Late night hosts react with disgust to storming of Capitol and Trump’s ‘fascist rhetoric’

Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and James Corden all expressed horror at the violence

Late night talk show hosts in the US have reacted with shock and disgust after pro-Trump rioters attacked the Capitol Building in Washington DC on Wednesday (6 January).

The siege, which interrupted the Electoral College Certification process, saw government officials quickly evacuated from the Senate Chambers and resulted in a total of four deaths.

Donald Trump urged the rioters to “go home in peace” and told them he loved them, while repeating false claims about the election he lost.

Stephen Colbert condemned Trump for inspiring the attacks in a ferocious monologue, calling the event a “horrifying day that will go down in US history”.

“Have you had enough?” he said. “After five years of coddling this president’s fascist rhetoric, guess whose followers want to burn down the Reichstag. Who could have seen this coming? Everyone. This is the least surprising thing I’ve ever seen.  

“For years now, people have been telling you cowards that if you let this President lie and lie over again… there will be a terrible price to pay. But you just thought you’d never have to pay it too. I really do hope you’re enjoying those tax cuts and those judges, because they’re going to be busy throwing these idiots in jail.”

Jimmy Fallon, meanwhile, dismissed the riot as an act of “patriotism” and instead labelled it as “terrorism”.

He said: “Today was a disgrace, today was disappointing but sadly today was not a surprise. It’s important to remember this is not who we are. I assure you there are more good people than there are bad. Good will prevail.”

James Corden said that the country had been “hijacked” by a “lunatic and his crazy army”.

He said: “What a crazy sad day, one that will go down as a dark one in the long history of America… under the pretence of trying to calm the situation, their hero, President Trump, released a message to tell those supporters that they’re special and ‘we love you’.”

Trump’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have been blocked after tweeting to supporters who attacked the US Capitol. Twitter has also threatened him with permanent suspension.

In a social media message to protesters he said “I love you” before telling them to go home. He also repeated false claims about election fraud.