In his first show since the wildfires broke out, a visibly emotional Jimmy Kimmel tried to avoid the "vile and irresponsible and stupid things" being said by conservative politicians, while Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart waded right in.
Emotions were clearly running hot on Monday night as late-night took a look at not just the wildfires still ravaging the Los Angeles region, but the "not surprising" response from Republicans to this devastating natural disaster happening in a blue state.
Jimmy Kimmel returned to the air after having to evacuate in the middle of last week, taking an opportunity Monday night to show just how close the Pacific Palisades fire was to the studio where he films Jimmy Kimmel Live!
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View StoryThe host was clearly emotional as he vowed to keep his focus on the positive things coming from this disaster, including the incredible displays of human compassion and the massive outpouring of support from across the country, and even the world.
While Kimmel quipped that he didn't "want to get into all the vile and irresponsible and stupid things our future president and his gaggle of scumbags chose to say," his fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart did not share his restraint.
They both went in hard on the GOP response, accusing Republicans of politicizing human tragedy, manipulating this disaster to suit their talking points, and the hypocrisy of trying to put stipulations on disaster aid for California, while demanding unfettered aid when their states were in need.
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View StoryJimmy Kimmel Live!
Right away as Jimmy Kimmel started to talk about the "very scary, very stressful, very strange week" Los Angelinos have been living through, he started getting emotional and choking up.
Sharing photos of the fire in and around the area, Kimmel said, "It's been terrible. Everyone who lives in this city knows someone, most of us multiple people, families, friends, colleagues, neighbors, whose houses burned down. And the truth is, we don't even know if it's over."
"I think I speak for all of us when I say it has been a sickening, shocking, awful experience," he added, before shifting to share how it's also been "a beautiful experience" because "we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other."
"Tonight, I don't want to get into all the vile and irresponsible and stupid things our future president and his gaggle of scumbags chose to say during our darkest and most terrifying hour," Kimmel insisted, calling the response "disgusting" but "not surprising."
"Instead, I want to focus on thanking those men and women because that's all we should be doing right now and we should never stop thanking them."
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View StoryThe closest he came to the polarized political discourse was when he noted, "Remember when hurricanes hit Florida a few months ago and they were saying the Democrats, the far left, secretly controls the rain. Well, I think we finally proved we do not, okay?"
Kimmel instead praised firefighters, the support from other states and nations pouring into the area, neighbors helping neighbors, and even actor Steve Guttenberg, who he brought on for a live remote as the Police Academy star continued his efforts to help his neighbors and community.
Kimmel wrapped up by sharing what we've learned through this disaster, including "that Steve Gutenberg's a g--damned national treasure," and "most of us are useless in an emergency situation."
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View StoryThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Where Jimmy Kimmel opted not to tread in his first night back, his fellow late-night hosts dove right into the deep end of the GOP response, with Stephen Colbert praising all those who are helping LA before calling out "who's not helping."
In particular, he talked about all the Republican Congressional leaders dropping by cable news programs to discuss their belief that any federal aid that goes to California should come with strings attached.
"That is an awful, awful way to respond to any emergency," said Colbert before miming picking up a phone, "9-1-1, what's in it for me?"
Colbert called out Wyoming Senator John Barrasso for a segment where he said, "There can't be a blank check on this, however, because people want to make sure, as rebuilding occurs as things go on in California, they have to be resilient so these sorts of things can't happen again, and the policies of the liberal administration out there, I believe have made these fires worse."
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View Story"Yes, we must demand changes to clearly liberal policies like wind," the late-night host quipped after sharing the clip. "First, it's blowing one way, then it's blowing the other. It's time to end the bisexual breeze."
He then singled out President-Elect Donald Trump, noting that "rather than pledging desperately needed aid to America's most populated state while it's still on fire, Trump has blamed California's leaders, calling them 'incompetent pols' and renaming the governor 'Governor Gavin Newscum.'"
"Of course, during a crisis it's a tradition for the president to bully and demean the governor of the state where the tragedy is occurring," Colbert added. "That's why during Hurricane Sandy, President Obama wasted no time heading to New Jersey to give Chris Christie a wedgie."
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View StoryThe Daily Show
Like Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart called out all the "incredible moments of human compassion and kindness" from neighbors and surrounding communities, states, and even countries, but his main focus was on that other response that's been happening.
"As Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, 'We are made for goodness and love and compassion.' Or, as our president-elect put it--" said Stewart, before throwing to a clip of Trump's Truth Social post where he shared a meme of the Hollywood sign on fire with the letters changed to read "TRUMP WAS RIGHT."
"Appropriate. Thank you, Mr. President, I'd almost forgot your penchant for casual cruelty and dick-foolery," Stewart responded to the meme.
He then aligned with Stephen Colbert's response in calling out the GOP's desire for a strings-attached relief response, saying they "appear to want to attach their 'I told you so's' as a condition of funding California's disaster relief."
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View StoryAt this, he also shared Senator Barrasso's response, as well as Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville's even more pointed quote from a cable appearance: "'They don't deserve anything, to be honest with you, unless they show us they're gonna make some changes."
"What the f--k is wrong with you?" Stewart responded to that clip, arguing, "Next time you get hit by a f--king hurricane, why don't we have a little parent-teacher conference to see that if you got your [school test] scores up, you would get the money."
"Or actually, let's not do it because you'll get the money anyways because we're not f--king psychos!" he continued. "That is psychotic. There's something wrong with you."
He then said that he would resist doing "The Daily Show thing" where he pulls clips of GOP leaders wanting unrestricted support after disasters in their states -- though he did pull one -- because everyone already knows.
"Red states are always the tragic victims of circumstance outside of their control, and Democrats always vote for their aid," he said. "Whereas blue state disasters are a function of their flawed morality and policy, and if we help blue-state survivors, well what message will that send? What lesson will they learn?"
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View StoryHe then wondered how better "forest management" and "water flowing" -- as two lawmakers were seen to argue in additional clips -- could mitigate "the risk of fire, plus drought conditions, plus 60 to 80 mile-per-hour winds, plus delicious wood," plus the footage of that fire tornado that formed during the wildfires.
"Do you see this?" he said of that clip. "Fire f--ked a tornado. Rake your way out of that!"
"These people don't actually care. They're not actually trying to find a solution. They're just trying to work their pet issues into this tragic situation," Stewart argued before going into how DEI and LGBTQ existence is somehow factoring into the fire response.
But ultimately, he argued that none of that really matters. "Sometimes a fire f--ks a tornado and makes a mockery of human infrastructure and our ability to dictate the terms of our existence on this planet," he explained.
"But the one thing it shouldn't dictate is the cruelty that we would show to those in pain because we don't think they consistently vote right."