Late-night television returned this week with Jimmy Kimmel and other hosts addressing the biggest story of the new year: The US invasion of Venezuela and what many in the international community have referred to as the "abduction" of its sitting President, Nicolas Maduro.
Jimmy Kimmel opened Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday, suggesting the Maduro capture was politically motivated, tying it to the ongoing controversy around the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“If you were wondering how bad these Epstein files are for [US President Donald] Trump, turns out, they're 'invade Venezuela' bad,” Kimmel said on his show.
“This is literally the plot of the movie Wag the Dog. The president gets caught in a sex scandal, so he attacks a smaller country to distract us, and here we are, distracted,” he added.
Kimmel also spoke about Maduro's criminal record and wrapped the joke back to the US president, “Trump decided Maduro had to go, and yes, he's a criminal and a dictator who's driven his country into financial ruin, while he and his family have lined their own pockets, but Maduro is no saint either.”
“Trump claimed his new year resolution for 2026 was ‘peace on earth', but that lasted for just under two days,” he added.
JIMMY KIMMEL: "Yes, he's a criminal and a dictator who's driven his country into financial ruin, while he and his family have lined their own pockets, but Maduro is no saint either."
— David Schwartz (@DavidSchwartz70) January 6, 2026
This is savage... ???? pic.twitter.com/dZ1Wun9ot4
Other major hosts also took aim at the US President.
Jon Stewart opened The Daily Show in 2026 by calling Trump's actions unprecedented. “It is highly unusual… to violate the airspace and territory of another sovereign nation and hit the grab and go on their president,” Stewart said.
“Based on the United States' track record, my guess is we're going to be really happy about this for a couple of weeks. And then 30 years from now, there will be a Venezuelan leftist revolution… And it will absolutely ruin a Democrat's presidency. Generally, that's how this sh*t works.”
On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert joked about the invasion of Venezuela, “Do you know what this means? Those Epstein files must be crazy.” He also ridiculed Trump's plan to “run” Venezuela, “Evidently, when he says ‘America first' he means alphabetically.”
Seth Meyers, on Late Night, on Tuesday, called out what he saw as hypocrisy, using past Trump statements on foreign intervention.
“I still can't actually believe anyone thought Trump was telling the truth about being anti‑war,” and continued, “You really thought Donald Trump, the most thin‑skinned, impulsive man on the planet, would suddenly discover the concept of restraint when he gained control of the world's most powerful military?”
On The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon said, “It turns out Trump's New Year's resolution was to distract everyone from the Epstein files.”
Nicolas Maduro was brought to New York on multiple federal charges, including narco‑terrorism and weapon counts. “I was kidnapped,” he said in court on Monday. “I'm innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country." He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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