Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers have taken aim at the Trump administration's attempts to rewrite history and suppress unfavourable economic data. Colbert noted that the Smithsonian Institution removed references to Donald Trump's impeachments from its American history museum exhibit following pressure from a White House content review. The exhibit now claims that only three presidents have faced serious removal, instead of four, omitting Trump's two impeachments for bribing Ukraine and his role in the January 6 riots.
Colbert joked that the pressure explains why the 1960s exhibit now says the Vietnam War was started by Jimmy Kimmel. He also criticised the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) commissioner after a report showed the worst period of US job growth since the pandemic. “No, you fool! Now there’s one less job,” Colbert quipped, adding that having knowledgeable people in government is crucial.
The White House unveiled plans for a new $200 million ballroom with gold chandeliers, while Trump paved over the historic rose garden with concrete for additional seating. “Roses are red. Concrete is white. This place looks like shit now,” Colbert said.
On Late Night, Seth Meyers addressed a report of a radioactive wasp nest at a South Carolina nuclear site, with contamination levels ten times higher than allowed. “I have so many questions,” Meyers said, wondering about permissible radiation levels for wasps. He also noted a product recall of High Noon vodka sodas mislabelled as energy drinks.
Meyers concluded that Trump's habit of firing officials who deliver bad news is backfiring, as the stories persist. “That’s the hallmark of a corrupt autocracy,” he said.
