Indiana Gov. Mike Pence took the stage with Sen. Tim Kaine on Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate, just over a week after Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton faced off in their first debate of the general election.
Late-night hosts were quick to judge the event, some going live after the debate for their immediate reactions.
Daily Show’s Trevor Noah went live following the event, first poking fun at the GOP releasing the announcement that Pence had won the debate — before the debate started. In a segment called “Two Men Enter … No One Cares,” Noah ran down the event.
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On the “white guy argument meter,” the debate registered at “step dad vs. real dad.” In between “dodging the questions,” Pence managed to avoid defending Trump while also not answering any questions. On Kaine, Noah said he might have been too prepared, specifically with his punchlines.
“It was like Donald Trump’s running mate was Shaggy,” Noah said, breaking into a rendition of “It Wasn’t Me.”
Correspondent Hasan Minhaj reminisced about the days of Joe Biden, a much more exciting vice president to him, while this year’s VP debate was “like watching two pairs of khakis debate each other.”
Jimmy Kimmel addressed the event in his monologue: “What a matchup it was. It was like watching a glass of whole milk do battle with a jar of low-calorie mayonnaise. Mike Pence looks like a guy who gets his haircut twice a week. And what if Hillary Clinton wins and something happens to her? We would be just a heartbeat away from having a President Tim. Would that even be allowed?”
After Stephen Colbert’s Late Show hosted an all-kitten focus group while live-streaming the debate, he presented a live show and debate segment entitled “Battle of the Second Bananas.”
“Man, was that vice-exciting,” began his monologue, explaining what happened Tuesday night during the debate. “Once upon a time there was a man who wouldn’t release his taxes and a woman who wouldn’t release her emails. And … fight!”
In a debate that felt “like watching a loaf of white bread get pistol-whipped by a jar of mayonnaise,” Colbert said. “The question is … who are these guys?”
The big question on America’s mind tonight. #LateShowLive pic.twitter.com/VYvxcSx2C6
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 5, 2016
He segued into USA Today‘s recent editorial against Trump, which means “USA Today believes there’s no USA Tomorrow.”
“This could have a huge influence on hotel hallway floors!” he added.
Seth Meyers aired his Late Night after the debate, and now that it’s over, according to the host, Pence can “go back to his real job: Coaching the opposing team on The Mighty Ducks.“
In “A Closer Look” segment, Meyers broke down Trump’s “tailspin” throughout this week. He’s like the “kid who wet his bed at a sleepover, and a week later is still going, ‘I’m telling you, I spilled my juice box!'”
Upon hearing Trump’s comment that Clinton might not be faithful to her husband, Meyers responded: “Trump rallies have just become episodes of the Maury Povich show.”
Several hosts also went live for the first presidential debate last week, poking fun at Trump’s sniffles, the moderator-as-fact-checker debate and media’s over-hyped coverage.
