Trump groused about late night hosts, and Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert accepted the challenge

Trump groused about late night TV, and Colbert and Kimmel respond
(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live)

Facebook and Instagram were down most of Wednesday, Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. but "fortunately for our president, Twitter was up and running, no problem at all. The president was tapping his tiny little fingers to weigh in on, of all things, late night comedy shows this morning."

Trump was live-tweeting Fox & Friends taking a Jay Leno quote out of context, and he decried the "one-side hatred" on today's late night shows. "What a snowflake," Kimmel said. In the interview, Leno, the former Tonight Show host, was talking about how late night TV has changed, opining that things are harder than when he joked about "horny" Bill Clinton and "dumb" George W. Bush. "He's right," Kimmel said. "It's harder now because Trump is dumb and horny at the same time, and so now we have to cover both things."

"I don't want to talk about Donald Trump every night," Kimmel explained. "None of us who host these shows do, but he gives us no choice. ... Before 10 this morning — his former campaign chairman was sentenced to prison for the second time in a week, he called himself the most successful president in history, and he tweeted to let people know his wife hasn't been replaced with a body double. I'm not supposed to mention that? Obama wore mom jeans one time, we made jokes about it for six straight years. How about this? You stop being terrible, we'll stop pointing it out, okay?"

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Besides, Stephen Colbert said at The Late Show, "the comedy I do is not one-sided. I can make fun of the president from every angle. ... And I don't hate the president, I just don't trust him. Like I don't hate the 737 MAX 8, but I'm not getting on board." Trump also rapid-tweeted, in all-caps, "Make America great again" and "Keep America great," and Colbert reported what was airing on Fox News during that 27-second gap when America became great: "It was an Arby's commercial." Watch his reaction below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.