Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump’s lavish praise for visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Republicans’ desperate efforts to save their chances in the midterms.
Seth Meyers
On Late Night, Seth Meyers mocked Donald Trump’s excessive praise for Xi Jinping, the visiting Chinese leader whom the US president has referred to as a “fierce person” “strong, smart, tough” and “a piece of granite … an amazing man,” among many other compliments.
“Not even Chinese citizens gush this much about Xi,” said Meyers, noting that the Chinese government had to crack down on social media posts comparing Xi to Winnie the Pooh. “That’s real. Trump thinks Xi is a piece of granite, and meanwhile Xi’s own citizens think he’s a cartoon bear – news that is going to make Trump so sad he will continue to have Eeyore’s posture.”
“In fact, Trump has been so excited for Xi’s visit, he’s even been making excuses for China’s behavior toward the US,” the host continued. As Trump told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham: “People say, oh, he spies on us. Well, we spy on him, too.”
“Now, this might be an old-fashioned take on things,” Meyers said, “but I think when you’re spying on someone, you’re not supposed to tell them that. That’s why The Americans lasted six years, and not 10 minutes.”
Trump’s unusually friendly relations with Xi have drawn condemnation from members of his own party. Roger Wicker, Republican senator from Mississippi, gave a speech on the Senate floor blasting Trump for the invitation, celebrating a rare US-China trade truce instead of inquiring “about the purposes of China’s massive military buildup, or about China’s clear support for Iran”.
“I’m sure he’ll get to all that, right after he grills Xi on his fitness regimen,” Meyers joked.
Jimmy Kimmel
“We’re now less than six weeks out from the midterms, and Republicans are panicking,” said Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday evening. “They’re scraping the bottom of the cracker barrel looking for something to pull them out of the hole Donald Trump dumped them in.”
“Just to give you an idea of how desperate they are for anything,” Kimmel added, Matt Gaetz, the disgraced congressman from Florida, responded to a video on X from a regular Republican voter expressing disappointment in Trump’s war in Iran, with: “Bro we need your vote. I hate the war too. But the Democrats want to trans your kids.”
“Yeah, they’re driving around in trans vans, just grabbing children,” Kimmel deadpanned. “They’re eating the dogs and trans-ing your kids.”
The host then turned to Xi Jinping’s three-day state visit to the US. “It’s a rare opportunity for Trump to thank the leader of the country where his God Bless the USA bibles are made in person,” he quipped.
The Chinese president was greeted at the airport with “a flyover and a combover”, followed by a reception. “Trump was planning to give Xi an exclusive tour of the White House,” Kimmel added, “and he’s even going to let him pick one room of the White House to demolish, which is fun.”
