Just hours after Elon Musk and Donald Trump locked horns in a bitter online exchange, America's late-night comedy shows jumped at the chance to revel in the chaos of their very public fallout. A smouldering dispute between the president and the tech mogul over Trump's self-congratulatory “big, beautiful bill” erupted into an all-out war of words.
The break-up sent shockwaves across social media — and late-night television wasted no time in joining the spectacle. The Daily Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and Late Night With Seth Meyers were all live and ready, offering up sharp jabs and quick wit. Here's how they reacted.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon opened with, “Trump and Elon have been brutally attacking each other all day. Seriously, their relationship went off the cliff faster than a self-driving Tesla.”
He appeared stunned by how quickly the friendship had soured. “I can't believe their relationship fell apart this fast. I mean, a week ago they were all over each other like Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at a Knicks game,” Fallon said.
Celebrities like Justin Baldoni, Blake Lively and Kendrick Lamar also earned brief mentions in Fallon's monologue on the Trump-Musk bust-up.
Watch here:
The Daily Show
Michael Kosta of The Daily Show may have coined the most fitting term for the feud — “World War Douche.”
He began saying, “For a few days now, there's been a simmering tension between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the leader of the free world and the breeder of the free world.”
Kosta landed another punchline with Musk's claim that Trump appears in the Epstein files. “Of course Trump is in the Epstein files,” he said. “That's like saying, ‘Guys, there are aliens in the X-Files.'”
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The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert began with his trademark flair. “My fellow Americans and all the ships at sea, I hope you've stocked your family shelter with potable water and dehydrated turkey chili, because, ladies and gentlemen, a full-scale flame war has broken out between the world's most famous besties.”
He couldn't resist poking fun at Trump. “So now Donald Trump is a Tesla owner who hates Elon Musk! He's never been more relatable.”
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Late Night With Seth Meyers
Seth Meyers dissected the irony of Musk investing so heavily — both financially and ideologically — in an administration that eventually turned on him. He pointed out the absurdity of it all, saying, “It's as clear as ever that neither of these guys really believed in anything.”
Summing it up with perfect comic timing, he added, “Watching these guys destroy each other is both big and … beautiful.”
Watch here:
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Jimmy Kimmel joked that he had to ditch an entire monologue about the NBA Finals and a newly appointed head of terror prevention to focus on what he called the biggest news of the day. “It's like coming down the stairs on Christmas morning and finding a second tree,” he said.
In his opening, Kimmel stated, “I feel bad for Trump lately — he's running out of friends. First, he lost Jeffrey Epstein, now Elon.”
Watch here:
Musk labelled Trump's spending proposal a “disgusting abomination” and warned that the so-called “big, beautiful bill” would “drive America into debt slavery.”
Trump, irked by Musk's criticism, said he was “very disappointed with Elon.”
Musk, never one to retreat quietly, retaliated, posting on X, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
As the two former allies spiral further into public enmity, at least one group is benefiting — the late-night hosts, who have found comedy gold in this political implosion.
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