On Tuesday night, late night hosts tackled a range of topics including Lindsey Graham's sister Darline's appointment as his interim Senate replacement, the ongoing US airstrikes in Iran, and the rise of AI companies offering to resurrect deceased loved ones as digital avatars.
Michael Kosta on The Daily Show: Graham's 'Inheritance Jackpot'
Michael Kosta opened by mocking Donald Trump's lackluster greeting of IndyCar drivers at the White House. "Uh, maybe it doesn't have that Eye of the Tiger energy," Kosta quipped. "This would be like, if instead of running up the steps of the museum, Rocky took the chairlift."
Turning to Senator Lindsey Graham's death, Kosta highlighted Trump's bizarre description: "Well, I think we do. We have great doctors and they talked about, you know, a certain part of his body literally blew up." Kosta deadpanned: "It's actually a fairly common cause of death. We all remember when Queen Elizabeth II died after her vagina went boom."
Kosta then addressed Darline Graham's appointment as interim senator. "A Senate seat? That's an inheritance jackpot!" he laughed. "Most people just get a garage full of damp boxes." He noted her qualifications in government agencies for the blind, joking: "If anything, she's overqualified. I'm worried she'll make the other senators look bad, which would be embarrassing for the ones who know where they are right now."
Iran Airstrikes and Trump's Toll Plans
Tuesday marked the third consecutive day of US airstrikes in Iran after Iran threatened to charge tolls for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump announced his own plan to impose a 20% toll on cargo ships using the strait. "How did we end up like this?" Kosta asked. "We're a global superpower and we're haggling over tolls with the Iranians. We're not going to beat the Iranians at haggling – they invented it, and putting raisins on rice."
Ike Barinholtz on Jimmy Kimmel Live: Epstein and AI Ghosts
Guest host Ike Barinholtz opened with news of resumed US military action in Iran. "Remember when Trump said that this was a little excursion that was just going to last a few weeks?" he asked. "That was four months ago. I'll be honest, I'm starting to regret voting for him three times."
Barinholtz then faked a coughing fit, saying: "It's that Jeffrey Epstein was his best friend for many, many years and he wants you to forget how many times he's mentioned in the Trump-Epstein files. Sorry, sorry. I have the hantavirus."
On Darline Graham, Barinholtz joked: "It's very confusing because I always thought Lindsey Graham was Lindsey Graham's sister. It's a whole different person!" He added: "She pledges to suck his tits even harder than her brother did."
Finally, Barinholtz discussed AI companies offering "generative ghosts" of deceased loved ones. "The way it works is you give them photos or videos of your dead relative and they work their AI witchcraft to present you with this lovely nightmare," he said, showing a creepy AI-generated elderly man. "Well, first of all, Mitch McConnell looks great. I can't decide whether this is the best or worst gift to bring to a funeral. You know, it's like, 'I'm sorry for your loss, but guess who's back?'"
