Jimmy Kimmel
“President Trump had a very difficult day today,” said Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday night. On the thousandth day of his presidency, Donald Trump met with Democrats and had what the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, called a “meltdown”. “Which, is it even really a meltdown any more?” Kimmel asked. “Trump didn’t have a meltdown – he had a Wednesday.
“The White House claims Trump was measured, factual and decisive, not hysterical,” Kimmel continued, pointing to one of the president’s bizarre tweets from the day: a picture of Pelosi standing at a table full of men, captioned: “Nervous Nancy’s unhinged meltdown!”
“He really should be writing headlines for the Enquirer instead of running the country,” said Kimmel.
The meeting with Pelosi was ostensibly to discuss the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, a military strike against America’s Kurdish allies facilitated by the president when, over his military advisers’ objections, he removed US troops from the region.
“Trump now is stuck because basically he gave the president of Turkey a green light to kill these people we promised to protect,” Kimmel summarized. Republicans are even upset, with some demanding he reverse the decision, “which he can’t, because that would mean admitting he was wrong, which he doesn’t do”.
In an attempt at damage control, the White House on Wednesday released a letter written by Trump to Trukey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “I’m not sure what this was supposed to prove other than he’s crazy,” said Kimmel, quoting the first line: “‘Let’s work out a good deal!’ As if he’s running a Honda dealership or something.”
Trump sent the letter on 9 October, right before Erdoğan proceeded to cross the Syrian border, “so it was insane and ineffective, which is the art of the deal”, said Kimmel.
Trevor Noah
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah poked at the hypocrisy of the Trump family’s criticism of nepotism, especially in the case of Joe Biden’s son Hunter. “It’s not a good look that a Ukrainian company hired Hunter Biden just months after Joe Biden became the Obama administration’s pointman on Ukraine, because it looks very much like he got this business because of his father’s position,” Noah began. “And I understand why a lot of people would complain about that. What I don’t understand is why these people are complaining about that.”
These people would be Trump’s sons Donald Jr and Eric, who have put Hunter Biden on blast at rallies and on Fox News, saying they had to give up overseas business for their father’s candidacy. “Do you see me on any boards?” Eric Trump asked Fox News.
Hold up, so the Trump boys wanted to attack the Bidens and the issue they chose was nepotism??? pic.twitter.com/2fP8i68HyI
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 17, 2019
“OK, first of all, I’m not surprised nobody has put Beavis and Forehead on any corporate boards,” Noah responded. “Secondly, if there was ever an example of people who got opportunities because of their names, it’s these two.” For example, Donald Trump Jr was recently paid $50,000 to give a speech at a college. “If he wasn’t Donald Trump’s son, why else would they be asking him to speak?” Noah asked. “To share his expertise on bad beards?”
Besides, the Trump children have continued to build their businesses overseas in places such as India, Indonesia, Uruguay and the Philippines. “It’s like the Amazing Race with no running and no chins,” joked Noah.
Still, at least Trump’s sons are one step removed from the presidency, said Noah, “because there are other Trump children who are in business and government”. That would be his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, who work in the White House while maintaining overseas business interests; a dozen Ivanka Trump products just received copyright approval by the Chinese government.
“OK, come on, China approved a dozen trademarks for Ivanka right as her dad was negotiating trade deals with China? You can’t tell me that’s not suspicious timing,” said Noah. “I mean that’s like how right before Christmas, my mom said that a horrible accident happened at Santa’s factory. How does this happen every year, Mom?”
To be clear, Noah concluded, “I’m not defending Hunter Biden. I don’t know him, I don’t know about his business. All I’m saying is that the last people who should be talking about the blurred lines of family names and political influence are the people who are currently running their home office from the White House.”
