Late-night hosts weighed in on the media reaction to Trump’s big speech to Congress, saying “just because you act presidential, doesn’t mean you are”.
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah was surprised by both the speech itself and the many compliments that were aimed at Trump as a result.
“Yesterday’s speech and today’s reaction is probably one of the scariest things I have ever seen,” he said. “Not because of what Donald Trump said but because of how the people reacted to what Donald Trump said.”
Trevor weighs in on the terrifying reaction to Trump’s speech. pic.twitter.com/s6WlsVZXIF
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 2, 2017
He continued: “It’s so crazy to see how many people will accept heinous acts if you just dress it up in a nice formal way. That’s all you have to do.”
He joked about Trump’s avoidance of genuine policies and his use of general promises like the fact he would “end drugs”.
“Only someone on drugs would say we’re going to end drugs,” Noah joked.
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert also examined the media analysis of Trump’s change in tone, saying “he shifted from unhinged narcissist to hinged narcissist”.
Colbert continued: “The point is, just because you act presidential, doesn’t mean you are. When I put my head through that cut-out on Coney Island, it doesn’t mean I’m actually riding a dolphin.”
He then attacked Trump’s new acronym Voice, a taskforce that will focus on crimes committed by immigrants. “Which I think means, after they round up the immigrants, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton get to vote on who stays in the country,” he said.
He then reminded viewers of the facts that show immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than those born in America. “Come on immigrants, if you’re going to move here you have to assimilate,” he said. “That means learn English then knock over a liquor store.”
On Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host joked about the media analysis of Paul Ryan. There was commentary about how him drinking water means he is having the time of his life.
“He’s drinking water so he must be happy?” Meyers said. “That’s not how you analyze politics, that’s how you make sure your cat isn’t dying.”
As Ryan and Mike Pence stood behind Trump wearing matching outfits, he commented: “They look like the twins from The Shining.”
He similarly examined footage of pundits claiming that this was the moment Trump suddenly became president. “I bet there are some Muslims and undocumented immigrants who’d tell you he became president in fucking January,” he said.
He also ridiculed the strange video of the Democratic reaction to the speech: “I’m sorry – so the Democratic response was delivered by the survivors of a zombie apocalypse huddled in an abandoned diner?”
