Late-night host Jimmy Fallon used his platform on Thursday's episode of "The Tonight Show" to deliver a series of pointed jokes aimed at former President Donald Trump, focusing on recent foreign policy moves and a persistent territorial ambition.
Fallon's Take on the Venezuela Oil Sale
The monologue opened with a quip about the United States' recent sale of a batch of Venezuelan oil, valued at an estimated $500 million. Fallon connected the sale to Trump's past health claims, suggesting a novel use for the commodity. "Apparently, the extra oil has been great for getting Trump in and out of the MRI machine," Fallon joked. This was a direct reference to Trump's 2019 assertion that he had an "absolutely perfect" MRI, a claim he later corrected to The Wall Street Journal, clarifying it was actually a CT scan.
Teasing Trump's Greenland Gambit
Fallon then pivoted to Trump's renewed interest in acquiring Greenland, an Arctic island that is an autonomous territory of Denmark. The comedian referenced a recent Quinnipiac University poll which found that a staggering 86% of Americans are against the U.S. taking Greenland by force. "Everyone was like, 'Now, Donald, if you want Greenland, you have to finish your Venezuela, first,'" Fallon quipped, linking the topic to recent U.S. military posturing toward Venezuela.
He didn't stop there, adding a punchline about the local population's opinion. "Not surprisingly, 100% of Greenlanders are against it. That's right, both of them," Fallon said, employing his signature comedic hyperbole to highlight the overwhelming opposition.
Public Opinion and Political Satire
The segment underscored the role of late-night comedy in reflecting and shaping public discourse on political issues. By highlighting the stark data from the Quinnipiac poll alongside Trump's controversial aspirations, Fallon's jokes served as a cultural barometer. The monologue effectively framed the Greenland idea not just as a foreign policy oddity, but as a proposal with negligible public support, using humour to amplify the poll's findings.
Fallon's Thursday night routine continued his show's tradition of mining current events for comedic material, turning complex geopolitical stories into accessible and shareable satire for a broad audience.
