The best of late night’s reaction to election night

Late night hosts used social media to share their thoughts on election night

It’s fitting that in a year unlike any other, the 2020 presidential election has also played out unlike any other. A long night of counting ballots, projecting winners, and fact-checking the president still left the country without a clear indication of the next president. But as was expected, late night comedians weighed in all night.

Nearly every late night host had the night off as their networks covered the election. However, Stephen Colbert moved over to Showtime to host his election night special, reacting to results in real time as they came in. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah was also live on Comedy Central featuring reaction from Trevor Noah and Roy Wood, Jr.

Colbert and Noah’s fellow late night comedians relied on social media to share their thoughts. Anyone who tried to follow along on Twitter saw how wildly the mood swung back and forth all night as some claimed victory for President Donald Trump and others warned of the so-called “#RedMirage.” Many late night hosts were in the thick of it and took the opportunity to join the conversation.

Late night election reaction: Stephen Colbert

If you didn’t tune into Showtime to watch Stephen Colbert, you still heard from him on his personal Twitter account and via the Late Show account. The comedian did his best to sum up the stress and anxiety that came with the tight race.

Late night election reaction: James Corden

Colbert’s CBS partner James Corden had a slightly different approach to dealing with the anxiety and nervousness of election night. The Late Late Show host tried to coach his followers through some breathing exercises while reminding everyone that we were in for a long night, morning, and week when it comes to counting the votes.

Late night election reaction: Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel was among the most active comedians on Twitter last night. The ABC host was effectively live-tweeting the election as he watched the results come in along with the rest of the country.

Kimmel’s tweets were a mix of public service announcements, cynicism for Vice President Joe Biden’s chances, and mockery of President Donald Trump.

Late night election reaction: Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers decided against tweeting along with the election. As far as Meyers understood things, NBC bumped his show from the schedule in favor of The Voice. Instead, the Late Night host shared clips of his show from the night before that included an interview with John Mulaney and a final edition of “A Closer Look” making the case against reelecting President Trump.

Late night election reaction: Amber Ruffin

Late Night writer and host of The Amber Ruffin Show on Peacock Amber Ruffin also shared a couple of thoughts on Twitter. However, it seemed like she mostly steered clear of social media after a certain point in what may have been an effort to save her sanity.

Late night election reaction: Samantha Bee

Samantha Bee didn’t appear to be too comfortable with the results based on her tweets. The Full Frontal host shared two images to sum up her reaction to election night and neither seemed to be all that optimistic.

With things far from decided, there is still plenty of more time for hosts to chime in on the election. And with new episodes scheduled tonight, some will be back in front of the camera to break it all down. Be sure to check back with Last Night On for all the highlights.

Which late night host had the best reaction to election night? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.