Jimmy Kimmel, more late-night hosts skewer Trump’s new Cabinet picks

The era of late-night jokes about the Trump administration has officially returned.
Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers on Wednesday had a field day with President-elect Donald Trump’s latest picks for his Cabinet. Some of the incoming president’s selections announced in recent days have been unexpected and controversial, including former Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general (he’s facing a House ethics investigation over sexual misconduct allegations).
In another surprise pick, Trump nominated Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his Defense secretary.
“You will not believe some of the people (Trump) wants to hire,” Kimmel told viewers. “We thought it would be crazy. It is so much crazier than anyone ever imagined.”
The comedian, who previously held back tears in his monologue after Trump’s election win, mocked the idea of Hegseth serving as Defense secretary.
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“There’s nothing more intimidating than a morning talk-show host,” he said sarcastically. “It’s why Regis (Philbin) was so valuable to JFK during the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
Kimmel also joked that former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard becoming Trump’s director of national intelligence “could interfere with her other job working for Russian national intelligence.” But these “wild” picks seem “reasonable” compared to Trump’s selection of Gaetz for attorney general, he argued.
“In a lot of jobs, being investigated for sex trafficking underage girls would hurt your chance for advancement, but in the Trump administration, you can list it on your resume under special skills.”
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Stephen Colbert wasn’t any less dismayed about the way the second Trump administration is taking shape.
Declaring that Trump’s second term is “already way worse” than his first before it even begins, the “Late Show” host was aghast by the “horrifying” idea of Gaetz becoming attorney general.
“During the campaign, I thought if Trump won, he would do the worst things I could imagine. Turns out, I don’t have much of an imagination. There is not enough botox in the world to hide how shocked I am. There’s also not enough botox in the world because Matt Gaetz used all of it.”
Colbert wasn’t happy with Gabbard becoming director of national intelligence, either.
Noting that she was once a guest on his show, he quipped, “When I think Tulsi Gabbard, the word ‘intelligence’ is not the first one that comes to mind — or the second.”
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But the comic said that before these nominations, he was expecting to lead with the “outrageous” and “stupefying” news that Hegseth was picked to be Trump’s Defense secretary.
In reference to Hegseth’s job as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, he joked, “If we have a war on a weekday, he won’t know what to do!”
Meanwhile, Seth Meyers panned Trump’s “Cabinet of crazy people” in a “Closer Look” segment, also describing it as a group of “goblins and weirdos.”
In particular, Meyers dismissed Hegseth as an “insane choice” for Defense secretary and suggested he needed “unearned confidence” to say yes to the job “with zero government experience.”
In addition to his job on Fox, Hegseth is also a military veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Meyers also listed off a series of TV characters or personalities who he joked could be added to the administration next, including Lionel Hutz from “The Simpsons” as attorney general and “Cash Cab” host Ben Bailey as secretary of transportation.
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Striking a more serious tone, the “Late Night” host concluded, “One thing is clear from these appointments: Trump will not feel restrained in his second term. He’s hiring oligarchs and TV personalities for powerful government positions.”
All major late-night hosts shared their initial reactions to Trump’s election win last Wednesday, with Kimmel saying his kids were “very upset” by the results.
Colbert also said it was “really hard to see a bright side,” and Meyers told his audience, “We’re about to step over the precipice into truly uncharted territory.”