Colbert & Kimmel React to Trump ‘Wanting to Punish Them’ If He Wins Election

Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel have responded to claims that former president Donald Trump wants to punish them if he wins the presidential election in November, with both using the opportunity to take a dig at fellow late-night host Jon Stewart.

“Finally, I made an enemies list!” Colbert said at the top of Monday night’s (September 9) episode of The Late Show. The comedian was referring to a recent Rolling Stone article that reported that if Trump becomes president, he will look for a way to go after the late-night hosts who have made fun of him over the past few years.

“During his 2024 campaign, according to a source with direct knowledge, Trump has raised this topic again, venting about the need to punish late-night comedians for giving ‘illegal’ campaign contributions to the Democratic Party — in the form of jokes and on-air satire,” the report states.

Colbert and Kimmel were both named directly in the report (alongside Saturday Night Live), so of course, they took a moment to respond.

“Obviously there’s no guarantee I’ll be arrested, but it’s an honour just to be nominated,” Colbert quipped. “No doubt it’ll all be decided this weekend in Los Angeles when whoever wins the Emmy for best talk show will be sent to a camp.”

He continued, “So to my old colleague Jon Stewart, I just want you to know I voted for you. Of course, if Jon wins, he’s only incarcerated on Mondays.”

However, Colbert had an idea to avoid potential incarceration, donning a Groucho Marx nose and glasses to disguise himself.

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Kimmel made a similar jibe on Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, poking fun at Stewart, who only hosts The Daily Show on Monday nights.

“I’m glad it’s funny to you! He wants to lock up the late-night hosts?” Kimmel said as his audience laughed at the report. “How would this work for Jon Stewart? Would he only go to jail on Mondays? There’s a lot to figure out.”

Over the weekend, Kimmel appeared at the Creative Arts Emmys, where he addressed the news of NBC cutting back The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon from five nights a week to four, with reruns airing on Fridays.

“As a group, we have a text chain of all the late-night hosts and we sent all of our congratulations to Jimmy Fallon for getting Friday off,” Kimmel said, per The Independent.