acceptance speech, Kimmel became emotional as he listed everyone who had been affected by “the terrible night last night.”

“It was a terrible night for the women, the children, the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who keep this country going,” he said, trying to hold back tears. “For healthcare, for our climate, for scientists, for journalists, for justice, for freedom of speech. It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for older people who rely on Social Security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, democracy and decency. It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what? It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him, you just don’t realize it yet.”

Kimmel then noted that everyone for whom it was a “really good night,” including (Vladimir) Putin, polio and “lovable billionaires like Elon Musk and the Silicon Valley bros, and all the squirming brain worms who sold what’s left of their souls bow down to Donald Trump.”

The host then shared encouraging words with his viewers: “I will say something that Trump would never say unless it was in his favor. The people voted and we made this choice. In January, Donald Trump becomes president and that’s it, he won. That doesn’t mean we’re giving up, but it also doesn’t mean we’re storming the Capitol because we don’t like the outcome.

“And I know a lot of people want to hear something positive. I was trying to come up with something positive,” Kimmel continued. “The best I can come up with is that we’ve been through this once before, and yes, this time it will probably be worse, maybe a lot worse, but I also think that maybe we’ll look back and let’s understand that in the long term this is what we need to wake up. Maybe the people who care about him so much should know how little he cares about them.”

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert The host began his opening monologue Wednesday night with the blunt statement: “Well, damn, it happened again.” Colbert added: “After a bizarre and vicious campaign fueled by a desperation to stay out of jail, Donald Trump won the 2024 election.”

“The deep shock and sense of loss is enormous,” he continued. “But let’s look on the bright side. This way, at least there will be a peaceful transfer of power. Mike Pence, ollie-ollie, oxen on the loose. Yesterday I proudly walked around with an “I Voted” sticker all day. Today I wore a sticker that said “I am questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of humanity.”

The host added: “Now when I host late at night, people often say to me, ‘Come on, part of you must want Trump to win because he gives you so much material to work with.’ No. Nobody says to the guy cleaning the bathroom, “Wow, you must love it when someone has explosive diarrhea, you have so much material to work with.”

Meyers also opened his show. Late night with some words reflecting the result that America woke up to on Wednesday morning. Confirming to his audience that he had indeed voted for Harris, he said: “I watched the results come in because I couldn’t sleep. And it was like Christmas Eve. If you know, on Christmas morning you’ll either wake up to find Santa has left presents under the tree or just dumped a huge pile into your fireplace. You know, if you’re lactose intolerant, don’t drink milk.

The host continued: “So, I was watching the results and I knew that I would be here in a few hours to talk about this, and I couldn’t help but think – and this is sincere – what a privilege it is to be here with you, to be here with my colleagues to to not feel alone, what a privilege. It’s a joyful place to work, and we hope you feel joyful when you watch the series at home. We won’t let anything take that joy away. Even when we talk about things that are not particularly joyful,” he said.

“For example, I don’t think Donald Trump is a good person. I would even say that he is a bad person,” Meyers admitted. “Now, in my defense, I’m only basing this on everything I’ve ever been taught about what makes someone good or bad. That’s all. And it’s real and I accept it: half the country thinks he’s a good man, or they don’t care if he’s bad because they think he’s a good president and that’s why he’ll be our president again. This is how democracy works in America. A country in which it is a privilege to live, even on a morning like today. And it’s such a privilege.”