Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon Mock Trump’s C-SPAN Call-In

By Marcus Bennett

President Trump called into C-SPAN on Monday night, and Jimmy Kimmel addressed the president’s impromptu telephone appearance on Tuesday in the “Late Night Roundup” segment. The program gathered the previous night’s highlights and moved quickly from presidential commentary to celebrity jokes, film promotion and music.

During the call, a woman could be heard laughing in the background. “Yes, that feminine giggle you heard at the top of the call was either his assistant, Natalie Harp, or it could have been his son Eric. We don’t know,” Jimmy Kimmel said on Tuesday.

Kimmel then mocked the venue and audience size: “He literally has nothing better to do than call into C-SPAN. Do you know how many people are watching C-SPAN at 9 o’clock at night? Two. Him and us. That’s it.”

How did the hosts respond to Trump’s call?

Jimmy Fallon supplied a second response to the laughter. He said: “Based on the happy laugh, experts are 100 percent sure it wasn’t Melania.”

Fallon then referred to a conclusion by U.S. intelligence officials that a woman who had a relationship with the Nvidia executive Jensen Huang was a spy for China. His imagined explanation was: “Trump was, like, ‘Don’t worry, that’s my assistant Natalie, and definitely not my new Chinese spy girlfriend.’”

Fallon also widened the joke to the presidency itself. He said: “It’s good to know Trump is at the prank call stage of his presidency: ‘Is my friend Ben Dover there? How about his sister, Eileen?’”

How did the Jensen Huang affair shape the jokes?

The sequence worked through association. The unexplained laugh drew a chain of references to Melania, Natalie Harp and Huang; the affair then supplied jokes about Huang’s clothes, the relationship’s photographs and its apparent publicity.

Lydic opened with a complaint about male executives: “Look, I don’t want to be sexist, but this is why I always say men shouldn’t be C.E.O.s. I’m sorry, but they get all hormonal and horny when it’s that time of the month. Usually, the first through the 30th.”

Desi Lydic’s next target was Huang’s wardrobe. She said: “The weirdest thing about Huang is that he wears cool leather jackets. Although, in hindsight, that was another red flag. I’m pretty sure when you buy that jacket, it comes with a mistress.”

Lydic then questioned the public record of a secret relationship. She said: “Huh, for a secret affair, that’s a ton of photos you guys posted to social media. LinkedIn, WeChat, I’m assuming you posted a TikTok: ‘Get ready with me while I spy on this guy.’”

She returned to the subject of exposure: “OK, you guys were really flaunting it. Even the Coldplay couple ducked from the camera. At this point, what part of their relationship don’t we have photos of? Oh, breaking news: Here’s a photo of them together at Mistress Con.”

What did the roundup put on the late-night menu?

On Tuesday’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Harper Steele touted the all-female crew she worked with while making her acting debut in “The Good Daughter.”

Jessica Chastain, who stars in the forthcoming thriller “Heartland,” will appear on Wednesday’s “Tonight Show.”

Late Night Roundup also pointed viewers to “the 50 best movies on Netflix right now” and identified the Texas rapper Lil Texxan’s impromptu song “Talafreako” as “the surprise campaign hit of the moment.”

What changes for late-night viewers?

For late-night viewers, the practical change is a varied menu: Trump’s call supplies political satire, the Jensen Huang affair supplies celebrity commentary, and “The Good Daughter,” “Heartland” and “Talafreako” supply film and music interest.

Wednesday brings Chastain to “Tonight Show,” while the roundup leaves viewers with “Talafreako” as its stated surprise campaign hit.