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Videos: Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Seth Meyers & Samantha Bee Wrestle With Donald Trump's Rise
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 15, 2016
Modified Mar 15, 2016
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 15, 2016
Modified Mar 15, 2016
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The major late night comedians (excluding the politically-agnostic Jimmys) have had plenty of time over the months-long presidential campaign to grapple with the various factors that have led to Donald Trump's political ascendence in the face of his sheer loathsomeness. But now that a Trump nomination inches closer and closer to inevitable, the likes of Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Seth Meyers and Samantha Bee are really using their platforms to push back at the lies, dogwhistling and doublespeak Trump has utilized throughout his run. It may not save us from fascism, but it sure as hell beats watching TGIF theme songs.
First up: Oliver appeared as a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night to talk his Make Donald Dumpf Again campaign, and eat some crow about previously telling Colbert he didn't care about Trump. "I didn’t care, and I didn’t think I’d have to care," Oliver explained. "None of us thought we would be here, but we are." Also, it turns out they've sold over 35,000 of his Dumpf hats, and Jay Z requested one personally.
Seth Meyers took a closer look at all the violence at Trump rallies and the time-traveling hecklers from the 1800s who are attending them, and concludes that the only way to fight "a clown with a knife" is to mercilessly mock him with passive-aggressive humor and signs at his rally. Because hurting Trump's ego will do way more than calling him a fascist: "That's his goal: to not be laughed at, which is why we can't stop. It's possible to take him seriously and also remember he's a clown. Yes, he's a dangerous clown with a knife, but at the end of the day, he's still a fucking clown."
Samantha Bee took the angle of trying to appeal to Trump supporters by treating them like adults and engaging in a "totally judgement-free conversation." However, considering that Trump supporters are the kind of people who hide their faces while waxing nostalgic about slavery, the conversation takes a big dive around the time they label Bee a "trickle down media whore" and passionately defend Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric. "Watching someone choke down a piece of their soul just to belong broke my fact-checker," she says at one point.
Tagged
donald trump
election 2016
john oliver
samantha bee
seth meyers
stephen colbert
television
tv
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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