Late-night hosts joke Trump impeachment ‘sequel’ was ‘worse than the original’

Everything was just peachy on the late-night TV circuit after Donald Trump was impeached for the second time during his presidential tenure.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives delivered the most bipartisan impeachment in United States history on a 232-197 vote. And talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert all were happy to celebrate Trump’s historic first as the only U.S. president to be impeached twice.

“If nothing else happens after this, at the bare minimum, Trump will be an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question,” Meyers quipped on “Late Night.” “They’ll have to devote the entire card to that little section at the end where they give you an extra tidbit of information. ...

“‘He was impeached for trying to extort a foreign country to help him cheat in the 2020 election and then for inciting violent insurrection for losing that election, and also he told people to inject bleach during a deadly pandemic he failed to stop, tried to ban Muslims, called Mexicans rapists ... and his lawyer held a press conference at a landscaping company ... Wow!’”

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Corden and Fallon also poked fun at Trump’s new double-impeachment status on “The Late Late Show” and “The Tonight Show,” respectively. Wednesday’s proceedings saw all House Democrats and 10 Republicans charge the president with inciting insurrection after he was first impeached in 2019 for asking Ukraine to investigate his 2020 political rival, President-elect Joe Biden.

“I don’t remember what he was impeached for the first time,” Corden joked. “Was it Russia? Something to do with Russia? Oh, Ukraine. Right, that’s it. Two impeachments ... and just like Trump’s sons, the second one is the most embarrassing.”

“Like always, the sequel was a lot worse than the original,” Fallon said. “I know a lot of people are wondering, ‘Will I be able to follow the second impeachment if I missed the first?’ Yeah: same characters, different plots.”

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On “The Late Show,” Colbert pointed out that Trump’s latest impeachment comes just seven days before his successor, Biden, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are sworn into office. The Senate will decide whether to convict Trump and potentially prohibit him from another presidential run after the inauguration.

“Do you know how bad of a job you have to be doing to get fired while you’re getting fired?” Colbert joked. “‘Sorry, Mark, it’s just not working out. We appreciate everything you’ve done for the company — and you’re building a gallows to hang me?! OK, there goes your severance, buddy.’”

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Meanwhile, the hosts of “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” responded to reports that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is now open to convicting Trump after supporting him throughout much of his presidency — including during his first impeachment.

“According to the New York Times, Senator Mitch McConnell is pleased that Democrats are moving to impeach the president,” Meyers said. “That’s significant because if you watch movies, you know ‘pleased’ is the highest level of happiness for villains. ‘They are most pleased with your efforts, Lord Vader.’”

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“I’ve seen some liberals praising Mitch McConnell for doing the right thing here, but that’s nonsense to me,” Kimmel said. “Mitch McConnell has known Trump was a dangerous idiot since day one. ... So before we pat that little Mitch on his dorsal fin, remember ... Mitch McConnell is 100% complicit in the violence and chaos he had the temerity to denounce this week.”

Trevor Noah’s “The Daily Show” also weighed in, as usual, via Twitter by converting some of Trump’s old tweets from impeachment No. 1 into memes mocking impeachment No. 2. Check out what the Comedy Central program tweeted below.