Late night show host Jimmy Kimmel has delivered an emotional monologue in response to the US election and the reality of a second Trump presidency.
On Wednesday afternoon (local time), Vice President Kamala Harris conceded defeat to president-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the US in January next year.
Hosts of late night TV comedy shows, including Jimmy Kimmel, Steven Colbert, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon have been following and regularly commentating on US politics and the election, being especially critical of Trump.
In their first shows since the US election earlier this week, the hosts addressed the outcome and shared their disappointment in the results.
Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was particularly emotional over the election, holding back tears as he delivered his opening monologue.
“Let’s be honest, it was a terrible night last night,” Kimmel said.
“It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who make this country go.”
Kimmel, who choked up at this point, continued: “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.”
Kimmel became emotional again when he shared his concern for “our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, for the truth and democracy and decency” ahead of a second Trump presidency.
“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 too, you just don’t realise it yet,” Kimmel said.
In a jibe referencing the January 6 insurrection of the Capitol building in 2021, Kimmel conceded that voting Trump into power is “the choice we made”.
“The people voted, and this is the choice we made,” Kimmel said.
“(It) doesn’t mean we give up, but it also doesn’t mean we storm the Capitol because we don’t like the result.”
‘Started as a joke, ended as a tragedy’
Over on CBS, host of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert said he struggled to find a positive note in the outcome of the election.
“I wish, you wish, so many of us wish this hadn’t happened, but that is not for us to decide. This is a democracy,” Stephen Colbert said.
“And in this democracy, the majority has spoken and they said they don’t care that much about democracy.”
Colbert shared some of his reflections as the US prepares to “plunge back in the Trump hole”, remembering Trump’s previous term in 2016-2020.
“The first time Donald Trump was elected, he started as a joke, and ended as a tragedy,” Colbert said.
“This time he starts as a tragedy. Who knows what he’ll end as?”
NBC late night show host Seth Meyers, while he “accepts” the result, said he does not believe Trump to be a good person.
“I don’t think Donald Trump’s a good person. I will even go as far as saying he’s a bad person,” Meyers said.
“Now in my defence, I’m only basing that on everything that I’ve ever been taught about what makes someone good or bad.
“This is real and this is something I accept. Half the country thinks he is a good person or they don’t care that he’s not and thinks he’s a good president. And because of that he’s going to be our president again.”
Jimmy Fallon, whose late night show also airs on NBC, gave a less sombre monologue, remarking the country had “decided to get back with the crazy ex”.