Donald Trump‘s tariffs plan has officially come into play, and late-night TV hosts responded to the economic chaos with an equal measure of comedy and horror.
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert noted “I hope you have finished your Christmas shopping because today was officially the last shopping day before tariffs on imported good come into force at midnight tonight. So don’t forget on Amazon to click ’23 minute shipping.’”
He explained that the tariffs include a 104 percent markup on imports from China. “104 percent Chinese tariffs are going to make everything more expensive,” Colbert said. “iPhones, laptops, those wonderful knockoff toys you can find only at gas station.”
The Late Show also unveiled a short parody clip advertising of Turner Classic Movies’ “Trade War Movies,” which include “Apocalypse Dow.”
On The Daily Show, host Desi Lydic continued the late-night show’s segment “Trade Wars” (a play on Star Wars) to look at the tariffs. “It’s been one week since Donald Trump announced his bold vision for destroying the economy and guess what? His plan is working,” Lydic said.
She continued, “So the economy is incredibly unstable right now. The only upside is that this crash is much easier to understand than the 2008 one. Remember The Big Short where they had to have Margot Robbie explain it in a bathtub? Here’s how that would go today.” She then played an edited clip of Robbie proclaiming, “Trump did it!”
On Jimmy Kimmel Live, host Jimmy Kimmel opened the show by affirming, “I have to say, what a crazy country we live in. It’s hard to remember what things we used to be worried about.” He explained that the Dow and the NASDAQ were plummeting, adding, “Somehow Donald Trump has managed to transform the stock market into Kanye West.”
During his monologue on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon quipped that because the tariffs were about to go into effect “you have 20 minutes to buy everything you’ll need for the rest of your life.”
Of the China tariffs, Fallon noted, “Trump isn’t messing around with China. Now he’s threatening to not invite them to his birthday party.” He added, “As a result of the tariffs, Americans are now racing to buy iPhones because prices increase. Yep, iPhones and toilet paper are the two most essential bathroom items.”
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