Late-night hosts criticised the White House press secretary for sharing a doctored video in response to the CNN reporter Jim Acosta being barred.
Jimmy Kimmel: ‘She intentionally disseminated doctored footage’
On his show, Kimmel replayed the footage of Acosta allegedly assaulting a White House intern. “Not only didn’t he accost her, he went, ‘Pardon me, ma’am,’” he said.
Sanders later shared a doctored video of the event from Infowars – “a website for the mentally unbalanced” – while tweeting that such behaviour was unacceptable.
“This also might be the first time I’ve seen Sarah Sanders take the woman’s side on any subject ever,” she said.
Kimmel continued: “She should be forced to resign for that. She intentionally disseminated doctored footage to discredit a reputable journalist.”
Stephen Colbert: ‘What’s a Beto? A candy bar?’
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert started by saying: “The election was just two days ago but it feels like five days ago. What’s a Beto? Is it a candy bar?”
He then also discussed Trump shutting down Acosta at the press conference before denying him access to future pressers. “I’m not saying he’s Kim Jong-un,” Colbert said. “He’s Kim Jong-ish.”
Colbert also joked that for the intern involved it had to be the “worst” assignment: “destroying the first amendment”.
With Acosta now barred from the White House, Colbert asked: “Oh no! Now how will he not get answers to his questions?”
He also said that Sanders’ decision to tweet a doctored video was “reprehensible and grounds for dismissal. Or as they call it in the Trump administration, Thursday.”
Trevor Noah: ‘That’s so devious and impressive’
The new acting attorney general Matt Whitaker laid thirst traps for Trump, and it totally worked. pic.twitter.com/BOF2gCm7sT
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) November 9, 2018
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah discussed the acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker, who “seems like the exact opposite of Jeff Sessions” before bringing up his unearthed past as part of a scam patent company, including a video of him discussing a hot tub gimmick.
“How’s America gonna hire a guy who scams hot tub inventors as its top cop?” Noah asked. “That seems like a real conflict of interest to me.”
Whitaker has been a pundit on CNN numerous times to discuss how he thinks the Mueller investigation is unfair on Trump. A source now says he was doing this just to get noticed by the president. “That is so devious and so impressive,” Noah said.
He continued: “Basically, Whitaker was on CNN laying thirst traps for Donald Trump and it worked, because Trump slid in the DMs like, ‘I’m DTF! Down to fire Sessions.’”
Seth Meyers: ‘These guys are such cowards’
On Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host delved into Trump’s rambling 90-minute press conference, including Trump telling journalists that they wouldn’t understand the fact he’s being audited. “What do you mean that people wouldn’t understand it? “ he asked. “They’re tax returns. Trump sounds like a dad who doesn’t know how to answer a question from his five-year-old.”
Meyers continued: “He sees himself as above the law. For him, laws aren’t constraints, they’re weapons to be wielded against your opponents.”
During the presser, Trump listed the candidates who didn’t accept ‘“the embrace” of aligning themselves with him – a tactic Meyers referred to as “petty and vindictive” while also saying the embrace “sounds like a Mike Pence euphemism for sex”.
It’s been reported that Trump got John Kelly to fire Sessions, who did it by phone. “These guys are such cowards,” he said. “I’m surprised they didn’t just sent Stephen Miller to perch on Sessions’s window sill.”
