Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers react to Trump's election victory

Late night hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers voice their opinions after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! began his monologue, telling his audience, “Let me tell you, this was the worst Taco Tuesday of my entire life. We had a choice between a prosecutor and a criminal, and we chose the criminal as President of the United States. More than half of this country voted for the criminal to pardon himself for his crimes. I suspect this election was not rigged.”

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Later during his opening segment, Kimmel became emotional as he listed everyone affected by the “terrible night last night.”

“It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country work,” he said, trying to hold back tears. “For healthcare, for our climate, for scientists, for journalists, for justice, for freedom of expression. It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for seniors relying on social security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, democracy and decency. It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what? It was also a bad night for everyone who voted for him, you just don’t realize it yet.”

Kimmel then noted that it was a “really good night” for everyone, including (Vladimir) Putin, polio and “lovable billionaires like Elon Musk and the brothers in Silicon Valley and all the floundering brain worms who sold what of their souls.” “Bow down to Donald Trump.”

The host then shared some encouraging words with his viewers: “I'm going to say something Trump would never say if it didn't benefit him. The people have voted and this is the decision we have made. In January Donald Trump becomes president and that's it, he won. That doesn’t mean we’re giving up, but it also doesn’t mean we’re storming the Capitol because we don’t like the outcome.”

“And I know a lot of people want to hear something positive. I tried to think of something positive,” Kimmel continued. “The best thing I can think of is that we've been through this before and yes, this time it's probably going to be worse, maybe a lot worse, but I also think that maybe we'll look back and realize that in the future In the long run, it's what we needed to wake up. Maybe the people who care so much about him need to find out how little he cares about them.”

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert The host began his opening monologue on Wednesday night with a blunt statement: “Shit, it's happened again.” Colbert added: “After a bizarre and vicious campaign driven by a desperate need to stay out of prison, Donald Trump won the 2024 election.”

“The profound shock and sense of loss is enormous,” he continued. “But let’s look at the positive side. This way there will at least be a peaceful transfer of power. Mike Pence, Olly Olly Ochsen free. Yesterday I walked around all day proudly wearing my “I Voted” sticker. Today I wore my sticker that read, “I question my fundamental belief in the goodness of humanity.”

The host added: “As a late-night host, people often say to me, 'Come on, part of you must really want Trump to win because he gives you so much material to work with.' No. No one tells the guy cleaning the bathroom, “Wow, you must love it when someone has explosive diarrhea, there's so much material to work with.”

Meyers also started his show Late at night with a few words that address the outcome that America woke up on Wednesday morning. After confirming to his audience that he had voted for Harris, he said: “I watched the results because I couldn’t sleep. And it was like Christmas Eve. If you know, you'll either wake up on Christmas morning to find that Santa has left presents under the tree, or he's just thrown a huge pile of trash down your chimney. If you’re lactose intolerant, don’t drink the milk, you know.”

The host continued: “So I looked at the results and knew I'd be here a few hours later to talk about it and I couldn't help but think – and this is real – what a Privilege to be here with you To be here with my colleagues and not feel alone, what a privilege. This is a fun place to work and we hope you can see the joy as you watch at home. We will not allow anything to take this joy away from us. Even if we talk about things that aren’t particularly pleasant.”

“For example, I don’t think Donald Trump is a good person. I would even say he’s a bad person,” Meyers admitted. “In my defense, I have to say that I'm just basing it on everything I've ever been taught about what makes someone good or bad. That's it. And that's real and that's something I accept – half the country thinks he's a good person, or they don't care that he's not, because they think he's a good president, and because of that Reason he will be our president again. This is how democracy works in America. A country where it is a privilege to live, even on a morning like today. Also, such a privilege.”

The best of The Hollywood Reporter

Sign up for the THR newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.