Late-night television hosts in the United States have launched a fresh barrage of satire aimed at the Trump administration, focusing on controversial defence actions and the President's own conduct. The comedic spotlight fell heavily on Pete Hegseth, a key figure facing allegations of authorising extrajudicial killings, and on Donald Trump himself, after he was seen dozing off during a cabinet meeting.
Kimmel's Spotify Spies and Sleepy Defence
Opening his Wednesday evening show, Jimmy Kimmel first touched on the annual cultural phenomenon of Spotify Wrapped, the data round-up of users' yearly listening habits. "They spy on you all year," Kimmel joked. "And then December comes around and they're like, 'We've been watching you.' And we're like, 'Awesome! What did you find out?'" He mused that other companies should adopt the model, offering a hypothetical and risqué example from a popular adult website.
He then pivoted to the political fray, addressing the fervent defence mounted by Trump's supporters after the President was filmed repeatedly falling asleep during a lengthy Monday cabinet meeting. "The Don Trump Admiration and Ball-Gobbling Society was forced to go into overdrive," Kimmel quipped, before playing clips of commentators from Fox News and Newsmax attempting to explain away the naps.
Laura Ingraham suggested anyone sleeping only a few hours a night might doze off, while a Fox News medical analyst bizarrely invoked Thomas Edison's power-napping habits. "Right. It's such a good point," Kimmel deadpanned in response. "Is that what you liberals want, no electricity?"
The 'Secretary of War Crimes' Under Fire
Kimmel asserted that "no one's losing more sleep this week than our secretary of war crimes," Pete Hegseth. The official is under intense scrutiny for reportedly authorising a military strike on a boat off the Venezuelan coast suspected of drug smuggling, followed by a second strike intended to eliminate survivors.
The host highlighted that calls for Hegseth's prosecution for violating international law now include surprising voices from the right, such as Andrew Napolitano, a former Fox News colleague and current Newsmax commentator. "Do you know how badly a member of Trump's inner circle has to screw up to get criticised on Newsmax?" Kimmel wondered. He suggested that previously, such loyalty would have been absolute, but now the rhetoric has shifted to "Lock him up, this is a war crime."
Colbert on Drugs and Dubious Audiobooks
Over on The Late Show, Stephen Colbert also addressed Hegseth's predicament, describing him as still under fire for "maybe definitely committing war crimes." Colbert found it "a little odd" that while the administration justifies strikes on alleged drug smugglers, Donald Trump recently announced a pardon for former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of conspiring to import over 400 tons of cocaine into the US.
Colbert mocked Trump's confused response when asked about the pardon's double standard aboard Air Force One, where the President replied, "Well, I don't know who you're talking about. Which one?" "Which one?!" Colbert retorted. "How many notorious drug traffickers have you pardoned?"
The host also took aim at the First Lady, Melania Trump, for releasing a Spanish-language version of her seven-hour memoir audiobook. Noting she is not known to speak Spanish, Colbert revealed the "lazy" secret: the recording uses an AI-generated version of her voice, available for $25. "Just like the work of that other great Spanish-language author, Gabriel García Mar2-D2," he quipped.
The combined monologues from Kimmel and Colbert underscore the continued role of late-night comedy as a sharp critic of political power, focusing on serious allegations of misconduct and the often surreal defences offered by the administration and its media allies.
