--- title: Donald Trump: Late-Night Reacts to Charlottesville Presser description: Late-night TV hosts went after President Trump for remarks in which he defended those linked to white supremacist groups in Charlottesville canonical: https://time.com/4902623/donald-trump-charlottesville-stephen-colbert-jimmy-kimmel/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-16T12:13:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:29:09.424Z article:section: Politics og:title: Late-Night Hosts on Trump's Charlottesville News Conference og:description: "I would feel more comfortable if Cersei Lannister was running this country" og:url: https://time.com/4902623/donald-trump-charlottesville-stephen-colbert-jimmy-kimmel/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44fa38ea5c44919d/6988d9e9e76ad2a21e62ebed/donald-trump-late-night-tv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" - Season 15 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Late-Night Hosts on Trump's Charlottesville News Conference twitter:description: "I would feel more comfortable if Cersei Lannister was running this country" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44fa38ea5c44919d/6988d9e9e76ad2a21e62ebed/donald-trump-late-night-tv.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Completely Unhinged.' Late-Night TV Reacts to President Trump's Charlottesville Press Conference > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c91628ed-0ce6-495e-9ba7-f4081c581218&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Again Blames 'Both Sides' for Charlottesville Violence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EzwfOun0.m3u8) (1:32)  _Published 2017-08-15. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that anti-racism protesters bear some of the blame for the violent rallies in Charlottesville, returning to his original comments that "both sides" were responsible for the deadly clashes._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 16, 2017 12:13 PM UTC  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 16, 2017 12:13 PM UTC Late-night TV hosts went after [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4902502/donald-trump-charlottesville-press-conference/?xid=homepage) for remarks on Tuesday in which he defended those linked to white supremacist groups and said [“both sides” were to blame](http://time.com/4902129/president-donald-trump-both-sides-charlottesville/?xid=homepage) for the clashes in Charlottesville over the weekend. “I think there’s blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you don’t have any doubt about it either,” Trump said [during his press conference](http://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/?xid=homepage) in Trump Tower on Tuesday. The remarks, which were praised by white supremacists and condemned by both Democrats and Republicans, became the target of late-night TV. “The only thing I’m doubting right now is whether you’re still going to be President by Friday,” Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday’s episode of _The Late Show_. Colbert also called out Trump’s remarks comparing George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to Confederate generals and asking whether their statues might be taken down next. “Spoken like a guy who’s suspiciously worried that racist presidents don’t get statues anymore,” Colbert [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4sCA3QFqT8). Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel suggested that a [_Game of Thrones_](http://time.com/4890702/game-of-thrones-memes-season-7/) leader might be preferable. “I’m not joking when I say I would feel more comfortable if [Cersei Lannister](http://time.com/4899251/game-of-thrones-cersei-lannister-pregnant/) was running this country at this point,” Kimmel said. “The President is completely unhinged. The wheels are off the wagon and hurdling towards the moon right now.” Trump said Tuesday that “you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides” in Charlottesville. “So here’s the thing: If you’re with a group of people and they’re chanting things like ‘Jews will not replace us,’ and you don’t immediately leave that group, you are not a ‘very fine’ person,” Kimmel said. And Seth Meyers described Trump as “fully out of his mind.” “President Trump this afternoon gave a press conference that can only be described as clinically insane,” Meyers said. “You know that list of side effects at the end of a pharmaceutical ad? He apparently has all of them.” “Trump is like a bad waitress in a crappy diner who’s trying to get fired so she can go to a concert,” he added. ## Transcript I've condemned neo- Nazis, I've condemned many different groups, but not all of those people were neo- Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists. I think there's blame on both sides. You look at both sides I think there's blame on both sides, and I have no doubt about it. What about the alt- left? They came charging, as you say, at the alt- right. Do they have any semblance of guilt? [ CROSSTALK ]. Let me ask you this, what about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs, Do they have any problem? I think they do. There was a group on this side, you can call them the left, you've just called them the left, that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that's they way it is. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down, to them, a very, very important statue, And the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name . >> [ UNKNOWN ] George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Excuse me. Are we going to take down statues to George Washington How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think about Thomas Jefferson? You like him? I do love Thomas Jefferson. Okay good. Are we gonna take down the statue? Cuz he was a major slave owner. Now are we gonna take down his statue? So you know what? It's fine. You're changing history. 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