Late-night hosts took aim atPresident Trump on Tuesday after his administration announced plans to rescind the Obama-era program DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), which protects nearly 800,000 young, undocumented immigrants who were brought into the United States illegally.
There was plenty of comedic fodder for the late-night stable including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and James Corden who grilled the president for pursuing yet another unpopular policy and forcing that announcement upon Attorney General Jeff Sessions and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Meyers veered between punchlines and in-depth scrutiny in his Late Night segment, A Closer Look, highlighting one Houston-area paramedic, Jesus Contreras a so-called dreamer, who despite his courage in assisting victims of Hurricane Harvey, could be in danger under Trumps DACA roll-back. He spent six straight days rescuing people from flood waters, Meyers said. So how did the president thank him? Well, today, Trump announced that he is rescinding DACA.
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The host also criticized Trump for pushing the future of DACA onto Congress, noting the disconnect between the president and high-ranking members of his own party, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
A president who backed himself into a corner by catering to the racial resentments of his base is now needlessly throwing the lives of hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans into chaos, Meyers said.
Colberts monologue segment was lighter in tone, though still biting. It included a hilarious Sessions impersonation and a riff on Sanders embarrassing press briefing gaffe in which she accidentally praised President Obama instead of Trump. Its OK, Colbert quipped. Were sorry hes president too.
Kimmel also compared Trump and Obama in his monologue, joking, It seems like his main agenda is just to undo everything Obama did. I hope he doesnt bring Bin Laden back to life. He also labeled the DACA announcement a purposeful distraction from the Russia investigation.
While Corden didnt spend as much time critiquing the president, he did sneak in a couple quick burns. Trump could be deporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants, which is a real faux pas on Trumps part, he said. Because as everyone knows, youre not supposed to wear your white supremacy after Labor Day.