Colbert And Meyers Address Trump Assassination Attempt In Somber Monologues; Fallon Ignores It Entirely
After acknowledging the attempted assassination on former president Donald Trump, Late Night host Seth Meyers condemned members of the GOP Monday — including Trump's running mate, Ohio senator J.D. Vance — for how they continued to stoke fears in response to an horrific attack on U.S. democracy.
"Often after a tragedy like this, there are calls to forego politics," Meyers began. "But to me, politics — the nonviolent exchange of ideas, and the peaceful resolution of disputes — feels more important than ever. An inclusive politics of compassion, empathy and community... is what we must recommit to now." Which is why the comedian felt compelled to call out Vance, among others, for "choosing to make things worse" at a time when things are already bad.
On Saturday evening, less than three hours after the attempt on Trump's life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., Vance took to X (fka Twitter0 to lay blame on Trump's Democratic challenger, current president Joe Biden.
"Today is not just some isolated incident," Vance wrote. "The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs. That rhetoric led directly to President Trump's attempted assassination."
In response, Meyers accused Vance & Co. of "choosing to enflame the national mood at a dangerous moment, rather than show the leadership and basic decency it would take to calm things down." The host then stressed that "engaging in the work of democracy and peaceful persuasion is the opposite of inciting violence. It's what we need more of, not less.
"Accurately describing the dangers of autocracy, and warning against attempts to dismantle our democracy, have nothing to do with political violence," Meyers argued. "Speaking plainly about the specter of authoritarianism is not only our democratic right; it's our civic duty. We must all continue to do it. That's what we will continue to do here on this show."
Stephen Colbert also addressed America's brush with tragedy at the top of Monday's show. Despite airing live on Night 1 of the Republican National Convention, the Late Show host chose to talk about the attempted assassination in a pre-recorded cold open, without his studio audience present.
"My immediate reaction when I saw this on Saturday was horror at what was unfolding, relief that Donald Trump had lived — and, frankly, grief for my beautiful country," he said. "And then fresh horror, as we learned that attendees had also been shot, one of whom died at the rally.
"Not only is violence evil, it is useless," Colbert continued. "As I quoted [science fiction writer Isaac Asimov] when Rep. Steve Scalise was shot, 'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.' Violence, or even calls for violence, invalidate any ideas."
Over on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Anthony Anderson said he hoped that "we can all take a step back from the hatred and vitriol in our politics," while NBC Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon... chose not address the attempted assassination at all, pivoting from a monologue that acknowledged Trump's VP pick, to a desk piece about a recent golf tournament against DJ Khaled.
As previously reported, Comedy Central's The Daily Show was preempted Monday. Following Saturday's assassination attempt, the political satire cancelled plans to broadcast from the RNC in Milwaukee, and will resume new episodes from New York Tuesday, with host Jon Stewart.