Late-night hosts discussed Donald Trump's victory over Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, which sent him back to the White House.

Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert didn't mince words about the results of the 2024 election: “Well, shit. It happened again,” he said. “After a bizarre and vicious campaign driven by a desperate need to stay out of prison, Donald Trump has won the 2024 election.

“The profound shock and sense of loss is enormous,” he continued. “But let’s look at the positive side. This way there will at least be a peaceful transfer of power. Mike Pence, Olly Olly Ochsen free. Yesterday I walked around all day proudly wearing my “I Voted” sticker. Today I wore my sticker that read, “I question my fundamental belief in the goodness of humanity.”

“As a late-night host now, people often say to me, 'Come on, part of you must really want Trump to win because he gives you so much material to work with,'” he added . “NO. Nobody tells the guy cleaning the bathroom, “Wow, you must love it when someone has explosive diarrhea, there's so much material to work with!”

“I wish you wish, so many of us wish this hadn't happened,” he continued, “but none of us can decide that.” This is a democracy. This is democracy with a big “duh.” And in this democracy the majority has spoken and said that they don’t actually care about democracy.”

The Late Show host congratulated Harris and Tim Walz on their “extraordinary” 107-day campaign and looked ahead to a bleak future. “When Donald Trump was first elected, he started as a joke and ended as a tragedy. This time it begins as a tragedy. Who knows what he'll end up as – a limerick?

“Who knows what the next four years will look like,” he added. “What we know is that we are ruled by a monstrous child surrounded by cowards and cheats, and my brain is constantly pumping out an unlimited supply of consequences. It’s really hard to see a positive side to this.”

But “we can take comfort in knowing that we have been here before. We know what’s coming,” he concluded. And there would be jokes, “because that’s what we do.” And I’ll tell you a little secret. Nobody gets into this business because everything in their life has worked out great and therefore they are built for bumpy roads. Are you ready?”

Jimmy Kimmel

“Let me tell you, this was the worst Taco Tuesday of my entire life,” Jimmy Kimmel said Wednesday night. “We had a choice between a prosecutor and a criminal, and we chose the criminal to be president of the United States. More than half of this country voted for the criminal to pardon himself for his crimes. I suspect this election was not rigged.”

Fighting back tears, Kimmel listed everyone who will be hurt by Trump's election: “It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who inhabit this country, for health care, for our climate, for scientists .”, for journalists, for justice, for freedom of expression. It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for seniors relying on social security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, democracy and decency. It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what? It was also a bad night for everyone who voted for him. You just don’t notice it yet.”

However, it was a good night for Putin, Polio and “lovable billionaires like Elon Musk and the brothers in Silicon Valley and all the floundering brain worms who sold what was left of their souls to bow to Donald Trump.”

“But I'm going to say something Trump would never say if it wasn't in his favor,” he added. “The people voted and this is the decision we made. In January Donald Trump becomes president and that's it, he won. That doesn’t mean we’re giving up, but it also doesn’t mean we’re storming the Capitol because we don’t like the outcome.”

Even though many people didn't want to hear positive hopes, Kimmel made an effort to end on a positive note. “The best thing I can think of is that we've been through this before and yes, this time it's probably going to be worse, maybe a lot worse, but I also think that maybe we'll look back and realize that.” Up In the long run, this is what we needed to wake up,” he concluded. “Maybe the people who care so much about him need to find out how little he cares about them.”

Seth Meyers

And on “Late Night,” Seth Meyers also mourned Trump's victory, noting that he will be the oldest person ever to take office and the first convicted felon. “When I was in elementary school, they used to tell us that anyone could be president, but they didn't say 'literally fuck anyone,'” he joked.

“I wish I had some poignant words of wisdom to share,” he later added. “I'm sad to say I don't. We are on the verge of overcoming the abyss and are truly entering uncharted territory. One only has to look back at Trump's first term to get an idea of ​​how dangerous his second term will be. And no one can say they didn't know what they were getting, because Trump made it crystal clear. All I know is that the fight for justice doesn't end with an election.

“In times like these, when everything feels overwhelming and impossible and all hope is lost, we have no choice but to look back at the vast sweep of history,” he continued. “Justice is not automatic, compensation is not guaranteed, politics is unfortunately not a Marvel movie, even if Joe Biden looks uncannily like the old Captain America.” That doesn't mean that the fight for a fairer and more compassionate world is in vain, it just means it's hard, heartbreaking, soul-destroying and torturous. And it never ends. Democracy doesn’t just happen on election day.”

Meyers concluded with an exhortation to his viewers to keep fighting back: “If you were among the tens of millions of Americans who said no to Trump’s dark, dangerous vision for America last night, now is the time to stand in solidarity with us “Friends, with our neighbors, with vulnerable communities, and let us begin the hard work of realizing the world we want to live in. We will do that on day one.”