'Like an impression of Alec Baldwin': late-night hosts on Trump's debate lines

Wednesday night capped off the last of the three presidential debates, or as Jimmy Kimmel put it: “It’s like the last time we saw mom and dad fight before the divorce.”

As was the case for the previous two clashes, the majority of late-night shows opted to air live immediately following the debate, to mostly skewer Donald Trump’s performance and offer a general roundup.

Kimmel admitted to being “fascinated” while watching Trump. “His eyes were mostly closed the whole time, his voice was at phone-sex whisper,” he said, opening Jimmy Kimmel Live. Referencing Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of Trump on Saturday Night Live, Kimmel joked: “It almost seemed as if he was doing an impression of Alec Baldwin doing an impression of him.”

“He said ‘disaster’ and he said ‘bigly’ a couple of times, and he said Mexico is sending some bad hombres over here. I guess those Rosetta Stone tapes are paying off,” Kimmel added.

Kimmel’s take on the debate was arguably most creative of the lot: in addition to his kickoff monologue, he also aired a presidential debate edition of his Kimmel Kids’ Out of Focus segment, in which he rounded up three young toddlers – Quinn, Raniya and Franki – to get their thoughts on the candidates’ performances.

Raniya was the most opinionated, saying she didn’t enjoy watching the debate because “they argue a lot”, adding later: “It was pretty annoying, ’cause Donald Trump was talking over Hillary.” Kimmel made their visit an educational one: he astonished the children with the revelation that Clinton had attended Trump’s wedding to Melania in 2005, and identified Clinton’s and Trump’s running mates, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence. The group agreed that Pence looks a lot friendlier than Trump, with Quinn adding: “Donald Trump seems like he’s losing his mind every day.”

In his Late Show monologue, Stephen Colbert addressed Trump’s insinuation that the Emmys are rigged, which he tweeted about in 2012, 2013 and 2014, following snubs for The Apprentice.

Grabbing two of his Emmy awards (he has won nine), Colbert said: “You know, Donald, you really should get one. They’re fantastic. I think this year he might get one. If Trump lost to The Amazing Race, this year, it could go to the amazing racist.”

Colbert also blasted Trump’s statement about keeping us in suspense as to whether he will accept the outcome of the election, even though immediately before the debate Pence said Trump definitively would accept the result.

“Oh, suspense! Democracy’s going to end in a cliffhanger,” Colbert exclaimed. “I guess we’re all going to have to wait until November 9 to find out if we still have a country, if Donald Trump is in the mood for a peaceful transfer of power. Or if he’s going to wipe his fat ass with the constitution.”

The Daily Show got in on the action early, broadcasting a Facebook Live mock debate with two candles in lieu of the candidates, stationed behind podiums in a zen garden. A hand inserted itself into the frame at random intervals to rake the sand. The debate could be heard in the background but was largely drowned out by the sound of trickling water and ambient music.

During the ensuing show, host Trevor Noah struck a similar tone as Colbert, expressing horror at Trump’s threat of not accepting defeat. “I’m sorry, keep us in ‘suspense’?” Noah asked. “Am I the only one super freaked out by this?

“What do you mean you’ll keep us in suspense?” he added. “Trump is going to run his campaign like an episode of Scandal, only with less black people and less women in power and less understanding of politics. But other than that, exactly like Scandal.”

As for Trump calling Clinton a puppet, Noah joked: “Trump thinks all women are puppets, that’s why he’s trying to stick his hand up them.”