See How Kimmel, Colbert & Jon Stewart Reacted to Trump-Harris Debate
The hosts of late night went live on Tuesday (September 10) following the Donald Trump and Kamala Harris debate on ABC and turned their focus to the former president’s latest round of lies.
Jimmy Kimmel, who compared Harris’ performance to “the Lion King when Simba came back to avenge Mufasa,” highlighted one of the most shocking moments of the debate, when Trump repeated a fake news story about Haitian immigrants eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio.
“So much insanity coming out of this Republican campaign,” Kimmel said. “On the day of the debate he’s posting cat memes. Do you think he even knows they’re AI? These memes are part of what might be the dumbest Republican lie yet.”
Kimmel added, “The one thing his handlers begged him not to mention was the Haitians eating pets. So what does he do?”
The host then showed a clip of Trump claiming immigrants are “eating dogs and cats” in Springfield. Kimmel also shared an AI image posted by a Trump fan that depicted the former president running away from two Black men while holding a kitten under each arm.
“I can buy Trump grabbing two p*****s at once… I just can’t imagine him running,” Kimmel joked.
Kimmel also quipped, “Usually when Donald Trump gets a spanking like this from a woman, it’s with a Forbes magazine. Kamala was pushing his buttons like a 12-year-old playing Fortnite.”
Meanwhile, on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart also praised Harris’ performance, saying, “She crushed that,” pointing to the Vice President’s rebuttal to Trump’s false abortion claims.
Stewart paid particular attention to Trump’s evasive answers when it came to his part in the January 6 attacks on the Capitol. During the debate, Trump denied any responsibility, instead placing the blame on former speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“But one thing will always be true and it is the quality of the former president I respect the least: whenever he is cornered and forced to face even the smallest of consequences for his own mendacity and scheming he reverts to the greatest refuge of scoundrels,” Stewart stated. “As Shaggy would say, ‘It wasn’t me!’… In any other country that lack of accountability would be disqualifying.”
Over on The Late Show, host Stephen Colbert spotted a moment from the debate when Harris seemingly “bit her tongue” to stop herself from calling Trump a curse word.
The moment happened as Harris took down Trump for inviting the Taliban to Camp David for negotiations over Afghanistan.
“A place of storied significance for us as Americans, a place where we honor the importance of American diplomacy, where we invite and receive respected world leaders. And this…” Harris said before pausing and looking for the right word. She ultimately landed on “former president.”
“I don’t think ‘former president’ was the ‘f-word’ she was looking for,” Colbert quipped.
The host went on to say, “[Trump] was so nonsensical that [Harris] looked at him the way a parent looks at a kid giving a presentation on why they should be allowed to get a pet tiger.”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35 c, CBS
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35pm ET/PT, ABC
The Daily Show, Weeknights, 11/10c, Comedy Central