Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert are currently trying to one-up each other in a battle that may very well define this ridiculous year in America.
Battle horns ring from Manhattan studio to Manhattan studio as both “The Daily Show” and “The Late Show” are going for the best joke about Donald Trump’s Twitter presence. All the country can do now is look to the heavens and ask: “How did this happen?”
But until a celestial being gives someone ― anyone ― an answer, you might as well read on.
Back in June, Noah and “The Daily Show” debuted The Donald J. Trump Presidential Twitter Library. The very real pop-up institution dedicated to Trump’s Twitter feed documented the president’s past messages on the social medium. It was actually an impressive feat for that team and definitely a funny one.
The physical library didn’t last very long, but the show has a virtual version you can still tour. As part of that exhibit, “The Daily Show” had a video series called “Verified Survivor.” These videos showcased famous figures ― such as Stephen King and Mark Cuban ― talking about what it was like to be attacked by the president on Twitter.
Then, earlier this month, Colbert and “The Late Show” unveiled a concept called “The Trump Attacked Me on Twitter” Hall of Fame. Although not a physical space, Colbert immediately inducted various public figures, including Mika Brzezinski, Joe Scarborough and John Oliver, in videos that went viral.
Now, not to be outdone, “The Daily Show” has finally published the “Verified Survivor” videos on YouTube for a more wide audience. You can watch them on the show’s YouTube channel.
“I am, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, a Trump-less American,” says King of the fact Trump blocked him on Twitter in his “Verified Survivor” video.
It remains to be seen whether Colbert and “The Late Show” will try to outdo this latest Trump mockery. His team was recently nominated for an Outstanding Variety Talk Series Emmy award, while Noah’s team was not ― perhaps Colbert now has less to prove.
But with the actually incredible Twitter library and this new publication of the series coming from the opposition ― not to mention Noah calling Trump a penis-shaped deadly asteroid last week ― the onus should be on “The Late Show” to go one step further.
If one of these programs lands a good enough Trump joke, that means he’s no longer president, right?
UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect that the “Verified Survivor” series was originally a part of “The Daily Show” Twitter library. It was the publication of the videos on YouTube that was new.
