Kimmel Calls Trump ‘a Liar’ for Changing His Story on Putin Comments

Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. If you’re interested in hearing from The Times regularly about great TV, sign up for our Watching newsletter and get recommendations straight to your inbox.

‘Our President Is a Liar’

Jimmy Kimmel held President Trump’s feet to the fire on Tuesday after the president backed away from his comments in Helsinki, Finland, the day before on who had meddled in the 2016 election. Trump asserted that when he said, “I don’t see any reason why it would be” Russia, he had actually meant to say “wouldn’t.”

But Kimmel refused to accept the flip-flop. “The news today is that our president is a liar,” he said. “And not even a good one.”

“President Trump today — in an attempt to explain what the Helsinki was going through his cotton candy-covered head when he stood next to Vladimir Putin, of all people, and took sides with Russia over our own American intelligence agencies — now says it was just a tiny little slip-up. Even smaller than his fists.” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“This is like if Bill Clinton had come out and said, ‘Wait, no, I meant to say I did have sexual relations with that woman!’” — JIMMY KIMMEL

“No! You shanked even that! You either accept it was Russia, or say it could be other people. You can’t do both. ‘I, Donald, take you, Melania, to be my lawfully wedded wife. Although, I could take other people too — there’s a lot of people out there.” — STEPHEN COLBERT

“He should issue a ‘wanted’ poster: ‘Wanted for hacking the 2016 election: Russia, somebody else, or everybody else!’” — STEPHEN COLBERT

The Punchiest Punchlines (Russian Meddling Edition)

“Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today warned Russia to not meddle in the upcoming midterm elections — and then he winked so hard his neck got smooth.” — SETH MEYERS

“Who among us hasn’t said the exact opposite of what he just said in front of cameras on multiple occasions? I’m sorry, let me clarify — that sentence should be, ‘Who among us has not not done that?’” — STEPHEN COLBERT, trying to reason away Trump’s shifting story about his comments in Helsinki