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Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien and Trevor Noah on Michael Cohen’s testimony

By Matt Moore

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, gets emotional listening to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) give his closing statement after Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. Last year Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, unlawful excessive campaign contributions and lying to Congress as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 27: Michael Cohen, former attorney and fixer for President Donald Trump, gets emotional listening to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) give his closing statement after Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill February 27, 2019 in Washington, DC. Last year Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a $50,000 fine for tax evasion, making false statements to a financial institution, unlawful excessive campaign contributions and lying to Congress as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) /
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The testimony from President Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen provided plenty of material for late night.

If you watched any of Michael Cohen’s testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee then you probably found yourself laughing or smiling on more than one occasion. It was certainly a very serious matter being discussed but that doesn’t mean there weren’t absurd or strange moments.

Those type of moments are gold for late night television hosts. The Cohen testimony was obviously going to play a big part of Wednesday night’s late night shows. Seth Meyers led the way with “A Closer Look.” The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is off this week so we will have to wait to hear Colbert’s take.

But since this is the golden age of late night, there are no shortage of options even when the top show is running repeats. Let’s take a look at how three of the biggest names in late night handled Michael Cohen’s revealing testimony about his time working for President Trump.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Jimmy Kimmel always appears to be the most amused of the late night hosts when covering things related to President Trump. Only on rare occasions does Kimmel seem to be close to a breaking point. But typically Kimmel discusses crazy moments like Michael Cohen’s testimony as if he knows Trump will get what is coming to him.

Kimmel also took the opportunity to remind everyone how Cohen’s testimony overshadowed his former boss’ trip to Vietnam. Things didn’t go so well there for Trump either, so perhaps the retrospective on the Trump-Cohen friendship could provide some comfort to the commander-in-chief.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah probably thought his night at the Oscars was the craziest thing he’d ever seen. That was until the president’s former personal attorney went in front of Congress and called him a racist. Still, as Noah joked, it wasn’t all that surprising considering everything Trump has said or done publicly.

Noah’s favorite moment of the hearing seems to be Representative Mark Meadows’ decision to point out President Trump could not be racist because an African American woman works in his administration. Meadows’ effort was not well received in the room or online, doing little to help his position. It was a surreal moment in a rather surreal event in the Trump era.

Conan

As a 25 year veteran of late night, Conan O’Brien is well aware of what he does best. Breaking down Cohen’s testimony and peppering in political takes and satire is not his wheelhouse. Instead, it is in the silly, absurd, and ridiculous where he resides.

The short little bios that NBC put on the screen during the testimony were helpful especially if you were unfamiliar with members of the Oversight Committee. The images just also happen to provide the perfect platform for one of Conan‘s favorite gags.

Whether it is with print ads, television listings, or anything else, O’Brien and company certainly get a kick out of messing up a description and acting surprised. This bit is a great example of the variety of comedy that Cohen’s testimony provided late night.

Related Story. Stephen Colbert on Michael Cohen's lies about Russia. light

Chances are we haven’t heard the last from Michael Cohen. It it also seems like this won’t be the last person from President Trump’s inner circle to be front and center testifying in front of Congress. Whenever that happens, you can be sure that late night will be ready. And that Last Night On will have it all covered!

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