Stephen Colbert on Trump’s legal immunity: ‘A president should be bound by the same laws as everyone else’

Late-show hosts talk Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration and the latest developments with the Los Angeles wildfires.

Stephen Colbert

On Tuesday evening, Stephen Colbert celebrated the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “Boom! When people find out what Trump did, his chances of being re-elected two months ago are going to be pretty slim,” The Late Show host quipped.

According to Smith’s report, the justice department would have ample evidence to convict Trump, had he not won the election last November. “All true, and you can see it in the new Marvel series What If ...? Anything Mattered Anymore,” Colbert joked.

Despite abundant evidence, Smith can’t proceed with his case because justice department regulations prohibit the prosecution of a sitting president. “Which is obviously insane,” said Colbert. “A president should be bound by the same laws as everyone else. That’s what makes them a president and not a king.”

Related: Jimmy Kimmel on LA wildfires: ‘A sickening, shocking, awful experience’

“That, and the lack of inbreeding. Oh no, I spoke too soon,” he added over a photo of Trump’s two eldest sons.

Jimmy Kimmel

In Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel provided his studio audience with an update on the devastating wildfires that continue to ravage Los Angeles. “Last night was mercifully not as windy as they predicted it would be, but we are nowhere near out of the woods yet,” he said.

“Every one of us who lives here have been hearing from friends, from family, from former classmates, you name it,” he continued. “Lots of people have been checking in and I just want to say, the sentiment overall is: we are grateful. We appreciate it.”

Kimmel also touched on the Senate’s first confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet picks, starting with Pete Hegseth for defense secretary. Hegseth was “hammered … by Democrats on the Senate armed services committee”, who argued that he should be disqualified over accounts of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse,” Kimmel said. “Which are two of the qualities Trump looks for in a nominee”.

Hegseth has argued that all the allegations have been fabricated to discredit him, including that he was forced out of two veterans non-profit groups for sexual impropriety and financial mismanagement. “In other words, just the dude you want in charge of an $800bn budget and the security of the free world,” Kimmel joked.

The Daily Show

On The Daily Show, guest host Jordan Klepper also recapped the hearings for Hegseth, or the “dude who makes sure everyone at the frat house has his story straight”.

During a particularly contentious back-and-forth, the Democratic senator Tim Kaine pressed Hegseth over his alleged marital affairs. “You’re asking why Pete Hegseth didn’t tell Trump about how many times he cheated on his wife?” Klepper mused. “Maybe because if he did, Trump would high-five him so hard it would break both their hands.”

The line of inquiry prompted an indignant response from the Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin, who accused other senators of hypocrisy over infidelity, saying: “You guys make sure you make a big show and point out the hypocrisy because a man’s made a mistake. And you want to sit there and say that he’s not qualified? Give me a joke.”

“Give me a joke?” Klepper laughed. “Uh, OK, how about a priest, a rabbi and Pete Hegseth walk into a bar at 10am. Are you happy now, Markwayne?

“I don’t know that this was really the defense that Hegseth wanted, though,” he added, mocking the argument: “Look, we’re all pieces of shit here! Let he without an Ashley Madison premium account cast the first stone!”

Seth Meyers

And on Late Night, Seth Meyers looked ahead to Trump’s inaugural eve ball, where Village People are set to perform. “It will be the first time Trump has ever paid a construction worker on time,” he quipped.

In an interview with an Italian newspaper, the former Trump adviser Steve Bannon called the current Trump adviser Elon Musk a “truly evil guy, a very bad guy. I made it my personal thing to take this guy down.”

“And you know what they say: the enemy of my enemy is my friend … unless it’s Steve Bannon,” said Meyers.

Bannon also said that he would “run” Musk out of the Maga movement by inauguration day. “Oh, he runs out on his own – said his kids,” Meyers joked.

And according to a new survey of tourists, New York is the least friendly state in the country. “Though I do have to ask: did those tourists ever consider getting out of the damn way?” Meyers wondered.