The late night comedy shows were largely upset on Monday at combat operations against Iran that began on Saturday. Three of the five hosts tried to argue they were simply a distraction from the Epstein files while the others still managed to offer up some underwhelming criticisms.
CBS’s Stephen Colbert declared on The Late Show that, “This military mission has been dubbed Operation Epic Fury… Fun fact: “Epic Fury” is an anagram for ‘Forget Epstein.’”
Later, Colbert was discussing Iran’s spastic missile attacks on other Middle Eastern countries when he said:
Tragically, six American service members have already died in his war. That sacrifice, and any sacrifices to come, any loss of civilian life, for that matter, deserve, at the very least, clarity from our leaders as to why it is being asked. ‘Cause this war is on. And it seems like there could be more of it. Iran has already launched missiles at Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, and Lebanon. My god. That’s the entire Trump Board of Peace! But that shouldn’t come as a surprise. None of that should come as a surprise. Here’s the thing. We know once you start bombing folks, the fighting tends to take on a life of its own.
Stephen Colbert reacts to combat operations in Iran by claiming “Fun Fact: “Epic Fury” is an anagram for “Forget Epstein.” As for Iran’s spastic missile attacks on other Middle Eastern countries, he says “Iran has already launched missiles at Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia,… pic.twitter.com/gdwHSdnlgE
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 3, 2026
At the same time, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel retorted, “Early Saturday morning, just after midnight, the Pentagon launched what they are calling Operation Epic Fury. Which is different from its original title, which was Operation Epstein-o Distract-o.”
When discussing the Americans who have been killed so far, Kimmel lamented, “Of course, our supreme misleader launched this attack without getting approval from Congress, which is something regular presidents do all the time. Six Americans were killed in the counter-attacks. Which is terrible. And tragic. And I hope that we show their families how grateful we are for this sacrifice that they made. And of course, yes, and, of course, our president would have gone over there himself were it not for those pesky bone spurs that still haven’t healed up.”
Jimmy Kimmel also has an Epstein reference “, the Pentagon launched what they are calling Operation Epic Fury. Which is different from its original title, which was Operation Epstein-o Distract-o.”
When discussing Americans who have died, he also quips “our president would have… pic.twitter.com/Z5n603ty2c
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 3, 2026
Kimmel also mocked Trump’s appeal to the Iranian people, “Trump has been, now after the bombing, calling for the Iranian people to rise up to topple the regime, which is the opposite of what he has said he would do. Usually, he only calls for the overthrow of a government when he loses an election. But now, it’s different. Immediately, after the attack, the president offered this message of hope and liberation to the people of Iran.”
After a clip of Trump asking, “Now, you ready? Can you handle this? Hamburgers for all,” Kimmel quipped, “Oh, I—wait, you know what, that was him at a Whataburger on Friday. That’s what he should be invading: fast food restaurants.”
Just like his NBC colleagues at Saturday Night Live, Jimmy Fallon also got in on the Epstein narrative when he conducted a fake interview with Trump on The Tonight Show. Fallon wondered, “Well, so far, you’ve hit nuclear facilities, missile defenses. What do you want to destroy the most?”
In response, a clip of Trump showed him saying, “The Epstein files.”
Jimmy Fallon gets in on the Epstein distraction talking point. During a fake interview with Trump, he wonders “Well, so far, you’ve hit nuclear facilities, missile defenses. What do you want to destroy the most?” A clip of Trump simply says “The Epstein Files” pic.twitter.com/qEL5uxpyFD
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 3, 2026
The most immediate reason why Trump decided on military action was Iran trampling all over his red line about not killing protestors. On The Daily Show, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart played a mashup of clips from Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth that alluded to this, “It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line…It takes guts to actually enforce it, and our president has guts…There’s no better communicator than our president… He has shown an ability to do that other presidents can’t quite seem to have the aperture to do.
Stewart’s response was mockery, “You are right. Nobody’s got the laser focus of one Donald Trump. Let’s go to the president at the White House today giving brief remarks about the war before a Medal of Honor ceremony.”
Jon Stewart, meanwhile, mocks Pete Hegseth for applauding Trump for enforcing his red line “You are right. Nobody’s got the laser focus of one Donald Trump.” It’s ironic because later interview filmmaker/former Iranian prisoner Jafar Panahi about the regime and the protests and… pic.twitter.com/GpTwuNHzDm
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 3, 2026
While Stewart then played a clip of Trump insisting he won’t get “bored,” his casual dismissal of the red line is unfortunate. Later, Stewart interviewed Iranian filmmaker and former prisoner Jafar Panahi. The interview focused solely on the regime’s evils, but in the discussion on how the regime cracks down on dissent, he did not mention Trump’s redline.
Finally, on NBC’s Late Night, Seth Meyers was another liberal who accused the administration of not having a clear goal. However, Meyers also tried attacking Trump for attempting to explain himself, “After launching yet another illegal war in the Middle East that could destabilize the region and put American troops in harm’s way, Trump has been spending his time doing what all presidents do during wars, taking calls from reporters.”
The late night shows, Seth Meyers very much included, lamented that Trump didn’t sufficiently make a public case for war beforehand, but Meyers still attacks him for talking to reporters, “After launching yet another illegal war in the Middle East that could destabilize the… pic.twitter.com/U0k8IB8lwH
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 3, 2026
That led into a montage of Fox, CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC personalities that concluded with ABC’s David Muir recalling, “Rachel [Scott] spoke with President Trump late today. Rachel, he told you that he was with the generals when you were on the phone with him.”
Meyers reacted by bringing out his Trump voice, “He was with the generals. So, they were there just sitting around mid-war while he chit chatted. ‘Yeah, I’m at Mar-a-Lago right now. We’re looking at some highly classified material. I’m putting you on speaker so you can say hello. Say hello, generals.’ I mean, this is like when I call my mom and she picks up even though she’s in the middle of her book club.”
This operation began as a result of Trump seeking to enforce his redline on the regime’s murderous crackdown on its own people. What happens after is anyone’s guess, but it was not started to distract from the Epstein files, and Trump talking to reporters about it is not a scandal.
Here is a transcript for the March 2-taped shows:
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
3/2/2026
11:37 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: We now face an unpredictable and unstable situation that brings me to my long-running segment… [Drumming]
NARRATOR: America at whaaa?
COLBERT: We haven’t run that graphic in six years. I said long-running. Not frequent. This military mission has been dubbed Operation Epic Fury. Fun fact: No. Fun fact: “Epic Fury” is an anagram for “Forget Epstein.”
…
Tragically, six American service members have already died in his war. That sacrifice, and any sacrifices to come, any loss of civilian life, for that matter, deserve, at the very least, clarity from our leaders as to why it is being asked. ‘Cause this war is on. And it seems like there could be more of it. Iran has already launched missiles at Israel, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, and Lebanon. My god. That’s the entire Trump Board of Peace! But that shouldn’t come as a surprise. None of that should come as a surprise. Here’s the thing. We know once you start bombing folks, the fighting tends to take on a life of its own. As Admiral Julius Pringle once said, “Once you pop, you can’t stop.”
***
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
3/2/2026
11:38 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: Early Saturday morning, just after midnight, the Pentagon launched what they are calling Operation Epic Fury. Which is different from its original title, which was Operation Epstein-o Distract-o.
…
Of course, our supreme misleader launched this attack without getting approval from Congress, which is something regular presidents do all the time. Six Americans were killed in the counter-attacks. Which is terrible. And tragic. And I hope that we show their families how grateful we are for this sacrifice that they made. And of course, yes, and, of course, our president would have gone over there himself were it not for those pesky bone spurs that still haven’t healed up.
…
Trump has been, now after the bombing, calling for the Iranian people to rise up to topple the regime, which is the opposite of what he has said he would do. Usually, he only calls for the overthrow of a government when he loses an election. But now, it’s different. Immediately, after the attack, the president offered this message of hope and liberation to the people of Iran.
DONALD TRUMP: Now, you ready? Can you handle this? Hamburgers for all.
KIMMEL: Oh, I—wait, you know what, that was him at a Whataburger on Friday. That’s what he should be invading: fast food restaurants.
***
NBC The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
3/2/2026
11:38 PM ET
JIMMY FALLON: Okay. All right. Okay. Well, so far, you’ve hit nuclear facilities, missile defenses. What do you want to destroy the most?
DONALD TRUMP: The Epstein files.
Jimmy: Okay, I understand. Yeah, all right. I understand. I agree. Now—
STEVE HIGGINS: Hey-o!
***
Comedy Central The Daily Show
3/2/2026
11:18 PM ET
JON STEWART: But of course, the basic gist of the briefing is that the United States will not tolerate a country that worships this kind of supreme leader.
PETE HEGSETH: It took the 47th president, a fighter who always puts America first, to finally draw the line. [jump cut] It takes guts to actually enforce it, and our president has guts. [jump cut] There’s no better communicator than our president. [jump cut] He has shown an ability to do that other presidents can’t quite seem to have the aperture to do.
STEWART: You are right. Nobody’s got the laser focus of one Donald Trump. Let’s go to the president at the White House today giving brief remarks about the war before a Medal of Honor ceremony.
…
***
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
3/3/2026
12:41 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: After launching yet another illegal war in the Middle East that could destabilize the region and put American troops in harm’s way, Trump has been spending his time doing what all presidents do during wars, taking calls from reporters.
BRET BAIER: I just got off the phone with the president. He is very pleased with how things are going.
JAKE TAPPER: So, I just got off the phone with President Trump. It was a nine-minute phone interview.
CRAIG MELVIN: Kristen, let’s bring you in here. You talked to President Trump over the weekend by phone.
TONY DOKOUPIL: Robert Costa spoke with President Trump by phone this evening.
DAVID MUIR: Rachel spoke with President Trump late today. Rachel, he told you that he was with the generals when you were on the phone with him.
MEYERS: He was with the generals. So, they were there just sitting around mid-war while he chit chatted. [Trump voice] “Yeah, I’m at Mar-a-Lago right now. We’re looking at some highly classified material. I’m putting you on speaker so you can say hello. Say hello, generals.” I mean, this is like when I call my mom and she picks up even though she’s in the middle of her book club.
