Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon Relish in Steve Bannon’s Arrest: ‘It’s Been a Brutal Six Months, So I’m Going to Mainline Some Schadenfreude’
Late-night hosts Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah, and Jimmy Fallon relished in Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s indictment on Thursday — Fallon joking that he not only looks guilty, but also “he looks like his home address is the swim-up bar at the Mirage.”
Bannon was charged with fraud by New York prosecutors for his role in an online fundraising scheme, which claimed to collect private donations to build the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The charges allege that Bannon and three other men secretly embezzled money from the “We Build the Wall” campaign to transfer it to organization founder Brian Kolfage for their own personal uses.
The “We Build the Wall” campaign ended up raising $25 million, and prosecutors claimed that $1 million went to Bannon to cover hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses.
“A crowdsourced fund-raiser to build a f*cking wall in the middle of the desert? The only way it could have been a more obvious scam is if they offered free boner pills with every donation,” Meyers joked. “The thing was one rung below those companies that claim to name a star after you.”
Meyer’s was possibly the most excited about the arrest of the three hosts, especially considering this show would be his last of the summer.
“You know what, baby? It’s been a brutal six months, so I’m going to mainline some schadenfreude,” the host said of Bannon’s arrest. “Line that up on a mirror and give me $1 bill to snort it with. Seriously, did prosecutors know this was our last summer show? Because this is a fantastic parting gift.”
Meyers reminded his viewers of Bannon’s past role in President Donald Trump’s administration, noting that he worked on policies such as the Muslim ban and defended the family separation policy.
“Often wore two shirts when one would have sufficed? You know, the dude who had a crazy-person whiteboard in his office with policies scrawled on it like ‘Suspend immigration from terror-prone regions,’ ‘implement new extreme vetting techniques’ and ‘suspend the Syrian refugee program,’” added the host. “I’m shocked it also didn’t include ‘Brunch with Slender Man’ and ‘Kill the Batman.’”
He noted that Bannon’s arrest proves that the building of the wall had always been a scam, adding that it is an encapsulation of Trump’s presidency.
“Trump scammed his supporters by telling them Mexico would pay for it, then we ended up paying for it. Then this baked-potato Fabio over here said he’d raise money for it, then scammed everyone again by allegedly skimming money from it,” Meyers said. “It’s a Russian nesting doll of fraud. I can’t wait until Bannon raises money for his legal defense fund and we find out he lost it all on the racetrack.”
Noah also addressed Bannon’s indictment — noting that he’s yet another Trump official to get arrested. “After the Aryan Brotherhood and Latin Kings, the largest prison gang in America might be the former Trump campaign officials,” he joked.
The host then quipped that although everyone is innocent until proven guilty, “anyone arrested on a yacht, I mean, you’re guilty.”
“He’s accused of stealing money from people who thought they were donating to build Donald Trump’s wall — because you know, you wouldn’t want criminals sneaking into the country,” he added, pointing out the irony in the indecent.
Fallon went on a roll making fun of Bannon’s arrest, starting off by joking that he’s going to be placed in the “Trump’s well wishes section of the prison.”
Fallon speculated that Bannon might be innocent, before showing a picture of him and concluding that he actually definitely looks guilty.
“Just so you know, by the way, that’s how he looked before he got arrested,” he added. “He looks like someone you find sleeping in the bathroom stall at Margaritaville.”
The host then listed several things that Bannon looks like, aside from guilty:
“He looks like an unemployed Martha Washington impersonator. He looks like a guy who yells at Little Leaguers when he doesn’t have a kid on the team. He looks like every composite photo of what Elvis would look like if he were alive today … He looks like every guy who’s ever tried to sell me a Jacuzzi. He looks like every guy at the hotel hot tub who sits way too close to your wife. He looks like every man who’s ever walked into a Ferrari dealership. He looks like his home address is the swim-up bar at the Mirage.”
Watch above, via YouTube.