LOS ANGELES — Late-night hosts pivoted from candidate Donald Trump to President-elect Trump, combining punchlines and audience group counseling after the billionaire’s defeat of Hillary Clinton.
“For years I’ve come out every night and asked how you’re doing, but I’ve never meant it. Tonight I actually mean it. Does anyone need a hug?” Conan O’Brien said in his monologue Wednesday on TBS. Despite divisions among voters, he said, “the optimist in me chooses, today, to be happy that we have fair and free elections at all. It’s an amazing thing. “
Tonight I started my show with a few words about the election https://t.co/Gw22eK7VcW
— Conan O’Brien (@ConanOBrien) November 10, 2016
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel took viewers through the stages of grief, including denial (“No, the host of the ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ is not our president”) and bargaining (“Maybe he’ll only build the wall waist-high, to keep short people out”) and, finally, acceptance.
Our fellow Americans, the time has come for you to make Jimmy your VP… #Kimmel4VPOMG https://t.co/jGByiGXuNI
— Jimmy Kimmel Live (@JimmyKimmelLive) November 8, 2016
Seth Meyers, who had sharply criticized Trump’s campaign on his “Late Night” show on NBC, struck a philosophical tone in hashing over Tuesday’s election.
.@SethMeyers offers his thoughts on Tuesday’s election results. pic.twitter.com/S9HeqGUTCc
— Late Night (@LateNightSeth) November 10, 2016
Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” host and South African comedian Trevor Noah, called Trump’s win ‘the end of the world’ on Tuesday stating that he’s ‘sh*tting his pants’.
Tonight at 11/10c: If Wednesday morning you finally woke up from a coma, you might want to go back. pic.twitter.com/zFVwQZ6NUv
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) November 10, 2016
Trevor reacts to Donald Trump’s stunning victory. https://t.co/z960ApexhT pic.twitter.com/fUrZUgR95s
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) November 9, 2016
Additional reporting by Ashleigh Klein
– AP