The way Jimmy Kimmel sees it, the world is burning after Tuesday night.
The longtime late-night host and card-carrying liberal pontificated on the repercussions of President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning victory Tuesday night,
declaring it a “terrible night” for everyone from immigrants to women and journalists. Kimmel, 56, fought back tears as he tried his best to put on a happy face for his audience who dutifully nodded along while applauding his sentiments.
“Let’s be honest: it was a terrible night last night. It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who make this country go.
Um…” he paused, letting the shakes in his voice pass as his audience tried to rouse him with cheers. “For healthcare, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech. It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for seniors who rely on Social Security. For our allies in Ukraine,
for NATO, for the troops, and democracy and decency, and it was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him — and guess what? It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him, you just don’t realize it yet.” A more Hollywood take on politics has never been uttered.
From the glitterati to the chattering and comedy classes, all were stupefied by President Trump’s victory — not just his gains in communities of color but also his nearly certain win of the popular vote, an honorary trophy that Democrats have long held over Republican White House victors who typically rely on the Electoral College to win the presidency. The recriminations were laid bare by Wednesday as Democrats publicly and privately pointed fingers and tried to find fault. Politico spoke with top party leaders like Jim Manley, a top aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who surmised about Biden, “He shouldn’t have run. This is no time to pull punches or be concerned about anyone’s feelings. He and his staff have done an enormous amount of damage to this country.”
It will likely be just hours or days before those same feelings emerge in Hollywood where longtime defenders of the Biden-Harris administration like George Clooney begin to vent their frustrations with the president’s ill-fated decision to try for a second term. In June, the A-lister joined other staples of the entertainment industry like director Rob Reiner in throwing Biden a $30 million fundraiser; following his debate, both men publicly called for Biden to step aside, a decision that wasn’t made until a month later. Clooney’s op-ed urging Biden to drop out for the good of the country landed like a bunker buster.
“My friend George Clooney has clearly expressed what many of us have been saying. We love and respect Joe Biden. We acknowledge all he has done for our country. But Democracy is facing an existential threat. We need someone younger to fight back. Joe Biden must step aside,” Reiner concurred in a social media post shortly thereafter.
Whatever fears Kimmel may harbor about the future of the country under Trump, he won’t be disappointed by the ratings bonanza he’ll surely enjoy from another four years of taking potshots at him from the safety of his studio. During the same segment, he jokingly asked Trump to let him “share a jail cell with Taylor Swift” after the inauguration.