CBS’s Stephen Colbert freaked out on Thursday’s edition of The Late Show at ABC suspending Jimmy Kimmel and downplayed his comments that MAGA was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” but at least he played the clip. The same could not be said of Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart on The Daily Show and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, hosts of The Tonight Show and Late Night, respectively. Instead, all three men chose to portray Kimmel’s suspension as the result of a Trump administration seeking to clamp down on its critics.
Complete with the red tie, Stewart played the part of a late night host who is now so completely subservient to Trump. However, the irony in Stewart’s character was purposely obvious. In one instance, he teed up a clip package of CNN commentator Scott Jennings and Newsmax contributor Chrissy Clark, “Look, there are certain rules of free speech that we all must abide by. But in case anyone needs a refresher, we’re going to go over the rules again.”
In the clip Jennings claimed, “He does not have a right to have a television show where he lies his ass off to the American people,” while Clark stated, “There are repercussions to spreading lies.”
Now would’ve been a good time to play what Kimmel actually said and talk about why it was suspension-worthy. Instead, Stewart claimed, “Exactly! And even though two months ago, our president, because of his grand ability to see the future, it’s a curse — somehow knew that Kimmel would be next, as he explicitly said, you can’t just make things up on television. People cannot just go on television and mislead viewers with made-up crap.”
That kicked off a montage of conservative media and Trump administration personalities saying things that were either wrong or that Stewart just didn’t like. The last person in the montage was Tucker Carlson, talking about January 6, which led Stewart to add, “All true! Oh, your lordship. I do not know whence these peasants come. That last roll of clips, all true. Especially that last one. About sightseers. Because, technically, anything you see is a sight, even if that is you punching a cop.”
Putting aside the fact that Carlson also doesn’t have a TV show anymore, this was just an attempt to avoid Kimmel’s misdeeds by pointing out some people are or allegedly are hypocritical.
Later, Stewart snapped out of his ironic character and interviewed former CNN journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Maria Ressa, whose big thing is comparing Trump to former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, “Let me ask you about, you know, you’ve got three branches of government. Were they compliant? I think in this moment, they’re compliant here, right? It hasn’t been at their objection. It’s been at their inaction.”
Ressa proclaimed it is “identical to what happened in the Philippines, and so, I feel like it is both déjà vu and PTSD… Anyway, you have an executive, the legislature is the one that is supposed to hold him in check in real time, and the judiciary maintains the rule of law, right?”
Meanwhile, Fallon began his show, “Well guys, the big story is that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everyone thinking WTF?”
Fallon claimed to be undeterred by Trump’s comments about him and Meyers, “I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he’s a decent, funny, and loving guy. And I hope he comes back. Yeah, a lot of people are worried that we won’t keep saying what we want to say or that we’ll be censored, but I’m going to cover the president’s trip to the U.K. just like I normally would.”
Like Stewart, Fallon then played the part of a subservient comedian. He would start with a setup like, “Well, guys, President Trump just wrapped up his three-day trip to the U.K., and he—” before a voiceover would say something like, “Looked incredibly handsome.”
Later on NBC, Meyers introduced a clip package by lamenting, “Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he’s doing the opposite. And it has experts worried that we’re rapidly devolving into an oppressive autocracy in the style of Russia or Hungary, much faster than anyone could’ve predicted.”
These “experts” were MSNBC host Chris Hayes and CNN commentator/Obama strategist David Axelrod.
Eventually, Meyers began his conclusion with a callback to earlier in the show, where he joked about the horses pooping in front of Trump during the ceremony with King Charles, “And may I just say, it is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way that it’s a privilege and honor to do this show every night. I wake up every day, I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech. And we’re going to keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity — [fart noise].”
The funniest part of all the Thursday shows came inadvertently as Meyers talked about the necessity of freedom of speech but couldn’t pronounce the word “pivotal”:
This is a pivotable — Pivotable? This is a pivotable — this is a pivotal — This is a pivotal and pivotable — That’s how big it is. This is a pivotable point — oh. This is a pivotal — this is a big moment — In our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression. There is a reason free speech is in the very first amendment. It stands above all others.
Like Stewart, Fallon and Meyers did not provide the context for why people got so mad at Kimmel. When you read a book, you start on page one. Hosting a news show, even a comedy news show, should be no different.
Here are transcripts for the September 18-taped shows:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
9/18/2025
11:12 PM ET
JON STEWART: Look, there are certain rules of free speech that we all must abide by. But in case anyone needs a refresher, we’re going to go over the rules again.
SCOTT JENNINGS: He does not have a right to have a television show where he lies his ass off to the American people.
CHRISSY CLARK: There are repercussions to spreading lies.
STEWART: Exactly! And even though two months ago, our president, because of his grand ability to see the future, it’s a curse — somehow knew that Kimmel would be next, as he explicitly said, you can’t just make things up on television. People cannot just go on television and mislead viewers with made-up crap.
STEPHEN MILLER: Millions of illegal aliens that that Border Czar Harris brought into the country will be voting.
MO BROOKS: The bottom line is this: There is massive voter fraud.
LARRY KUDLOW: Global warming is a hoax.
PAM BONDI: Crime. Crime is at an all-time high right now.
JEANINE PIRRO: $50 million on condoms in Gaza.
TRACE GALLAGHER: They are taking people’s pets and killing them and eating them.
TUCKER CARLSON: On January 6th, two years ago, the overwhelming majority were peaceful. They were orderly and meek. These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers.
STEWART: All true! Oh, your lordship. I do not know whence these peasants come. That last roll of clips, all true. Especially that last one. About sightseers. Because, technically, anything you see is a sight, even if that is you punching a cop.
…
STEWART: Let me ask you about, you know, you’ve got three branches of government. Were they compliant? I think in this moment, they’re compliant here, right? It hasn’t been at their objection. It’s been at their inaction.
MARIA RESSA: So, it is identical—
STEWART:
RESSA: Identical to what happened in the Philippines.
STEWART: Interesting.
RESSA: And so, I feel like it is both déjà vu and PTSD.
STEWART: Right.
RESSA: I mean, you have an executive, very powerful, which by the way, our first President Marcos declared martial law by executive order.
STEWART: Right.
RESSA: That was in the ’70s. Anyway, you have an executive, the legislature is the one that is supposed to hold him in check in real time—
STEWART: Right.
RESSA: — and the judiciary maintains the rule of law, right?
***
NBC The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
9/18/2025
11:37 PM ET
JIMMY FALLON: Well guys, the big story is that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by ABC after pressure from the FCC, leaving everyone thinking WTF? This morning, I woke up to 100 text messages from my dad saying, “I’m sorry they canceled your show.”
I go, “That’s not me. That’s Jimmy Kimmel.” But to be honest with you all, I don’t know what’s going on. And no one does. But I do know Jimmy Kimmel, and he’s a decent, funny, and loving guy. And I hope he comes back. Yeah, a lot of people are worried that we won’t keep saying what we want to say or that we’ll be censored, but I’m going to cover the president’s trip to the U.K. just like I normally would.
Here we go. Well, guys, President Trump just wrapped up his three-day trip to the U.K., and he—
VOICEOVER: Looked incredibly handsome.
FALLON: As always, his tie was—
VOICEOVER: Exactly the right length.
FALLON: And his face looked-
VOICEOVER: Like a color that exists in nature.
FALLON: And his hair looked—
VOICEOVER: Better than Conrad’s from The Summer I Turned Pretty.
FALLON: During the trip, protesters managed to project images onto the sides of Windsor Castle of Trump standing next to his good friend, Jeff—
VOICEOVER: Goldblum.
FALLON: Even though his administration still insists that he’s not in the—
VOICEOVER: Goldblum.
FALLON: — Files. Which we all know absolute bull—
VOICEOVER: True.
FALLON: Anyway, to sum it up, President Trump is—
VOICEOVER: Making America great again by restoring our national reputation, reinvigorating our economy, and rebuilding our military. I hereby nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
FALLON: And you can quote me on that! See? We can still say what we want.
***
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
9/19/2025
12:49 PM ET
SETH MEYERS: Trump promised to end government censorship and bring back free speech, and he’s doing the opposite. And it has experts worried that we’re rapidly devolving into an oppressive autocracy in the style of Russia or Hungary, much faster than anyone could’ve predicted.
CHRIS HAYES: We’re also getting new reports today the White House plans to target a variety of left-leaning groups and non-profits in the coming weeks, all part of a larger and more dangerous effort underway. And it follows a playbook we have seen successfully run in recent years by authoritarian strongmen in places like Hungary, and Turkey, and Russia. In Hungary, for example, the country’s oldest newspaper was suddenly shuttered after being bought by a businessman with links to far-right President Viktor Orban.
DAVID AXELROD: And I’ve said we’ve gone from zero to Hungary faster than anybody ever could imagine.
…
MEYERS: And may I just say, it is a privilege and an honor to call Jimmy Kimmel my friend in the same way that it’s a privilege and honor to do this show every night. I wake up every day, I count my blessings that I live in a country that at least purports to value freedom of speech. And we’re going to keep doing our show the way we’ve always done it, with enthusiasm and integrity — [fart noise] And I’m — We are going to have a conversation after the show. I’m very disappointed in you. This is a pivotable — Pivotable? This is a pivotable — this is a pivotal — This is a pivotal and pivotable — That’s how big it is. This is a pivotable point — oh. This is a pivotal — this is a big moment — In our democracy, and we must all stand up for the principles of free expression. There is a reason free speech is in the very first amendment. It stands above all others. You might even say it’s –
DONALD TRUMP: The ultimate.
MEYERS: This has been “A Closer Look.”
