Late-night hosts react to explosive anonymous New York Times op-ed
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Late-night talk show hosts reacted to the bombshell New York Times opinion piece published Wednesday that was penned by an anonymous senior Trump administration official.
The anonymous writer claimed to be part of a “resistance” working from within the White House to thwart President Trump’s “worst inclinations.”
Trump offered a response to the op-ed during a scheduled meeting with sheriffs from across the US.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"If I weren't here, I believe the New York Times probably wouldn't exist," the president said. "And, someday, when I'm not president, which hopefully will be in about six-and-a-half years from now, The New York Times and CNN and all of these phony media outlets will be out of business ... because there'll be nothing to write."
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Late-night hosts were quick to jump on the story and bash Trump over its implications.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}[Warning: the video below contains graphic language.]
“The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah was astonished by the opinion piece.
"Holy s---. There's a secret group of people within the White House actively working to curb President Trump, which is wild, because this means this whole time we've been dealing with the watered-down version of Trump!" Noah said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The host said the op-ed “didn’t make him feel any better.” He likened it to a pilot purposely crashing a plane.
“The pilot is actively trying to crash the plane. But don’t be alarmed. We’re doing everything we can to stop him…So please keep your seatbelts fastened and enjoy your peanuts and tax cuts,” he said.
Jimmy Kimmel tried to guess who wrote the opinion piece.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I have to say, I'm surprised by how good a writer Ivanka is,” he joked.
However, he pointed out the writer used the word “lodestar,” a word Vice President Mike Pence sometimes uses in speeches.
"Wouldn't that be something if it was Mike Pence?" he said. “Trump just announced the Space Force’s first mission is to locate and destroy the lodestar – whatever it may be.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This is gonna drive Trump absolutely nuts. Can you imagine what it must be like to have a job at which almost everyone who works for you thinks you're a complete idiot?"
"I can," he quipped. "I'll tell you something — it's no fun at all."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The Late Show" host, Stephen Colbert, joked the article was similar to discovering a scary phone call was coming from inside the house.
"Mr. President, they traced the resistance. It's coming from inside the White House! Get out of there and stay out of there!"
“This piece clearly is written by someone who works for the administration believes in its policies and goals and still thinks the president is a dangerous idiot. How many people can there be like that in the White House? I’m going to guess count the people in the White House and subtract one,” he continued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Colbert said he wasn’t certain if he should feel “reassured” or “even more scared than before” after the op-ed publication.
“I think I’ll go with reassured that I was right to be so scared,” he said.
Later, Colbert brought up the op-ed with his guest, former Secretary of State John Kerry, who said it “scared the hell out of him.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“There is a reassurance. It means that for James Buchanan, he's no longer the worst president,” Kerry joked.
Kerry told Colbert the piece was “really serious.”
“You know what it really means, Stephen, is that we don't really have a president,” he said. “We have a president who is there but he is not capable of doing the job or living up to the responsibilities."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.