thanks for watching 360, the cnn special report, late night in the age of trump starts right now. i'm coming in hot. this is going to be a crazy one. >> every day, there's something nuts. >> you're not the potus, you're the blotus. >> wait, how long does this wall

have to be? >> he's the most mocked man in america. >> that is the problem with the media. >> monday open liesing late night. >> it's hard not to feel like you're being redundant. >> kim jong-un as rocket man. >> dominating snl. >> such a nasty woman. >> he's like a mime producing raw material. >> he's blowing up scripts. >> that's a really great joke. >> the pace of the news. so much faster making and breaking careers. >> it's like a little churchill. >> excuse me. >> would you say you're on a mission to take him down? >> i would like to see him brought down to the ground. preferably in handcuffs. >> has late nightgown too far? >>. >> is this disrespectful of the office of the presidency? i think so.

>> tonight in the age of trump. november 8, 2016, the late show's stephen colbert was hosting a live election night special. a dream gig for the comedian who believed he would be documenting history, the dawning of a hillary clinton presidency. he began the show up beat. you don't need to chant my name, america doesn't have dictators, yet. >> here you have a guy, a host ready to tell a certain number of jokes that he expects are going to come out in the way he wants. and instead, the show starts to turn. >> bill carter is the author of the war for late night. he's like in between, he doesn't know which way to go. >> when trump wins a state, it will turn bright orange. >> he tried to keep the jokes coming as the race got closer and closer. >> this one is a nail biter and a passport grabber.

>> then political experts gave cobert some shocking news. trump had taken the lead. >> the momentum shifts and his energy level drops. all the things about a woman being president, which was the theme of the night, has to be rejected. >> by the time that whiskey ended up on his desk. you knew that things were off the rails. >> a culture reporter for the new york times. >> i think he was just so incredibly unprepared to greet a donald trump presidency. >> at some point it stopped being funny for him? >> it did. >> and went to downright uncomfortable when trump went from underdog to winner. >> i can't put a happy face on that, and that's my job.

>> all of his emotions were on display. and it made for incredibly arresting television. you're watching a guy have his hopes drain out of him right on the air. i've never seen anything like that before. >> sorry to keep you waiting. complicated business. >> when it was all over and the results were in. cobert left the audience with some dark final thoughts. >> how did our politics get so poisonous? >> i think it's because we overdosed, especially this year. we drank too much of the poison. >> i think there was some sort of psychological change that came over colbert. >> we agree that we should never ever have an election like this one, do you agree? >> he became a different host after that. >> his harsh attacks on trump

galvanized viewers, catapulting him and the late show to its biggest ratings in two decades. >> it took him months, maybe about a year before he found his traction, when he ditches the conservative pundit persona he used throughout the colbert report. is he going to be be outrageous? >> you donald trump are a horrible, horrible human being. >> by february, colbert edged out jimmy fallon. >> to be honest, i inherited a mess. >> no, you inherited a fortune, we elected a mess. >> he never let up, growing more vocal and vicious as time passed. >> i have the constitutional right to say that donald trump

looks like a rotting haystack made of meat, you cannot. >> trump gave life to all the late night hosts. >> he's a human, what is wrong with this picture. >> trump keeps creating the material. >> he's going to look at them in the camera and say, isis, stop it. >> have you ever seen anything like this in another presidency? >> there's never been anything like this in a presidency. we've never had this many late night shows before. >> we went into the weekend worrying about kim jong-un starting a war, we came out of it wondering if our president is cutting eye holes out of his bed sheets. >> how many are members of the resistance? >> colbert and seth meyers are the voice of the resistance. basically, their whole shows are about trump. >> i said it was a stunt and he would never really run.

>> seth meyers was equally stunned on election night. he offered a mia culpa the next day. >> based on this pattern of me being wrong, he's probably going to be a great [ bleep ] president. >> then he gave the new president a warning. >> we hear at late night will be watching you. >> meyers kwept that promise. >> would you call what you're doing now investigative comedy? >> we try to bring out information that you couldn't get out in a monologue joke, so we do a longer piece where we can have more freedom to explain the story. >> trump is so fully out of his mind he broke a general. that guy's been in wars. >> it might be explanatory journalism sometimes? >> sure, i think we try very

hard. i'm always -- >> you're afraid of the j word, aren't you? >> i feel like it's a disservice to people who practice journalism to say i'm doing it as well. >> experts say in the era of interrupt, viewers depend on comedians like meyers to make sense of the constant cycle of news. >> it's time for breaking crazy. >> he's going as indepth as he can. the line between late night comedy and news reporting is blurred. people want a blurred late night style show. >> 2016 has been an uncommonly [ bleep ] year. >> what viewers want they get. and plenty of it. coming up, the daily show decendants. >> you were telling the president about putin, go. >> do you really see a jon stewartization of late night. it was really pushed along by the donald trump presidency. >> american legion trump.

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♪ i'll give a little bit of my love to you ♪ january 10th, 2017. >> we have a lot of people who are tasked with watching things as they happen. >> from 30 rockefeller plaza in new york. >> one hour before seth meyers taped late night, there was big, breaking news. >> russian operatives claimed to have compromising personal and financial information about mr. trump. >> that night, kellyanne conway, trump's incoming white house counselor was scheduled to appear on his show. >> i had the cnn printout of that story. i made sure i understood the details of it, because obviously

it wasn't my expertise. >> he started things out light. >> he is my president. >> good for you. >> he's my president so much, it's keeping me up at night. >> then he got serious. probing conway about the big news of the day. >> i believe it said they did brief him on it. >> he has said he's not aware of that. >> okay. >> that concerns me. >> he was incredibly prepared. unlike even some news people interviewing her. he would not let her get away with anything. >> i sometimes fear that the president-elect has no curiosity as to the amount they try -- >> that is completely try. >> okay. >> he has enormous curiosity, i'm there every day with him. he has a number of different meetings every day, briefings and otherwise. he was curious enough to figure out america. >> that's a bit right there -- >> no, the democrats did not. >> he did not let her slip away. i thought it was very effective, it was one of the best interviews he's done. >> in general, you always walk away from interviews with

politicians wishing you had pushed a little harder. >> have the hosts stopped being funny and started getting too serious? >> it's become a new brand of comedy, i think, that's both informative and yeah, i do think pretty funny. >> giovanni was hired by the new york times to do a daily roundup column called best of late night. >> trump through his own style, was redefining the landscape of late night tv. >> do you think if anyone watched these shows every night the way you do, they would find their political views change? >> no, i think they tune into a certain decemberible level, a certain outrage. >> the president was griping about the size of the crowd, and wondering how his pink tie played with his audience. >> who would you say is the toughest on trump? >> colbert has been the most savage in his attacks. >> i'm the most popular

president in modern history. we are on the brink of thermo nuclear conflict. it's got to be the pink tie, right? >> other hosts are making equally if not even more substantive critiques in the president. >> trump's trust in breitbart goes way back. >> jon oliver, they've spent a full week preparing investigative reports. >> holding up a breitbart article does not make you seem more credible. >> oliver, a daily show vet has earned the rep of being one of the sharpest political is a teerists on late night. >> my sources -- trump -- >> he devotes a huge chunk of hbo's tonight to fact finding. >> the press is going to be a key element in helping us sort out fact from fiction. they are under attack. >> do you remember if february he hires a bunch of singing dancers to try to inform trump about putin? ♪ >> pageantry for him is

activism, it's part of our new reality. >> he's essentially being a town cryer and advocate, as well as a new fangled tv comedian. >> donald trump is acting moodier. >> james corden has a more broad approach guy. >> i'm recently confided in one white house aids telling him, i hate everyone in the white house. is this guy the president of the united states or a cast member on "big brother." i hate everyone in the house. >> cordon and oliver, have a way of looking at the american experience like, are you kidding me? this is what you people do? >> i'm sharing news from the white house. >> the clever bits kept coming. but with so many late night stars, how do hosts stand apart? >> do you ever worry about saying the same thing every other show is saying? >> yeah, we think about it a little bit. but it happens less often than you would think. >> steve vodo is the executive

producer of the daily show with trevor noah. >> we said trump was an african dictator, right? >> trevor has a certain point of view and a certain style. and so even if steven's show observed the same thing on a given night, it's still going to come out differently. >> no [ bleep ] around, eh? >> he delivers these punches against donald trump, that doesn't have the nastiness that other hosts do. >> special like important or special like the guy i made fun of? which one. >> he struggled to find his voice when he took over jon stewart's chair. but nearly two years later, noah and the daily show were flying high. ♪ >> then there was that one epic week in may. >> comey is fired. >> if he's gone, who's going to investigate russia's ties to -- oooh. >> it turns out trump may have

leaked information to the russians in the oval office. >> this is a trap, no? >> mueller's appointed. >> probably saying to himself, man, i am glad i am not part of this any more. i'm just like -- hello. >> each night we were rewriting the show almost on the fly, when that happened. i was very proud of that. >> trump and those bombshells notched trevor noah his best week ever. >> comey reminds me of every black mother. i brought you into this world, and child, i can take you out of it. >> is donald trump the best thing that's ever happened to late night tv? >> there are certainly days where it seems that way. next, too much trump? >> he refers to kim jong-un as rocket man, which beats the other nickname he gave him, li'l kim. >> maybe don't make it sound like he's an action packed movie

franchise, just call him li'l kim. >> there's also times where it's hard not to feel like you're being redundant.

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[ laughter ] and now, ladies and gentlemen, here's johnny! >> there was only one real king of late night. >> we have a real humdinger of a

show tonight. >> johnny carson held court for 30 years, when it came to politics, he chose punch lines over political attacks. razzing presidents like ronald reagan. >> did you see the picture in the magazine of reagan riding his horse on the ranch with george bush running behind with a pooper scooper? >> johnny carson wanted to be everything to everybody. >> bill carter has covered the media industry for more than 30 years. >> he was looking for the joke of it, the silliness of it. he wasn't a member of the resistance, let's put it that way. >> well, i don't know, brian -- >> my fellow americans. >> i just don't know. you just remember those things, you know. >> former snl cast member, joe miss capo took his own jabs at reagan. >> if you vote for me again in 1984, you'll receive this handsome set of steak knives. back then, late night hosts did

not attack. >> johnny carson would always joke about nixon. >> you're not going to lenned me your make-up man, are you? >> no. >> he would joke about gerald ford, it was never vicious. it seems to be vicious now. >> the tonight show starring -- >> like johnny -- >> with jay leno. >> jay leno kept his punches light. >> a lot of people probably think al's popularity went up because of that kiss he gave tipper. >> even david letterman the master of stinging insults held back. >> does it bother you that i'm always yakking about stuff? >> no, i'm glad you're saying my name. >> if you press david, what do i know? i don't know anything, i'm just an idiot that tells jokes. >> welcome, welcome to the daily show. >> then in 1999, jon stewart, a new late night host burst on to the scene. >> this whole trial is sexy.

>> and the slant radically changed. >> there may be a woman candidate who will be elected president watching this evening. >> no, no, not on comedy central. >> jon stewart really changed it. he brought big time point of view to late night. he wasn't always liberal, but he was extremely committed to certain issues. >> we are, as we speak, live from our election studios in new york city's abandoned prostitute warehouse. >> it went from being about pop culture, to really focusing on the election. >> steve bodo was jon stewart's executive producer on the daily show. >> by then the show was a political show. it pretty much has been ever since. >> mitt romney has won tonight, most of the confederacy. >> giovanni writes the best of late night column for "the new york times." >> mulling over certain compact news story and teasing out all

the ironies of it, has become the rubric for almost everyone in late night. >> responding to trump's ill informed tweets could be a full time job. and i know, because it's my full time job. >> late night now had a blueprint. new shows were spawning new talent. >> jon stewart is the jumping off point for stephen colbert. >> mr. trevor know wash thanks for joining us. >> trevor noah. >> welcome to "the daily show." >> and john oliver. >> that late night exploded even more with trump, 24/7. >> how has he changed the landscape? >> just craze illy changed it. you basically just learn more about trump now. it's really not topical humor, it's trump humor. >> are there nights where it feels like too much trump or it's overkill? >> yeah, i think there are most nights where it feels that way. >> kim jong-un as rocket man. >> kim jong-un rocket man.

>> kim jong-un as rocket man. >> that's not a dis, that's a cool nickname. >> with so much trump news, hosts have no choice but to riff on the same material. >> the pace of the news is so much faster. >> trevor noah. >> what's going on, folks. >> steve bodo now runs the daily show with trevor noah, who took over as host in 2015. >> spider ants are coming together to save each other. >> in a way i admire the ants. >> they invited us in for a sneak peek behind the creative curtain of their show. >> we watch a lot of video clips, throw jokes around the room. >> i like that better, we take maybe an hour and a half to rewrite the show. tape it at 6:30 and get to go home. that's the normal way, it doesn't happen very much any more. >> thank you, thank you. >> in the age of trump, shows are sometimes turned upside down. >> i now just got a piece of

information in my ear that scaramucci has just resigned. >> at the 11th hour. >> when is the last time you had to blow up the scripts. >> yesterday. the mooch couldn't make it to day 11. >> the guy got fired before the job began. >> being able to plan ahead has become virtually impossible. >> and now the president tweets again. you can't make this stuff up. >> joe piscapo doesn't mind the rapid pace of trump news. >> it's a gift from heaven, a gift from god. everybody's so upset, the vitriol, the hate, the divide. i am loving it. ♪ it's time for you >> the former snl comic now hosts a conservative radio talk show. >> i complained in florida. i spoke at a trump/pence rally. >> i know donald like 25 years. >> you don't get angry at all the jokes the way others do? >> no, does it go too far?

it does go too far. does it go disrespectful of the office of the presidency of the united states? i think so. >> let me read this presidential briefing. i have the briefing right here. >> next, how far is too far. late night goes off the rails. >> you're the president, but you're turning into a [ bleep ]. wow t-mobile covers your netflix subscription, so you can catch the hottest new movies and shows all year long on us. amazing and it's your last chance to buy any of these hot new samsung galaxy phones and get a 2nd one free. that's one samsung for you and one to gift. just in time to finish off your list. t-mobile...holiday twogether.

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good evening, from hofstra university, i'm lester holt. >> it's debate night on snl. october 2016. this was alec baldwin's debut as donald trump. >> our jobs are fleeing this country. they're going to mexico. they're going to gyna. if hillary knew how to stop that, she would have done it already, period, end of story. i won the debate, i stayed calm, just like i promised. it is over. good night hofstra. >> baldwin was winging it. later he told the late show's steven colbert, the first time he tried out trump was during his snl dress rehearsal. >> it's totally a charicature. you pick a few things, i'm

going, left eyebrow up, right eyebrow down, you're trying to suck the chrome off a car. >> mr. trump, two minutes. >> the thing about the blacks. >> he sparred with kate mckinnon's hilarious hillary clinton, viewers ate it up. >> this man is clearly unfit to be commander in chief. >> wrong. >> he is -- >> shut up many. >> he started the birther movement? >> you did. >> after that night, baldwin's rendition of trump was forever cemented in america's psyche. >> at number four -- >> saturday night live has a permanent character. they always have presidents, but this is now this iconic saturday night live character. >> send in steve bannon. ♪ >> members of trump's team gave snl even more red meat.

kate mckinnon stole the show as trump's overworked campaign manager kellyanne conway. >> do you want a drink? >> jesus. >> and post election, kate's impersonation of an unhinged conway, trying to win over cnn's jake tapper. >> i'm not going to be ignored. >> gave snl's version of "fatal attraction" another hit. >> i'm here to swallow gum and take names. >> melissa mccarthy struck comedy gold as press secretary sean spicer. >> and our president will not be deterred. >> driving his podium into the press. >> are you kidding me? >> a lot of it is just funny. and again, all credit goes to trump for that. he sets that up. >> it's saturday night live.

>> trump gave snl a record shattering season. >> come on over here to daddy. >> and brought baldwin back for another round. >> the president of the united states. >> snl has historically always gone after presidents. >> hold on, harry. why so tense? >> arguably, no one did a better ronald reagan than comic joe piscopo. >> i think alec baldwin is absolutely brillian the. folks get upset when they see him portray donald trump. you don't cut funny. if it's funny, it's going to hurt. >> trump should embrace these charicatures? >> absolutely. donald trump should invite alec baldwin to the white house. >> but so far, trump's not laughing. after baldwin's debut, the president hate tweeted his disdain. just tried watching snl, unwatchable, totally biassed, not funny. and the baldwin impersonation, can't get any worse.

sad. >> i do miss my old life. >> we all do, sir. >> the president's distaste for late night intensified. >> you attract more skinheads than free rogaine. >> in may, the late show's steven colbert, found himself in hot water, when he blasted trump in an over the trump profanity laden meltdown. >> the only thing your mouth is good for is being vladimir putin's [ bleep ] holster. >> he fueled a #fire colbert campaign on twitter. trump did not respond right away. >> trump was restrained for about the first six months of his presidency. >> days after the attack, the president surfaced, condemning colbert in a "time" magazine interview. you see a no talent guy like colbert, there's nothing funny about what he says. >> he was probably watching these shows, and probably feeling offended every night. at that moment, we realized that he couldn't take it any more.

>> the only thing smaller than your hands is your tax returns. >> trump went on slamming colbert over his improved ratings. the guy was dying, by the way, they were going to take him off television. then he started attacking me, and he started doing better. colbert's response was, to say the least, effusive. >> the president of the united states has personally come after me and my show, and there's only one thing to say -- yay! [ cheers and applause ] >> i think when trump tweets about one of these shows. they probably have a party. they must love that. because that means they're scoring points. >> months later, trump took aim at late night again, tweeting, late night hosts are dealing with the democrats for their very unfunny and representative material. always anti-trump.

should we get equal time? it did not take long for a late night retort. jimmy kimmel tweeted, excellent point mr. president, you should quit that boring job, i'll let you have my show all to yourself. the trump versus late night war rages on. >> we put the baby in an ambulance. >> coming up, crossing the line, from satire to activism. >> if your baby is going to die and it doesn't have to, it shouldn't matter how much money you make.

i have something to say here, donald trump, if you're watching, first of all, you're a bad president, please resign. second of all -- >> in the trump era, the late show's stephen colbert's satirical voice cracked the code. but colbert's method of madness is in sharp contrast to what not long ago was a winning formula on nbc's the tonight show. >> wow! i look fantastic. >> jimmy does an impression of

trump, a very good impression of trump. >> all right, me, we have a big interview with jimmy fallon coming up. let's be honest, fallon's a lightweight. no way he deserves to interview me. the only one qualified to interview me is me. >> bill carter is the author of "the late shift." >> he doesn't want to be in the mix of, this is my point of view, and i'm pounding away at the president. he knows it's not his strength. >> i hope they're going to understand. >> just months before the election, jimmy fallon was vilified for being too soft on trump. his ratings suffered. >> was interviewing trump and playing with him a big deal? >> giovanni is a culture reporter for the new york times. >> i think he's acknowledged since then, that it was a huge deal, and he was surprised by the kind of blow back that he

got. but he has to reckon with it. >> today trump said he believes in torturing prisoners, which is bad news for melania. and -- >> like fallon, jimmy kimmel stuck to a more traditional show on abc. >> he's sort of like your all american 1950s guy, he's not especially progressive in his social views in my opinion. >> that persona changed last may, when kimmel through tears revealed a health scare involving his newborn son. >> it's a terrifying thing, you know, my wife is back in the recovery room, she has no idea what's going on. >> kimmel's emotional story became a call to action on health care. >> if your baby is going to die, and it doesn't have to, it shouldn't matter how much money you make. i think that's something, whether you're a republican or a democrat, or something else, we all agree on that, right? we do. >> he puts himself out there in

the middle of the health care discussion, i think he really zeroed in on that, and it's made him a heroic figure for some people. >> then kimmel was fully immersed in the political fray, when he had on the louisiana senator who was making a last ditch effort to pass a new health reform bill. >> no family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can't afford it. can that be the jimmy kimmel test? is that oversimplifying it? >> hey, man, you're on the right track. and if that's the close as we can get that works in government. now we have to be able to pay for it. >> the way to pay for it is doesn't give a huge tax cut to millionaires like me, and instead, leave it how it is. that would be one way. >> months later, in september, kimmel went on a three-night tirade announcing the jimmy kimmel test failed. >> this guy, bill cassidy just

lied right to my face. >> they continued to duke it out when the senator said kimmel didn't understand the bill. >> could it be senator cassidy, that the problem is, i do understand and you got caught with your gop-enis out. is that possible? >> kimmel didn't let up. i don't want to turn this into a kanye and taylor swift type situation. this time calling out trump. >> there's no way president trump read this bill. they should just rename it eivanka care and it will get on board. >> the entire spirit of late night has become so politicized, it's in my job description now. >> jimmy fallon was pulled in too. it was the horrible events in virginia that provoked him. >> it's my responsibility to stand up against intolerance and extremism as a human being. what happened over the weekend in charlottesville, virginia,

was just disgusting. the fact that it took the president two days to come out and clearly denounce racists and white supremacists is shameful. >> it was a moment when the gloves came off, i think even fallon said, this is no way for a president to act. and he needs to apologize. >> do you think he was reluctant to do this? >> i felt like his mode of delivery was strange. >> it's important for everyone -- >> oh, he's just telling this like he tells his jokes. >> ignoring it is just as bad as supporting it. >> so kimmel is still mining that divide between am i the all american guy or the critic. it's one that fallin has decisively sort of advocated, that choice. he said, i'm not going to even budge. >> fallon ditched the hair messing, but continued the trump mocking. >> buckle up, because i'm coming in hot. this is going to be a crazy one. daddy came to play.

>> i think when you look at the 11:30 shows, they're different kinds of television shows. >> if you were a better president. >> some people want to turn on late night shows and they want to see hard takes on politics. others use it for escapism. >> this made me laugh. >> i think jimmy does that better than anybody. >> coming up -- the new faces of late night. >> i won't deport you. >> let's roll.

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♪ without anything but the love we feel ♪ >> ready? i hold my breath for a very long time. >> the ritual is a labor of love for comedian anthony atamene. he's transforming into president trump. >> what's wrong? >> he is the breakout star of a show unlike anything else on tv. "comedy central's," "the president's show" imagines donald trump hosting his own late-night series. >> i turned the oval office into a classic late-night set. >> anthony channels a darker version of trump. >> who is the person you hate? >> it's me. >> what did you figure out early on about playing him? >> he has a sort of, like, an animal thing with his jaw where he's like -- he pushes his jaw forward and does this mussolini

sort of turn. >> what else? >> anthony got his start in new york's improv clubs. >> we were never plagiarized michelle obama. >> which is where he realized he did a pretty good trump. >> you're performing at ucb then you pitch this show to "comedy central." >> the pitch was donald trump is bored at the white house but he always wanted a tv show. >> i think it's important to let the audience know who's being nice and who's being not nice. >> the president of the united states. >> "the president's show" was born. >> i'm the president. y can you believe it? >> airing once a week. >> it looks like a real late-night talk show with celebrity guests and banter with trump's sidekick, v.p. mike pence. >> you know what, get out of here. >> no. >> get him out. i don't quantity to talk want t. get out of the here. >> what we tried to do is turn

them into a dark version of abbott and costello. >> like art imitating life, others in anthony's trump administration have had short runs. >> wow. >> like chief strategist steve bannon. >> who put a door in the doorway? >> you guys heard me in the front, though, right? what'd i say? >> and his infamous white house communications director. >> thank you. >> i'm so good with the being short because i don't want to step out on stage in a concert stage and have people yelling, do the mooch. >> anthony scaramucci. >> played question "sex and the city" actor mario pantone. >> snap out of it. >> the real fun begins when potus leaves the studio for improvised sketches. >> this is really terrible. what are we, off reoading? >> there you go, wonderful. >> in one popular segment, anthony's trump -- >> it's all changed. this is not like the old neighborhood at all. >> -- visits his childhood home

in queens, new york. >> it's a beautiful neighborhood. >> what an awful block. >> why did you decide to bring your character here? >> i always wanted to do the roots of trump. my version of him is, like, sort of petulant and, like, always rejecting his past. >> this is where donald trump was born. >> okay. i don't need my own viagra feed, mike. >> the formula worked. the show vaulted to the top of "comedy central's" ratings. this demand for trump humor brought another comic to an unexpected place. >> i would never think to watch a late-night show on netflix on a daily basis, that's not what it does. it's interesting that she landed there. >> chelsea handler landed netflix's first ever talk show, "chelsea." >> donald trump, monkeys -- >> viewers binged her outrageous rants. >> a little place i like to call

monkey business. >> about her least favorite person. how much has your show here changed as a result of the trump presidency? >> a lot. i mean, i'm a real loud mouth. i can't help myself. according to web m.d., the symptoms of syphilis are exhibit "a," patchy hair loss, exhibit "b," visual problems and squinting. >> would you say you're on a mission to take him down? >> i would like to see him brought down, down to the ground. preferably in handcuffs. i want him to be in prison. i think a lot of people want him to be in prison. >> handler used her hour-long show to delve into divisive issues like daca. >> these young people are the american dream. 91% of them are employed and 99% of them have no criminal record. that means they've never obstructed jusjustice, colluded with russia, defrauded people through a fake university, bragged about sexual assault or pardoned a racist maniac. so --

>> in the end handler chose politics over late night. after a rocky two seasons. >> don't you know who -- >> the cheomedian said she was ending her netflix show to focus on activism. >> it's important to use my platform for boogood. a lot of people go, i don't do politics. this is serious stuff. we don't have a choice to opt out. >> has trump been good for the chelsea handlers of the world? >> in terms of comedy, oh, god, you must have so much material, yeah, you can take the material. i don't want this kind of comedy. no. >> same goes for anthony. >> we're going to take people who are illegal immigrants and shift th ship them to other countries. what do can you think of that. >> no. >> what do you do the day trump is no longer president? >> probably put stones in my pocket and walk out in the oc. n oegs. i don't want to do him anymore.

>> a lot of people saying he wants our foreign policy to be good cop, bad cop. think it's more like good cop/insane president. >> there's no way anyone who comes after will ever take up as much ink on this show than we've already spilled on president trump. >> that's going to be a fascinating thing to watch if it happens if four years or wherever it happens, they're going to be like addicts who have to completely go cold turkey. >> i'm sorry, have you seen donald trump? if it's one thing he's never going to get, it's a clean bill of health. >> there's never going to be somebody like trump again. >> he even thought, hey, maybe we won't talk about donald trump much tonight then he opened his mouth and all manner of stupid came out. >> this is a one of a kind situation, both for the country and for the comedians. >> i have the power to destroy any country on earth, but i promise you, it will be america

first. see you next week, bye-bye. >> that's it for the late show, everybody. >> have a good night. good night, everybody. this is "cnn tonight." i'm don lemon. breaking news. what could the bombshell testimony by the fbi's deputy director? sources say andrew mckay telling congressional investigatorse eo can back up james comey's claim that president trump asked the former fbi director for his loyalty which the president denies. also tonight, president trump's constant slamming of the russia investigation coming back to haunt him. a brand-new cnn poll shows a clear majority of americans feel his statements about the probe are mostly or completely false. yet nearly half of americans approve of special counsel robert mueller's handling of the investigation. and more breaking news to tell you about,