Ever since October 7, the network late night comedians have largely stayed away from the Israel-Hamas War, but that changed on Wednesday when NBC Late Night host Seth Meyers demanded that President Joe Biden stop supplying weapons to Israel for the sake of his own re-election effort. Meyers failed to see that he was urging Biden to do exactly what Donald Trump was impeached for.
Meyers expressed sympathy with the Democratic primary voters who refuse to vote for Biden “And yet voters still went to the polls to submit blank ballots. They are understandably upset Biden keeps claiming he's frustrated with Netanyahu's handling of the war while simultaneously sending weapons to support that war against the wishes of a majority of Americans.”
It was clear that Meyers has no idea how ceasefire negotiations work. It takes two to tango, and throughout the segment, he constantly confused wanting something with actually achieving something, “Back in February, Biden said he hoped to see a ceasefire within days and I remember him saying that because despite my best efforts, I was standing right [bleep] there. That ceasefire did not happen when Biden was asked again just a few days after that, he made it sound like there wasn't much he could do.”
After playing a clip of Biden on February 29 telling reporters he was “hopeful” that there would be a ceasefire by the following Monday, an unhappy Meyers responded, “But, what do you mean you're hopeful? You're the most powerful man in the world and you're talking about it like you're the manager of the New York Mets. ‘I mean, I hope -- I hope we win a few games, but you know, if it keeps raining, we might not lose that many.’”
Meyers then demanded, “You're the president. You can just say, no more funding. No more weapons. You call for a ceasefire. That's what a majority of Americans want. Including the tens of thousands of Democrats who are registering protest votes in key battleground states.”
He added that “Thousands of Israelis also took to the streets this week to protest the Netanyahu government and called for a ceasefire deal to free the hostages. As we said on the show before, there must be an immediate lasting ceasefire and the safe return of all hostages. That's the loud and clear message of these protest votes, and Biden must listen, otherwise he's at risk of losing to someone whose presidency was a –”
The sentence was completed with a callback clip of Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying “a complete disaster.”
Speaking of Trump, he was impeached because Democrats judged that denying weapons to an ally facing a grave threat of invasion was an abuse of power because Trump put his own personal interests above the national interest by tying the aid to an investigation into the Bidens. How is denying weapons to another ally at war for the sake of your poll numbers any different?
Meanwhile, CBS’s Stephen Colbert also touched on the war to an extent he had not previously on The Late Show when he urged Israel to end it. Discussing the World Central Kitchen incident, Colbert lamented, “Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it was a mistake, but he wasn't exactly apologetic.”
After a translated clip of Netanyahu explaining that sometimes “this happens in wartime,” the noted non-military expert Colbert shot back, “Nothing just happens. You are responsible. If your answer is, ‘This happens in war,’ then maybe consider ending the war because this is not an isolated incident. On top of the thousands and thousands of innocent lives that have been lost, more than 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
Even if Hamas agreed to end the war and release the hostages, something neither man cared to think about beyond wishful thinking, ending the war now would not solve anything. It would just create a pause of an unknown duration between this war and the next one.
Here are transcripts for the April 3-taped shows:
NBC Late Night with Seth Meyers
4/4/2024
12:48 AM ET
SETH MEYERS: And yet voters still went to the polls to submit blank ballots. They are understandably upset Biden keeps claiming he's frustrated with Netanyahu's handling of the war while simultaneously sending weapons to support that war against the wishes of a majority of Americans.
Back in February, Biden said he hoped to see a ceasefire within days and I remember him saying that because despite my best efforts, I was standing right [bleep] there. That ceasefire did not happen when Biden was asked again just a few days after that, he made it sound like there wasn't much he could do.
REPORTER [FEBRUARY 29]: Do you still expect a cease-fire is possible by Monday, sir?
JOE BIDEN [FEBRUARY 29]: Hope springs eternal. I was on the telephone with the people in the region. I'm still -- probably not by Monday, but I'm hopeful.
MEYERS: But, what do you mean you're hopeful? You're the most powerful man in the world and you're talking about it like you're the manager of the New York Mets. "I mean, I hope -- I hope we win a few games, but you know, if it keeps raining, we might not lose that many."
You're the president. You can just say, no more funding. No more weapons. You call for a ceasefire. That's what a majority of Americans want. Including the tens of thousands of Democrats who are registering protest votes in key battleground states.
Thousands of Israelis also took to the streets this week to protest the Netanyahu government and called for a ceasefire deal to free the hostages. As we said on the show before, there must be an immediate lasting ceasefire and the safe return of all hostages. That's the loud and clear message of these protest votes, and Biden must listen, otherwise he's at risk of losing to someone whose presidency was a –
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: A complete disaster.
***
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
4/3/2024
11:55 PM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it was a mistake, but he wasn't exactly apologetic.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU [ENGLISH TRANSLATOR]: Unfortunately, in the last day there was a tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip. This happens in wartime.
COLBERT: Nothing just happens. You are responsible. If your answer is, "This happens in war," then maybe consider ending the war because this is not an isolated incident. On top of the thousands and thousands of innocent lives that have been lost, more than 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
