Late-night hosts took aim at Donald Trump’s most recent claim that he has a “natural instinct for science”, and criticised Republican attempts to suppress voters.
Samantha Bee: ‘How the fuck is that legal?’
On Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the host included a segment on voter suppression before the November midterms. “The vote hasn’t been this suppressed since Blake Shelton won sexiest man alive,” she joked.
Bee spoke about a new ruling that requires voters to have an address that isn’t a PO box, which affects Native Americans living on reservations, before moving on to the hotly contested race in Georgia.
Republican Brian Kemp is neck-and-neck with Democrat Stacey Abrams but as Kemp is also secretary of state, he’s been accused of meddling with voter registration to affect the outcome. “File that under ‘how the fuck is that legal?” Bee said.
She continued: “He’s like a dog carrying his own leash, if the dog was secretary of state in Georgia.”
Kemp claims that, despite reported attempts to suppress voters of colour, people shouldn’t be worried. “Why wouldn’t you trust this civil war statue who wished to be a real boy?” she joked.
Bee continued: “Republicans are getting more creative and more shameless about their attempts to block the vote because they know they’re not popular enough to win without cheating. They truly are the Blake Shelton of political parties.”
She concluded by stressing the importance of heading out to vote next month. “Voting shouldn’t be a privilege but as long as it is, if you can, you better fucking use it and help other less privileged people do it too,” she said.
Stephen Colbert: ‘That’s not how knowledge works’
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert started with Trump’s recent interview with Associated Press, which saw him ask them what they would do in six years’ time if a “normal” person was in office instead. “I don’t know? Dance in the streets?” Colbert said.
Trump also referred to his son Donald Trump Jr as young while defending him over accusations that he met with Russians. “For the record sir, he’s 40,” Colbert countered.
When asked about climate change, the president claimed there were scientists on both sides of the argument. “That is true, there are scientists on both sides,” he said. “On one side all the scientists, on the other, one guy who runs a site called realtrueamericanscienceeagle.jesus.”
Trump also referenced his uncle who attended MIT, but followed it up by saying he didn’t speak to him about climate change. “Why did you bring in your science uncle if you never talked to him about science?” Colbert asked.
He also said that he has a “natural instinct for science” because of his uncle. “You have a natural instinct for science?” Colbert said. “That’s not how knowledge works, you don’t inherit it from your uncle. The most you get from your uncle is your own nose back.”
Trevor Noah: ‘The dumbest reason possible’
Trump’s right, this Saudi - Khashoggi situation is like Kavanaugh. Trump wants to find out what happened, but he’s already made up his mind. pic.twitter.com/YOVvhZUaUO
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) October 18, 2018
On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah also ridiculed Trump for his comments, referring to his belief that an affinity for science was somehow in his blood. “Now, I think that’s cholesterol, but that’s not the point,” he joked.
Noah continued: “Just because his uncle was good at science, it doesn’t mean Trump is good at science. That’s not how it works. If a pilot has a heart attack, they’re not like ‘Is anyone on this plane related to a pilot?’”
He said that Trump still refuses to believe in climate change for “the dumbest reason possible” before talking about the president’s comments about Saudi Arabia.
In another interview, he said that he didn’t want to stir up trouble over the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi because of the $110bn deal he has with the Saudis. “Say what you want about Trump but he wears his moral bankruptcy on his sleeve,” he said.
He also continued to compare the situation to that of disgraced supreme court judge Brett Kavanaugh. “I like how Trump’s way of dealing with a sensitive issue is by bringing in another sensitive issue,” he said.
