Jimmy Kimmel Live! poked fun at Joe Biden exiting the race for the Democratic Party nomination, before slamming Donald Trump's response to the news.
The president made the announcement on Sunday, following calls from his fellow Democrats. Political opponents have long targeted Biden's age, but party members have also recently begun expressing concerns that the 81-year-old was not fit to run.
Lamorne Morris guest-hosted the show on Monday night, with Kimmel taking a break until September.
While discussing his recent Emmy nomination for the fifth season of Fargo, Morris joked: "I have accepted more nominations this year than Joe Biden."
"It's weird, it's weird, I don't know if I feel comfortable saying that, but you know, of course that's the big story," he said. "Yesterday, President Biden decided to drop out of the race."
"Well, he didn't like, drop out, so much as he kind of just like wandered off," the actor continued, before posing as an old man and pretending to wander aimlessly around the studio.
Morris said he "loves Joey B," before mocking Trump's reaction to the news. The former president was officially confirmed as the Republican candidate for 2024 at the party's national convention on Thursday.
Morris read out a post that Trump shared to Truth Social, the social network he founded after being banned from Twitter in 2021.
"Biden never had COVID. He is a threat to democracy," Trump wrote on Sunday.
Biden was diagnosed with the virus after campaigning in Las Vegas on Wednesday. On Monday, the president's doctor gave an update on Biden's health, saying the politician was recovering well following treatment.
In response to Trump's post, Morris said: "Really? Trump thinks Biden never had COVID? You don't pretend to have COVID to get out of being president, you pretend to have COVID to get out of going to your cousin's destination wedding."
After Biden's announcement, Kamala Harris is now the front-runner for the Democratic Party nomination. The vice president announced her intention to "earn and win" the candidacy on Sunday, with Biden's endorsement.
Discussing the former senator's decision to run, Morris said: "Trump is very worried because Kamala is a lawyer.
"I mean, he's only lost to Joe Biden once, but he loses to lawyers like, twice a week."
In response to Morris' comments, a spokesperson for Trump told Newsweek by email: "Who is Lamont Morris?"
The New Girl star was poking fun at Trump's legal struggles. In May, the business mogul was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business documents, allegedly to cover up "hush money" payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The 45-year-old said she and Trump had a one-night-stand in 2006. Trump has denied the affair claims. The Republican politician is also battling charges in Georgia and Washington, related to accusations that he attempted to subvert the 2020 general election result.
Trump was also facing charges of mishandling classified documents after allegedly storing White House papers at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. However, the lawsuit was dismissed on July 15.
Newsweek has reached out to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for comment.
About the writer
Sophie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in Lincoln, UK. Her focus is reporting on film and ... Read more
