Late Night Hosts Dunk on Trump’s Town Hall “Love Fest” Where Music Played for 39 Minutes
On Monday, late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert eviscerated the Donald Trump campaign after an Oaks, Pennsylvania, event billed as a Q&A session with Trump devolved into a mixtape listening session as the former president shouted for his staffer to play some of the favorite tracks that have been blasted to crowds at his 2024 campaign rallies.
At the event, moderated by South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Trump took a few questions. One was about addressing the price of groceries, to which the former president again gave an answer that invoked the fictional character Hannibal Lecter, immigrants and “Black jobs.” At another point, the candidate encouraged his supporters to vote on Jan. 5 — two months after election day. The venue was the stuffy Expo Center, and an attendee got overheated and fainted. This is when the music started, first with Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” performed by the legendary Luciano Pavarotti.
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Kimmel and Colbert brought the laughs on Monday, at times only with some of the raw footage from the event north of Philadelphia, where the president arm-danced, swayed and paced the stage as some of his campaign soundtrack’s hit songs — many of which have sparked cease-and-desist orders from the artists performing them — were requested by him from the stage, then played for the crowd to listen to in their entirety.
“He played music, and kind of did that baby toddler jumping dance that he does for a full 39 minutes. He just stood there swaying like a manatee tangled in seaweed,” Kimmel said. “Why remain onstage for 39 minutes? Just pretend it was one of Don Junior’s piano recitals and leave go home.”
Tracks selected by Trump to be played for the gathered fans included: Sinead O’Connor’s version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Rufus Wainwright’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and “Rich Men North of Richmond Song” by Oliver Anthony.
Kimmel pointed out that Trump’s director of communications was quick to put a spin on the campaign moment, which has tongues wagging about the candidate’s mental health and cognitive abilities.
“He wrote, ‘Total love fest at the Pennsylvania town hall. Everyone was so excited. They were fainting so real Donald Trump turned to music. It was a love fest.’ I want you to imagine a world in which Kamala Harris stood there at a rally and said nothing, just danced around for almost 40 minutes. Fox News would have blocked out a full week to cover it, it would have been like the OJ chase meets 9/11,” Kimmel quipped.
On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the host said he could barely believe what he saw after nearly two decades of covering election events.
“This Thursday will be 19 years since I started doing a late-night show, so I think, by now, I have the experience and discernment to say with the deepest gravity: Last night’s Trump Town Hall was banana pants-boo-boo-bonkers.
“Memory” from the musical Cats closed out the event, which Colbert zinged to perfection, referencing the candidate’s bizarre lie that immigrants are attacking the animals of Springfield, Ohio.
“Trump closed out the event with some handshaking to another beloved song, ‘Memory,’ which, of course, is from his favorite musical, ‘They’re eating the cats.'”
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