Late-night presenters talk about the NY state attorney general’s lawsuit, which accuses Trump and his family of corporate fraud.
Jimmy Kimmel
The news that Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, had launched a case against Donald Trump and his family for “staggering” bank, tax, and insurance fraud was welcomed by late-night presenters on Wednesday morning. In the lawsuit, Trump claimed that Mar-a-Lago was worth $739 million when it was actually only worth $75 million. He also claimed that an apartment measuring 11,000 square feet was actually 30,000 square feet, which Jimmy Kimmel said on Wednesday night was “the same tactic he’s used for years with his penis.”
More than 200 charges of fraud are made in the case, “which, of course! He is a fraud by nature,” stated Kimmel. “Accusing Donald Trump of fraud is like to accusing Lizzo of drinking juice. It embodies who he is.
The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, allegedly stole Donald Trump’s concept to deceive asylum seekers into boarding a plane for Martha’s Vineyard, according to reports that were mentioned on Kimmel. According to Miles Taylor, the former DHS chief of staff, Trump had the same concept on Wednesday, according to CNN. Taylor claims that Trump ordered the agency to round up migrants, separate out the “murderers” and “rapists,” and then transport them to communities with Democratic mayors.
“This was his plan. He wanted to send rapists to Detroit and Seattle and Chicago and Boston. This is what our president wanted to do,” said Kimmel. “And they complain Joe Biden is divisive. There seems to be no bottom to this – every time you think you’ve heard the craziest, angriest, most horrible thing possible, something worse comes out.
“By the way,” he added, “if Trump wants to send a rapist somewhere, he can just hop on the bus himself.”
Seth Meyers
Seth Meyers also discussed the latest legal action Trump is facing from the New York state attorney general’s office, which is requesting a court force the Trump Organization to repay $250 million in assets that were stolen.
150 million dollars! 250 million dollars! Seth Meyers made a joke on Late Night about how to pay for that: “He’d probably have to sell Mar-a-Lago and move in with Rudy.
He said, “I doubt Trump can afford to merely hand up $250m. “Something tells me his supporters are about to receive a flood of panicked emails asking them to donate $1, $5, or $250 million to help President Trump prove the election was rigged,”
Trump is also the subject of several criminal investigations for the uprising on January 6 and for taking confidential materials that he stored in the Mar-a-Lago basement. No one can say with certainty if Trump breached the law, but Meyers said it was “fucking crazy” to consider the possibility that he hadn’t. Nobody gets fired and then gets to take anything they want with them when they leave their job, particularly if they work for the government.
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert also discussed the accusations made against Trump and his family on The Late Show. In order to utilize his properties as security for substantial loans, the complaint claims that Trump would falsely exaggerate the worth of his assets.
Letitia James isn’t good at making up numbers, according to Colbert. She had more than 200 receipts, including ones from Trump’s firm that said that 12 rent-stabilized units were worth more than $49.5 million while, in reality, they had only been valued at a total of $750,000.
65 times less money than that. The president is notorious for exaggerated assets, so it’s no surprise, Colbert joked over an image of Trump wearing tennis shorts.
The one thing the ex-prez despises above all else is people finding out he isn’t as wealthy as he pretends to be, he said. “I’m guessing this press conference got the ex-prez rankled to his cankles.”
For instance, Mar-a-Lago is worth $75 million, while Trump said that property is worth $739 million. Naturally, it is now worth less. The most marketable papers were just taken away by the FBI, Colbert joked.
James has requested that the court withdraw the Trump Organization’s business license, prohibit family members from serving as officials of any state-run corporations, and impose a five-year restriction on the family’s ability to get real estate or commercial loans from any New York-based businesses.
Trevor Noah
If half of what the New York AG is saying is true, Trump's an even bigger con man than we thought. pic.twitter.com/m9GsE0eTdh
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) September 22, 2022
James’ last statement at the news conference, “Claiming you have money that you do not have does not amount to the art of the deal,” was the opening phrase Trevor Noah used on The Daily Show. It is the art of stealing.
When a prosecutor utilizes a rhyme, you’re going to do time, thus Donald Trump is now in danger, said Noah.
I’m not going to lie; I don’t have much hope, he said. Trump is a greater scam than we all realized, however, if even half of what he says is accurate.
Noah said, “These are not small amounts,” referring to the gap between Trump’s 11,000 square foot apartment and the 30,000 square foot apartment he claimed it to be. Which is untrue. As a result, this individual will be the first to ever face legal repercussions for asserting that his flat is a grower rather than a show-er.
It would be hilarious if this is what brought Trump down, he continued. “Can you picture? He attempts to usurp the government, but is stopped since he claimed to have a washing and dryer inside his apartment.
Thanks to Guardian staff at The Guardian whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.
