ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel hit President Trump over a tape recording of him and his former attorney, Michael Cohen, discussing a payment to a Playboy model alleging she had an affair with Trump, saying it was “just Wednesday” in the White House.
In his show’s monologue on Wednesday, Kimmel joked that the release of audio officially linking Trump to payments made to Karen McDougal weeks before the election would have serious ramifications for “any other president” but it just doesn’t seem to be the case for Trump.
{mosads}
“For any other president, a tape like this — on which we hear his voice, his married voice, suggesting that his lawyer pay a Playboy bunny $150,000 in cash to keep her quiet — for any other president, there would be an address to the nation tonight,” Kimmel joked.
“He would be sitting at a desk, arms folded, serious face. He’d apologize to his wife, his family, possibly Jesus, I don’t know. We might even have to get Barbara Walters involved. But for this president, there’s no statement. For him? Just Wednesday,” he added.
Kimmel took jabs at Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who is now Trump’s attorney in the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russia’s election meddling.
Giuliani suggested that Americans listen to the tape “three times,” which he said will make it clear Trump was ruling out the possibility of paying McDougal in cash.
“That’s right,” Kimmel mocked. “After the third time, Beetlejuice will appear, and explain the whole thing.”
Kimmel’s remarks come after the White House scrambled to explain the audio recorded by Cohen and obtained by CNN in which Trump describes cash payments to McDougal. The Trump campaign has previously denied Trump had any knowledge of the payments.
The tape was one of more than 100 turned over to federal investigators by Cohen during the search of his home and offices earlier this year by FBI agents, who were working on a referral from Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation.
Cohen has not been charged with a crime but remains under investigation for possible bank fraud and campaign finance violations.