Late-Night Satire Targets Republican “Folksy” Appeals and Trump’s Recent Outbursts

In a week of monologue segments, *The Tonight Show*’s Seth Meyers and *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* lampooned President Donald Trump and Senate candidate JD Vance for what the hosts described as contrived attempts to portray themselves as ordinary, working-class Americans. Meyers highlighted clips of Trump working at a fast-food restaurant and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claiming to be a soybean farmer, labeling the image-crafting “right-wing fan fiction.” Kimmel focused on Trump’s angry response to a reporter’s health question, mocking the president’s “tantrum” and self-praise about cognitive-test scores.

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The hosts singled out several Republican figures:

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• Donald Trump – mocked for a “Cheesecake Factory” joke that sparked a press stunt, for mispronouncing “vegan,” and for calling a reporter “sick” while attacking his weight.

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• JD Vance – ridiculed for admitting he cannot pronounce Middle-Eastern country names, which Meyers dismissed as “fake folksy bullshit.”

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• Ted Cruz – referenced for a bizarre comment about the masculinity of Texas candidate James Talarico.

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• Former press secretary Katie Zachary – portrayed as “glitching” in interviews, with Kimmel suggesting she be “unplugged and plugged back in.”

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Meyers argued that the Republican “folksy” narrative is “obvious bullshit” and suggested the strategy is “backfiring” as poll numbers reportedly decline. Kimmel added that Trump’s self-referential jokes about his health and intelligence reinforce a perception of “nakedly racist” and “disgusting” rhetoric, echoing Meyers’s condemnation. Both hosts implied that the comedic attacks may erode the president’s appeal among the very voters he seeks to court.

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• “No one’s buying your fake folksy bullshit,” — Seth Meyers

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• “It’s disgusting how nakedly racist this is,” — Seth Meyers

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