Late-Night Hosts Slam Trump for Defending ‘Bloodthirsty Tyrant’ Putin Amid Ukraine Invasion

With news coming in that Russia was invading Ukraine, late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel designated airtime to slamming Donald Trump and Fox News personalities for their defenses of Vladimir Putin. Meyers told viewers on “Late Night” that “the entire world is aghast and horrified” as Russia mobilizes against the Ukraine — well, everyone except Trump. Meyers then played a clip of Trump defending Putin and calling him a “genius” while being interviewed on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.”

“I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said this is genius,” Trump is heard saying in the clip. “Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine…Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. So Putin is now saying it’s independent — a large section of Ukraine.”

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“I said how smart is that? And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper,” Trump continued. “That’s the strongest peace force. We could use that on our southern border. That’s the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen. There were more army tanks than I’ve ever seen. They’re gonna keep peace all right.”

Trump added, “You gotta say, that’s pretty savvy,” to which Meyers blasted the former president by reacting, “No, you don’t gotta say that! I mean, well, maybe you gotta say that so someone will pick you up at the Moscow airport when you flee our jurisdiction.”

Meyers continued, “It’s just insane that Trump is still so desperate to praise a bloodthirsty tyrant like Putin every chance he gets. Trump narrates Putin’s every move like he’s Tony Romo calling the last drive of a playoff game.”

Kimmel turned his attention toward Fox News host Tucker Carlson, calling him a “talking dick” for his defense of Putin. Earlier in the week, Carlson appeared to talk himself and viewers out of hating Putin so much by saying, “Why do I hate Putin so much? Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him? Has he shipped every middle-class job in my town to Russia? Did he manufacture a worldwide pandemic that wrecked my business and kept me indoors for two years? Is he teaching my children to embrace racial discrimination? Is he making fentanyl? Is he trying to snuff out Christianity? Does he eat dogs? These are fair questions, and the answer to all of them is no.”

“I see,” Kimmel said. “So, in order for you to despise a man who murders his rivals — who murders and poisons people — and who’s actively trying to destabilize our country, he has to do something to you personally. He has to eat your dog. Eh, well, he’s not doing anything to me! That makes sense. Thanks for asking all those very dumb questions and then answering them for us.”

Kimmel added, “I want to see the tape Putin has of him, because it has to be something special. And Tucker Carlson, he knows what he’s doing. He knows this is garbage he’s feeding these people who watch him. I tell you, between Tucker Carlson and ‘Pam & Tommy,’ this really is the golden age of talking dicks on television.”

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