Late-night hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Michael Kosta ridiculed the Republican National Committee's sparsely attended "midterm convention" in Dallas and condemned efforts to exclude New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani from 9/11 remembrance events.
Kimmel on Trump's Cash Gifts and RNC Struggles
On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel opened with financial disclosures revealing that Donald Trump gave his aide Natalie Harp—described as his "least secret admirer"—a $45,000 cash gift last December. "She is the woman who praises him, shows him his iPad, keeps him distracted, and in return he gave her a wad of cash—like you do a babysitter," Kimmel joked. Trump also gave similar cash gifts to two other young female staffers, prompting Kimmel to add: "There's absolutely nothing unusual about an 80-year-old billionaire president giving the three young attractive women in his office 45,000 bucks each."
Kimmel then turned to the RNC's unprecedented "midterm convention," a two-day event in Dallas aimed at rallying voters for a party led by an unpopular president amid an increasingly unpopular war. "They never had a midterm convention before, but Trump wanted one and so they're having it," he explained. Trump hyped the event as "the greatest rally of them all" and "totally sold out," but Kimmel noted: "The RNC had to hand out a bunch of free tickets to this sold-out event."
Lawmakers Skip Convention, Texas Senate Race Heats Up
Many Republican lawmakers skipped the convention, citing "scheduling conflicts" and "not wanting to be anywhere near him right now," according to Kimmel. "They're very nervous about the midterms and rightly so," he said. "They are in serious danger of losing bigly." Kimmel highlighted the Texas Senate race, where Democrat James Talarico could unseat a Republican incumbent. Kimmel plans to interview Talarico on YouTube this week "under unusual circumstances" after a Trump-appointed federal regulator "threatened" his show.
On The Daily Show, Michael Kosta also covered the RNC's rare "midterm convention." "Everyone is going to be there," he said, before playing clips of Republican lawmakers declining to attend, with excuses ranging from a Wednesday night high school football game to "stuff" already planned and a "can't-miss dove-hunting event." Kosta quipped: "Eat lead, symbol of peace!"
Kosta on Bush's 9/11 Message and Mamdani Controversy
Kosta also addressed JD Vance's comment that the country was about to "celebrate" 25 years since the 9/11 attacks. "Well, we're not going to celebrate it, JD," said Kosta. "Happy 9/11, everyone! I brought Rice Krispy towers!" He contrasted Vance's remarks with President George W. Bush's 2001 speech defending Islam, playing a clip where Bush said: "These acts of violence against innocents violate the fundamental tenets of the Islamic faith, and it's important for my fellow Americans to understand that. Islam is peace."
Kosta noted: "Boy, we really didn't understand how good we had it, did we?" He then turned to a petition to ban Mayor Mamdani, a Muslim, from New York City's 9/11 ceremony, alongside criticism from Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham over Mamdani's proclamation declaring September 11 a day of remembrance. "The idea that 9/11 is about Muslims v America isn't just wrong, it's accepting Osama bin Laden's vision of the world," Kosta concluded. "The fact that 25 years after 9/11, we have a New York-grown, Muslim mayor leading our remembrance proves to the world that al-Qaida didn't win. New York won."
