Late-night hosts react to Mike Pence officially bowing out of the presidential race
From "didn't know he was in it" to plenty of Bible zingers, the former Veep makes for ripe fodder.
While Donald Trump referring to Sioux City, Iowa as Sioux Falls over the weekend produced plenty of late-night fodder on Monday, the gaffe was trumped by his own former vice president, Mike Pence, who announced that he was officially bowing out of the 2024 presidential race.
Speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual gathering in Las Vegas on Saturday, Pence made the announcement saying, “It’s become clear to me: This is not my time. So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.”
Since Pence served under Trump for four years in the White House, he knows a thing or two about being the butt of late-night jokes, and that was no different when this not-such-a-bombshell of an announcement finally happened.
Here's a look at how the hosts reacted to the news.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Coming out of a clip that ends with Pence saying, “It’s not my time," Kimmel said: “His time was 1956 and he missed it.”
Other jokes from Kimmel:
“Mike Pence made this announcement from the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. I didn’t know mother even allowed him to go to Las Vegas.”
Coming out of a clip of Pence thanking his wife with "I couldn’t have done it without her," Kimmel said: “Could not have done what? You quit. You ran for president for four months and then gave up, and in Vegas of all places.”
“Mike Pence ending his campaign in Las Vegas could be a sign that he’s losing his mind. Next time we see him, he’ll be blackout drunk on TMZ yelling, ‘The only God I believe in is Criss Angel.’”
“It’s a shame that he’ll never be president. Because I mean, for one, just imagine all the wonderful dancing that would have been outlawed at his inaugural ball.”
“And while the GOP primary may have lost a principled man who commanded almost 4 percent of the vote, the Space Force just gained one hell of an intergalactic moon ranger. And for that I applaud him.”
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
This was Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon's reaction:
“Mike Pence officially suspended his 2024 presidential campaign. Which raises an interesting question: Can you stop something that never started?”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Mike Pence said it's not his time to be president, and we couldn't agree more. ??#Colbert pic.twitter.com/mfmQ4Kzky9
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 31, 2023
Here's what Stephen Colbert had to say on The Late Show:
“It's spooky season in America when pale, ghostly figures of the damned roam the streets, crying out in the agony of their cursed fate. Speaking of which, Mike Pence.”
“I don’t know about you but I was very surprised… that Mike Pence was running for president. Hadn’t registered.”
Coming out of a clip that ends with Pence saying, “It’s not my time," Colbert said: “He’s right, Mike Pence’s time is 1692. His place: Salem. His job: man who shoves woman into river to see if she’s a witch.”
“Pence said he prayed over the decision, which is not surprising. After all, he titled his campaign-launch memoir So Help Me God. God responded with his own book, New Phone, Who Dis?”
“At another recent stop, Pence spoke to just 30 people at Greenfield, Iowa’s Olive Branch restaurant. Yep, couldn’t quite make it to Olive Garden, he had to settle for Olive Branch. You know their slogan: When you’re here, your family… is looking for you, they’re worried.”
Late Night With Seth Meyers
Seth Meyers had this to say on Late Night:
“Former Vice President Mike Pence announced on Saturday that he is ending his presidential campaign and said, 'This is not my time.' But only because his time is the 1950s.”
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers air on NBC; Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs on ABC; The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs on CBS.
